Crowds of Alberta independence supporters filled the plaza at the legislature in Edmonton on Saturday afternoon, chanting and waving flags in a last push to rally support for the separatist cause ahead of Monday’s referendum.
Let Alberta Decide initially scheduled the event for 3 p.m. MT, but strong winds in the region led organizers to push the start time to 4 p.m.
Among the speakers at the event was Keith Wilson, a lawyer who co-chairs the organization and heads the Alberta Transition Council, which has formed a plan should the province ultimately secede from Canada.
Wilson said the rally was a chance for people to celebrate the work they’ve done over the past several weeks getting the message out.
“I’m feeling encouraged by the turnout, but I’m anxious about if the majority is for option one and the message … that will send to Ottawa,” Wilson told CBC News.
According to the Let Alberta Decide website, 10 buses were rented to bring separation supporters living outside Edmonton to the pro-independence rally the group organized at the Alberta legislature on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Tristan Mottershead/CBC)
He noted that if the majority of Albertans vote for the province to stay in Canada, Ottawa may not feel the need to address long-standing grievances and won’t feel the need to change the Constitution to respect provincial autonomy.
“That will just create further impetus for the independence movement to grow,” Wilson said.
Several people spoke at the podium to address the boisterous crowd Saturday afternoon, including American UFC fighter Sean Strickland.
“You contribute more than your fair share into this government, and what do you get back? High taxes, you don’t get a voice in this government. You get stepped on,” Strickland said.
One attendee, Chris Anderson, said he doesn’t like the direction the country is going.
“I think it’s just important that we all stand up for our freedoms and I think our freedoms are something that’s on the way out here in Canada.”
Anderson said he was pro-independence a year ago and is even more so now because he disagrees with the way the federal government has conducted trade negotiations with the United States.
“My whole life, I’ve always thought that we’ve always been very good friends with the United States,” Anderson said.
“We are North Americans … we have to learn to get along in North America.”
People from across the province were expected to attend, with the pro-separatist group arranging buses to take people from various cities to the Alberta legislature. According to the group’s website, 10 buses were rented to transport people living outside the capital city for a round-trip fee. Two buses each from Calgary and Leduc have sold out.
The Edmonton Police Service issued a traffic advisory Saturday morning, saying the demonstration could affect traffic in the city’s core and around the legislative grounds. It advises motorists about potential delays in that area and to consider taking alternate routes.
The scheduled rally is just one of several that have happened, or are planned, over the final days before Monday’s provincewide referendum, which will feature 10 questions.
The most notable question asks Albertans whether they want the province to remain in Confederation, or if they want the provincial government to start the legal process to hold a binding secession referendum.
According to Elections Alberta, hundreds of thousands of Albertans have already cast their ballots via mail or advance polls, which close at 8 p.m. Saturday.
On Monday, voting locations are open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. If there are any lineups, stations will stay open longer to allow people to finish voting.
Polling has consistently suggested that most Albertans want to stay in Canada. But according to Elections Alberta, a significant number of Albertans back the independence movement: it verified almost 222,600 signatures for the Stay Free Alberta citizen initiative petition, headed by Mitch Sylvestre, leader of the Alberta Prosperity Project.
In late August, hundreds of people gathered at the legislature for another pro-separation rally.
Calgarians join provincewide unity rallies
In Calgary, crowds marched through downtown from City Hall to the McDougall Centre Saturday as part of a provincewide show of support for Canadian unity.
“Vote like your future depends on it, because it does,” Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) president Gil McGowan told rally-goers.
Crowds marched through downtown from City Hall to the McDougall Centre on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026 to show support for Canadian unity at a march organized by the Alberta Federation of Labour. (Terri Trembath/CBC)
Violet Tasa volunteered at the rally to protest all 10 questions on the ballot. Tasa feels the referendum is unnecessary.
“This is disrespectful to people just trying to make their lives work,” Tasa said.
For fellow rally-goer Chris Galloway, the message was that “it’s so, so important that people show up to vote.”
The Calgary rally was one of more than a dozen unity events across Alberta on Saturday, with rallies also held in Airdrie, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, St. Albert and other communities.
The AFL will hold another unity rally at the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton on Sunday.