{"id":427696,"date":"2026-01-23T08:56:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T08:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/427696\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T08:56:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T08:56:14","slug":"hundreds-line-up-to-endorse-referendum-on-alberta-leaving-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/427696\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds line up to endorse referendum on Alberta leaving Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n\t\t\t\tBy Jack Farrell<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Canadian Press\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tPosted January 22, 2026 6:38 pm\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t1 min read\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tDescrease article font size<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tIncrease article font size<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of Albertans braved bone-chilling temperatures west of Edmonton to sign a petition to force a vote <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/alberta-separatism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">on the province leaving Canada<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/70c8fc80.png\" alt=\"\" style=\"position:absolute;width:1px;height:1px\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\"\/><\/p>\n<p>People in <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/tag\/stony-plain\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Stony Plain<\/a> on Thursday were met by a long lineup when the doors at the community centre opened around lunchtime, with some waiting more than an hour to sign.<\/p>\n<p>Roger Cyr says he signed the petition because he says he\u2019s tired of Alberta subsidizing other provinces while also being ignored by Ottawa.<\/p>\n<p>\t\tPrevious Image<\/p>\n<p>\t\tNext Image<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tClose Modal Gallery<\/p>\n<p>Shirley and Dave Howard also say they think Alberta would be better off financially if it became independent.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>The Stony Plain event was one of many organized by a group named Stay Free Alberta to gather signatures in a referendum campaign sanctioned by the province\u2019s chief electoral officer.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\tTrending Now\n\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11624727\/mark-carney-cabinet-retreat-speech\/\" class=\"c-posts__inner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769158572_699_1f2e7930882edf558347920b01c040aa6adf6b7f6f84207be89dda2ccfa5fe54.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tCarney says Canada\u2019s values \u2018must be fought for\u2019 amid \u2018democratic decline\u2019\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11624440\/child-detained-ice-boy-liam-ramos-minnesota\/\" class=\"c-posts__inner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-posts__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769158573_79_liam-ramos-ice.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"336\" height=\"224\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\tICE detains 5-year-old Minnesota boy as he arrives home from school\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Alberta separatists look to escape \u2018abusive relationship\u2019 from Canada as movement grows'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/260115-HEATHER.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   data-\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:57<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlberta separatists look to escape \u2018abusive relationship\u2019 from Canada as movement grows\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>The events have been running for three weeks <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/11615147\/alberta-separatists-praise-turnout-petition-signing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">with long lines reported at sites across the province.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767930311_275_national.jpg\" alt=\"For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tGet breaking National news<\/p>\n<p>For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n<p>Organizers have until May to collect 178,000 names \u2014 of which 10 per cent must be eligible voters from the last provincial election.<\/p>\n<p>The signatures must then be validated by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.elections.ab.ca\/recall-initiative\/initiative\/current-initiative-petitions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">the province\u2019s Chief Electoral Officer<\/a>, before the petition can be presented to the Alberta government.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 More to come\u2026<\/p>\n<p>With files from Ken MacGillivray and Heather Yourex-West, Global News<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore on Canada<br \/>\n\t\t\tMore videos\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t&amp;copy 2026 The Canadian Press\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Jack Farrell The Canadian Press Posted January 22, 2026 6:38 pm 1 min read Descrease article 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