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First Nations chiefs from across Canada are calling on the federal and provincial governments to protect treaty rights from, what they say are, threats posed by Alberta separatism.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, at the annual meeting of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in Ottawa, chiefs passed a resolution asking the highest levels of government to ensure constitutional processes that impact First Nations only proceed with consultation and consent from affected groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe emergency resolution \u2026 states that no province has the legal authority to alter, diminish, or extinguish treaty rights or the constitutional relationship between First Nations and the Crown,\u201d said an AFN news release issued Thursday.<\/p>\n
The resolution also asks the federal and provincial governments to \u201cuphold the honour of the Crown\u201d and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the release said.<\/p>\n
The Alberta government has planned to normalize Alberta\u2019s separation from Canada, \u201cwhile failing to recognize or engage\u201d First Nations, whose treaty rights and interests \u201cwould be fundamentally affected by such constitutional change,\u201d the release said.<\/p>\n
WATCH | AFN national chief on Alberta independence:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784346866_770_default.jpg\")
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Alberta separatists are ‘not taking any land with them,’ says AFN national chief<\/p>\n
Asked about the Assembly of First Nations’ role leading up to Alberta’s referendum, National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said she doesn’t want to see a ‘Canadian rupture fuelled by foreign interference.’<\/p>\n
Premier Danielle Smith announced in May that a question concerning Alberta’s future in Canada<\/a> would be added to October\u2019s referendum ballot. The question asks if Alberta should remain a province of Canada, or if the provincial government should start the legal process to hold a binding referendum on separation.<\/p>\n Smith has repeatedly said she supports Alberta staying in Canada \u2014 something her spokesperson, Sam Blackett, said the provincial government, caucus and United Conservative Party also agree with.<\/p>\n \u201cWe remain focused on our work to restore Albertans hope in our country by building a stronger, more sovereign Alberta within a united Canada,\u201d Blackett said in a statement to CBC News on Thursday.<\/p>\n Smith\u2019s separation question followed a decision from Court of King\u2019s Bench Justice Shaina Leonard, which quashed the approval of the pro-separation Stay Free Alberta citizen-initiated petition.<\/p>\n In the ruling, which Smith later called \u201ctroubling,\u201d Leonard found Alberta’s chief electoral officer didn\u2019t properly execute its duty to consult with First Nations and failed to consider a previous court decision that said separation would violate treaty rights.<\/p>\n Leonard\u2019s decision has since been partially walked back, after an appeal by Stay Free Alberta organizers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Blackett said Thursday that Smith\u2019s separation referendum question doesn\u2019t trigger any duty to consult. However, multiple First Nations leaders have said any effort by Alberta to secede from Canada would breach the relationship between the Crown and Indigenous peoples<\/a>.<\/p>\n Treaty First Nations in Alberta stressed any secession proposal would \u201cdirectly affect First Nations\u2019 rights, lands, territories, and future, and therefore cannot proceed,\u201d read the AFN\u2019s release.<\/p>\n When announcing the referendum question, Smith said her proposed question could reveal how Albertans truly feel about independence.<\/p>\n LISTEN | Why is it so hard to talk about separatism?:<\/p>\n This is Edmonton25:59Why is it so hard to talk about separatism?<\/p>\n All is fair in love, war and referendums\u2026 or is it? As Alberta approaches the Oct. 19 vote and the question of separating from Canada, emotions are high, and having conversations across the political spectrum can be difficult. However, it\u2019s more important than ever to come together and talk about it. University of Alberta political science professor Jared Wesley offers practical advice on how to talk to our neighbours about politics and why this conversation matters.<\/p>\n \u201cKicking 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,\u201d Smith said about Leonard\u2019s decision, when she announced the question in May.<\/p>\n Blackett said some 700,000 Albertans signed petitions asking for a referendum on separation. Although that figure, which government officials have cited before, has been controversial.<\/p>\n Elections Alberta verified that more than 404,000 people signed the pro-Confederation Forever Canadian petition, launched by former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk. His citizen-initiative application<\/a> suggests the petition sought a legislative or policy proposal, not a referendum.\u00a0<\/p>\n Critics of the separation question Smith announced have also argued these signatories don\u2019t want a referendum on the matter.<\/p>\n