{"id":443858,"date":"2026-01-30T22:02:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T22:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/443858\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T22:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T22:02:15","slug":"members-of-smiths-caucus-have-signed-referendum-petition-alberta-separatist-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/443858\/","title":{"rendered":"Members of Smith\u2019s caucus have signed referendum petition, Alberta separatist says"},"content":{"rendered":"

A leader of Alberta\u2019s separatist movement says some members of Premier Danielle Smith\u2019s United Conservative Party caucus have signed the petition looking to force a vote on the province leaving Canada.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI know of [UCP members of the legislature] that have signed the petition,\u201d Jeff Rath, a lawyer for Stay Free Alberta, the group organizing the petition campaign, said Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re confident that more of them will [sign], because they believe in allowing Albertans to have a say in their future.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t surprise anybody that UCP MLAs are signing the petition.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJeffrey Rath, lawyer for the group Stay Free Alberta, claims there are members of the province\u2019s governing UCP caucus who have signed the petition calling for a referendum on Alberta\u2019s independence from Canada.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The petition, launched earlier this month, calls for a referendum to ask Albertans: Do you agree that the province of\u00a0Alberta\u00a0should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?<\/p>\n

It needs to collect almost 178,000 signatures by May. If successful, it would then be up to Smith\u2019s justice minister to refer it to the lieutenant-governor to call a referendum.<\/p>\n

Rath wouldn\u2019t name the caucus members who signed or say how many, citing confidentiality rules that dictate Alberta\u2019s petition process.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s office deferred questions about whether her legislature members have signed the petition to the UCP caucus. It said Rath doesn\u2019t speak for its members.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur United Conservative government is focused on building a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada,\u201d the caucus said in a statement.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s the work that we were elected to do, and that\u2019s the work we\u2019re doing every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:22
\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\t\u2018Treason\u2019: B.C. premier Eby slams Alberta separatist group for seeking U.S. assistance to \u2018break up\u2019 Canada\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Smith has faced and declined calls from other premiers this week to denounce the separation movement, especially after news that separatist leaders have been meeting with U.S. officials about their push for independence.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"For<\/p>\n

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For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n

At a press conference in Edmonton on Friday, the deputy leader of the Alberta NDP accused Smith of \u201cpandering\u201d to the separatists to protect her job.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose separatists do not have the democratic right to represent the people of Alberta or our country, but they\u2019re out there having those conversations,\u201d Rakhi Pancholi said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe deputy leader of Alberta\u2019s opposition NDP speaks to reporters at a press conference in Edmonton Friday, during which she accused Premier Danielle Smith of \u201cpandering\u201d to Alberta separatists.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u201cThe premier doesn\u2019t serve the Wexit folks. She doesn\u2019t serve the political base of her party. She serves the province of Alberta and the people who live here,\u201d Pancholi said. \u201cSo I don\u2019t really care if this is politically uncomfortable for the premier to have to admit that she has actively supported separatism in this province. The people of this province deserve to know the answer to that question.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Alberta Chambers of Commerce have denounced the prospect of a referendum on Alberta\u2019s independence as bad for business and claim it\u2019s driving away investment.<\/p>\n

Deborah Yedlin, president of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, has described it as \u201cbad for Alberta, but not just Alberta \u2014 it\u2019s bad for the country.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Pancholi points to the fallout from the 1995 referendum in Quebec as an example of what could happen in Alberta.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat actually created an economic disaster for Quebec and they are still recovering from that. We saw the flight of capital, of head offices, of small businesses out of Quebec for years because Quebec appeared to be an uncertain and unstable place for people to invest their dollars and to build their lives,\u201d Pancholi said.<\/p>\n

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has called on all MLAs to sign a pledge against separatism.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they don\u2019t, we\u2019ll just assume all of them signed the petition,\u201d Nenshi said in an interview. \u201c(Smith) now is in charge of a separatist party and a separatist government, and she obviously cannot control her own MLAs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMLAs with Alberta\u2019s NDP opposition display the pledge they\u2019ve signed against the province\u2019s separation from Canada during a press conference in Edmonton on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

On Friday, the NDP said all its members had signed the pledge, but so far no UCP members have stepped forward to sign.<\/p>\n

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The UCP\u2019s chief government whip, Justin Wright, called the NDP\u2019s pledge a \u201ccheap political stunt.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Pancholi responded by saying \u201ctheir silence speaks volumes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\tRelated News\n\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Respect Canadian sovereignty,\u2019 Carney tells US after Alberta separatists meet Trump officials\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tB.C. premier calls meeting between Alberta separatists, Trump officials \u2018treason\u2019\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

During this week\u2019s first ministers meeting in Ottawa, B.C. Premier David Eby accused Alberta separatists, including Rath, of engaging in \u201ctreason\u201d for meeting multiple times in recent months with U.S. State Department officials.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is completely inappropriate to seek to weaken Canada, to seek to go and ask for assistance to break up this country from a foreign power,\u201d Eby said.<\/p>\n

Other premiers didn\u2019t go so far, but many called on Smith to denounce the separation movement in her province.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an opportunity for Premier Smith to stand up and say enough is enough,\u201d Ontario Premier Doug Ford said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEither you\u2019re with Canada or you\u2019re not with Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, so far Smith has declined to denounce the separatists, saying after the Ottawa meeting that she won\u2019t demonize those in Alberta who have \u201clost hope\u201d in Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we need to do is we need to give Albertans hope,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to show them, not just tell them, not just words, but with actions that Canada can work.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Smith said she expects the U.S. administration to respect Canada\u2019s sovereignty and that she\u2019ll be raising the issue with her delegate in Washington.<\/p>\n

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\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 separatism question lingers after first ministers\u2019 meeting\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Rath has admitted to attending meetings with U.S. officials but denied that his actions amounted to treason.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have not entered into any agreements with the United States with regard to anything. We have not solicited funds from them. We are not receiving funds from them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rath said he discussed with U.S. officials a $500-billion fund or loan to help Alberta transition into an independent country but that it was more hypothetical than a serious attempt to solicit funds from a foreign government.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tA long line of people forms outside an Alberta independence petition signing event in Calgary on Jan. 26, 2026.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The referendum petition, spearheaded by Mitch Sylvestre, who is also the UCP constituency association president in the riding of Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul, has drawn large crowds at meetings across the province in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think we\u2019re exceeding everybody\u2019s expectations,\u201d Rath said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s really excited and joyful about having the opportunity to sign\u00a0Alberta\u00a0out of Canada, and we\u2019re going to keep moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

An Ipsos poll, released earlier this week, said approximately 29 per cent of Albertans would vote to separate from Canada<\/a>, but only half that number would support separation when faced with the costs and consequences of doing so.<\/p>\n

\u2014 with files from Global News<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:50
\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\tAnother Alberta First Nation promises legal action over separation\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A leader of Alberta\u2019s separatist movement says some members of Premier Danielle Smith\u2019s United Conservative Party caucus have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":443859,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[78630,173406,49,48,44],"class_list":{"0":"post-443858","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-alberta-politics","9":"tag-alberta-separation-referendum","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}