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Alberta’s election agency announced Monday it has approved a proposed referendum question on the province separating from Canada.
The question seeks a yes or no answer to: “Do you agree that the province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?”
Elections Alberta said the proponents — the Alberta Prosperity Project and its chief executive officer, Mitch Sylvestre — have until early January to appoint a financial officer for its petition campaign, after which signature collection can begin.
Sylvestre, a constituency association president for Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party, has four months to collect just under 178,000 signatures. If he does so, the question would be put to Albertans in a referendum.
The Alberta Prosperity Project said on social media that it believes the approval is a “huge victory” for the province.
“This is the breakthrough we’ve been fighting for,” the group said. “Soon, we’ll be collecting signatures to put Alberta’s future directly in your hands.”
The question is similar to one the same group previously submitted: “Do you agree that the province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province in Canada?”
That question was held up in court for a review of its constitutionality.
The delay prompted Smith’s government to change the rules for citizen-initiated referendums earlier this month.
Those changes rendered the court review moot and allowed Sylvestre to reapply at no charge.
