{"id":685960,"date":"2026-05-22T08:11:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/685960\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T08:11:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:11:13","slug":"albertas-referendum-on-a-separation-referendum-elicits-bewilderment-concern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/685960\/","title":{"rendered":"Alberta\u2019s referendum on a separation referendum elicits bewilderment, concern"},"content":{"rendered":"

Premier Danielle Smith announced\u00a0 Thursday the upcoming Alberta referendum<\/a> on Oct. 19 will include a new question about whether Albertans want, at a future date, to hold a binding referendum on the province leaving Canada.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cKicking the can down the road only prolongs a very emotional and important debate,\u201d Smith said in televised speech. \u201cIt\u2019s time to have a vote, understand the will of Albertans on this subject, and move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what some are saying about the premier\u2019s announcement:<\/p>\n

Lori Williams
Mount Royal University political scientist<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what she\u2019s trying to do is satisfy both those who want to remain in Canada and those who want a separatism referendum \u2014 and she\u2019s likely to satisfy neither.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff Rath
Lawyer for Stay Free Alberta separatist group behind referendum petition tied up in court<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s just alienated the most hardcore portion of her base\u2026. The 301,620 people that signed the petition are smart enough to see through it, and she has just created an unstoppable political force in the province of Alberta that will be rallying against her.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\tAndrew Knack
Mayor of Edmonton\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\u201cPremier Smith\u2019s government is causing severe economic uncertainty that will only result in lost investment and lost jobs that we all rely on\u2026 When the separatist agenda and virtue signalling take priority over stable and collaborative governance, Albertans lose out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cam Davies
Leader of the pro-independence Republican Party of Alberta<\/p>\n

\u201cA vote to have a vote is the literal definition of kicking the can down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas Lukaszuk
Organizer of the pro-Canada Forever Canadian petition<\/p>\n

\u201cDanielle Smith decided that six months of a divisive campaign and economic damage to Alberta isn\u2019t long enough. She wants to hold a referendum on holding a referendum to break up Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naheed Nenshi
Alberta Opposition NDP Leader<\/p>\n

\u201cThis spring and summer, we\u2019re going to be knocking on doors, we\u2019re going to be talking to our neighbours, we\u2019re going to be mobilizing, we\u2019re going to make sure that Danielle Smith and the separatists get the defeat they so richly deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMore on Politics
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Corey Hogan
Alberta Liberal member of Parliament<\/p>\n

\u201cThis baffling, referendum-on-a-referendum question will do nothing to settle anything. It adds another layer of confusion. It will divide. It will distract. It will damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n

\t\t\tDominic LeBlanc
Federal intergovernmental affairs minister<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we take note of Premier Smith\u2019s address this evening, we remain focused on building a stronger Canada for all in full partnership with Alberta and to the benefit of all Albertans and all Canadians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Billy-Joe Tuccaro
Chief of Mikisew Cree First Nation<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question announced today is intended to be the beginning of the end of Treaty, in a manufactured UCP separatist crisis. A year ago, no one was talking about this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation<\/p>\n

\u201cAlbertans are now seeing Danielle Smith\u2019s government for what it is: undemocratic, authoritarian, and willing to bend to the whims of a loud, angry majority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pierre Poilievre
Federal Conservative Leader<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a strong Canadian federalist, a proud Albertan and a proud Canadian. I want a strong Alberta within a united Canada, and all Conservatives will be campaigning for Canadian unity in Alberta.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 With files from The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Premier Danielle Smith announced\u00a0 Thursday the upcoming Alberta referendum on Oct. 19 will include a new question about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":685961,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7611,25159,25158,49,48,44,714],"class_list":["post-685960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-alberta-legislature","tag-alberta-referendum","tag-alberta-separatism","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685960","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=685960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/685960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/685961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=685960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=685960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=685960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}