Mitch Sylvestre, leader of the Stay Free Alberta campaign, led a convoy to the Alberta Elections Commission office in Edmonton on 5/5 to submit lists of signatures supporting the secession effort.

"This is a historic day for Alberta. We've passed the playoffs and are now in the finals," Sylvestre said.

The Alberta provincial government authorized Stay Free Alberta in late 2025 to begin collecting voter signatures for a referendum on independence from Canada. After 5 months, the campaign gathered nearly 302,000 signatures, significantly surpassing the mandated minimum of 178,000 to propose a referendum.

Stay Free Alberta staff transport boxes of signatures into the Alberta Elections Commission office on 5/5. *CBC*

Sylvestre stated that most records were checked up to 5 times to verify signature validity. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced she would expedite the process if the signatures are validated. The province-wide referendum could occur as early as october.

Economic hardship, concerns over a lack of representation, and limited autonomy in oil exports are reasons many Albertans support the province separating from Canada. Alberta holds about 85% of the country's oil reserves and contributes 17% to the national GDP, yet its provincial members of parliament occupy only about 10% of Canada's total parliamentary seats.

Premier Smith previously accused former federal governments of enacting laws that hindered Alberta's ability to extract and export oil, costing the province billions of USD.

Prime Minister Mark Carney's government has not commented on Stay Free Alberta's submission of signatures for its secession campaign.

The location of Alberta province in Canada. *Britannica*

Experts, however, believe the secessionist movement's referendum effort is likely to fail, as many indigenous communities are filing lawsuits to prevent it.

"Currently, support for independence in Alberta is low, below 30%, and even lower among hardline supporters. At this point, the likelihood of secessionists winning is not high," commented Daniel Beland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal.

Beland also noted that the signature verification process is crucial, especially given recent reports of a major data breach involving an Alberta secessionist group.

Duc Trung (According to AP, CBC, National Post)