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One of the most prominent faces of the Alberta separatism movement says if the votes on referendum day do not go in their favour, the fight does not stop.
Mitch Sylvestre, CEO of the Alberta Prosperity Project, told CBC News in an interview in late September that nothing will change for the group, unless things drastically change with Ottawa.
“Why would we stop this movement? We’re not doing it for any reason [other than] that we think that the sky is falling here,” he said.
“What would give anybody the impression that we would abandon this? We think that we’re right. We think there is a problem here.”
On Oct. 19, Albertans will vote on whether to stay in Canada or to open the door to a binding referendum on whether or not the province should leave.
Polls have consistently shown that the vast majority of Albertans want to remain in Canada, with a recent poll commissioned by CBC News showing that support for Option 2 appears to be softening.
Sylvestre, who said he does not give much weight to polls, told CBC News that he will accept the outcome of the vote “for what it is,” but added it would not be the end of the line for supporters, regardless of the result.
The Stay Free Alberta petitioners claimed more than a month ago to have the required 178,000 signatures to trigger a referendum. Now the group says that count is well over 300,000. (Alice Burgat/Radio-Canada)
“That doesn’t mean we’re gonna quit if we don’t like them,” he said.
Sylvestre said he wouldn’t be surprised if support for a binding referendum on separation received 40 to 65 per cent of the vote, adding that he has done 200 town halls and has seen the support for independence first hand.
When asked if there is a percentage of the vote that might give him pause and consider putting the issue to bed, Sylvestre said it would take a severe thumping for him to change his mind.
“If this vote is really skewered one way or the other, especially against us, if I really believed that we got 10 or 12 per cent of the vote, you know what, that’ll change my opinion on things. No doubt about it. Whether the movement will die or not, that’s not my responsibility to say because … I can’t speak for every Albertan,” he said.
When asked what Alberta Premier Danielle Smith plans to do if the fight for secession continues, the premier’s press secretary Sam Blackett did not get into specifics.
“The premier looks forward to seeing the direction Albertans give us on October 19th and will respect and honour the results. We expect all Albertans to do the same,” Blackett said in a statement.
“We hope to get a strong mandate from Albertans on our other nine questions and for remaining in Canada, so that we can continue our work to build a stronger Alberta within a united Canada.”
Mail-in ballots
Elections Alberta has said that over 650,000 mail-in ballots had been sent out, 11 times the number requested in the 2023 provincial election.
Albertans will vote on 10 questions in a referendum Oct. 19, including whether they support the province remaining in Confederation, or they support the province beginning the legal process to have a second, binding referendum on separation. (Janet French/CBC)
Sylvestre indicated that he distrusts mail-in ballots and said if those ballots favour staying in Canada, people will think the fix is in.
But when asked if he would trust mail-in ballots that are in favour of the option for an eventual vote, Sylvestre said he would.
“We have nothing to do with the process, OK? We have nothing to do with where they go. We have nothing to do with basic collecting them when they get back. We have scrutineers in place and we have a lot of them,” he said.
“Historically the cheat has always gone the other way with the left. Now, I don’t know, I ’ve said this from the very start, let’s just everybody show up to the poll, let’s vote in person.”
According to Elections Alberta, if a mail-in ballot does not contain copies of accepted ID or declaration, it cannot be accepted. The agency will attempt to contact the voter for these documents but if they are not received, the ballot will be rejected.
A spokesperson also said that generally fraudulent voting is “a very rare thing,” adding there have been three cases where letters of reprimand were issued in the past 10 years or more for cases of ineligible voters attempting to vote.
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