ALBERTA is set to hold a referendum on whether to remain a part of Canada.
Danielle Smith, the conservative premier of the oil-rich eastern province, said: "Kicking the can down the road only prolongs a very emotional and important debate, and muzzling the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans wanting to be heard is unjustifiable in a free and democratic society."
Smith confirmed that a referendum would be held on October 19 – coincidentally the same date which Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP government had proposed for a second Scottish independence referendum in 2023.
In Alberta, citizens will be asked to vote on whether to remain a province of Canada, or whether to move forward with holding a separate and a binding referendum on independence from the country.
The announcement of the referendum comes after the pro-independence group Stay Free Alberta said they had collected more than 300,000 signatures backing the movement, delivering them to the provincial government's headquarters on May 4.
However, on May 14, a judge struck down that petition, accepting arguments from two First Nations groups that any referendum would violate their treaties with the British crown, which were in place before Alberta came into existence.
“This decision should close the chapter on the suggestion of an independence referendum. The court has spoken – and so have the First Nations,” Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation chief Allan Adam said.
However, Smith – who leads the United Conservative Party and has been in office since 2022 – said she was “troubled” that the courts could speak for the future of Alberta in the place of the province’s citizens.
"As premier, I will not have a legal mistake by a single judge silence the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans," the Alberta premier said on Thursday.
"Alberta's future will be decided by Albertans, not the courts."
Separately, another petition calling for Alberta to remain a part of Canada had gathered more than 400,000 signatures.
Smith said that she and her government and caucus would back remaining in Canada. "That is how I would vote on separation in a provincial referendum," she said.
Under current Canadian legislation the provincial government must consider a proposal if it receives 178,000 signatories, equivalent to 10% of the province's eligible voters.
Alberta is bordered by the Rocky Mountains and British Columbia on the west, and plains of Saskatchewan on the east. It possesses the world's third-largest oil reserves and produces 80% of Canada’s oil.
