Organizers for the Stay Free Alberta petition gathered at the Stettler Community Hall on Friday, working to meet a looming deadline to trigger a provincial referendum on independence.
Under Alberta’s petition rules, organizers must collect 177,732 valid signatures from eligible voters within 120 days in order to trigger consideration of a referendum on the question.
The petition is calling for a referendum on the question: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be part of Canada to become an independent state?“
The March 6th event in Stettler was organized to help collect signatures for the petition drive.
Hometown Media Stettler attended & spoke with Chris Scott, owner of the Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror.
“We wanna hit as many of these towns as we can & have these discussions, specifically with people who don’t understand what’s going on, or who are opposed to my preference, which is an independent Alberta, and I want to hear people’s concerns.” says Scott.
Once the face of pandemic-era resistance, Chris Scott is now leading a province-wide push to see Alberta leave Canada.
After being arrested & fined $20,000 for hosting an anti-lockdown rally in 2021, Scott was acquitted in 2023 when a judge ruled the provincial health orders were invalid.
Hometown also spoke with John Reil, who discussed the broader political debate surrounding Alberta’s relationship with Ottawa.
Reil, the former leader of the Alberta First Party, emphasized the campaign’s focus on grassroots engagement & the history of Alberta & Saskatchewan coming into confederation.
“The fact of the matter is, if we don’t do this now, we never will. The likelihood that we will ever do it is very slim. The best example of that is Quebec, they tried in the early nineties & late eighties.” noted Reil.
Petition Process
The citizen petition process was first established under legislation introduced by former Premier Jason Kenney, allowing Albertans to propose laws or referendums if signature thresholds are met.
More recently, Premier Danielle Smith lowered the threshold required to launch such petitions.
The change reduced the requirement from 20 percent of registered voters to 10 percent of ballots cast in the previous provincial election, & extended the signature-gathering window from 90 days to 120 days.
Signature Deadline
Organizers have until early May to submit signatures to Elections Alberta for verification.
All signatories must be eligible Alberta electors & each signature must be physically witnessed by a registered canvasser.
Premier Smith has already scheduled a province-wide referendum for Oct. 19, 2026, which currently focuses on immigration & constitutional reform.
Author: Landin Chambers
Landin Chambers is a news reporter for Hometown Media Stettler. He has a background in broadcast news, with previous roles in Prince George, Red Deer and Calgary. You may also see him as a cameraman for the Stettler Wildcats and Stettler Imperials. Have a story idea? Email: lchambers@htproductionsmedia.ca
