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Large crowds of people lined up around the block outside a pair of packed community halls in central Alberta on Wednesday night, to attend town meetings focused on the idea of the province seeking independence from Canada.
The events were held in Red Deer and Eckville and were organized by the Stay Free Alberta campaign. Attendees could hear more about the campaign for a referendum on independence and also sign a petition pushing for such a referendum.
A common theme among people who showed up at the events was a desire for change.
“I don’t think that we’re heard here in Alberta as they are in the East, and we want to see some change,” said Sara Moberg, who lined up to sign the petition in Red Deer.
The petition was brought forward by Mitch Sylvestre, CEO of the Alberta Prosperity Project. Sylvestre, who spoke to attendees at the event in Eckville, got approval from Elections Alberta in December to start collecting signatures.
Stay Free Alberta has nearly four months to gather close to 178,000 signatures.
Moberg said her motivation was rooted in concern for the future.
“I want to see change for my kids,” she said. “I don’t want them to carry all the debt that’s going to happen if we keep what we have right now.
“I want my kids to see that I stood for something I believed in.”
Tracy Worthington was also at the Red Deer event. She said she’s hoping Albertans will choose “independence and the ability to govern ourselves without any federal overreach.”
Supporters of Alberta’s independence lined up in central Alberta Wednesday night to sign a petition, calling for the province to separate from the rest of Canada. CBC’s Lina Elsaadi went to one of the events to chat with attendees.
Brandie Bowman said she is confident the group will reach the required number of signatures.
“The lines are there everywhere, at every event. It doesn’t matter if it’s a small town, a big city or a medium-sized city,” she said.
Bowman also spoke about grievances like being tired of equalization payments, and why she thinks sovereignty feels like a viable option.
“Jobs, homes … the ability to actually develop all of our resources,” she said. “Not just oil and gas, but our agriculture, critical minerals, forestry, … everything is hidden behind red tape.”
Already over 2,000 canvassers
Sylvestre said he is ecstatic about the turnout he has seen since he was able to start collecting signatures.
“All this hall will be full,” Sylvestre told CBC News shortly before the speeches were delivered in Eckville. “They will be lined up around the building to sign. And that’s been what we’re seeing every night.”
Sylvestre said his campaign already has over 2,000 canvassers and is a “true grassroots movement.”
Sylvan Lake resident Darwin Graff was at the event in Eckville. He said he believes if the campaign is successful in posing its referendum question to Albertans and then they vote to separate from Canada, he thinks Alberta could face some hard times at first.
“But once that stability is placed back into the province again, I think Alberta is going to thrive,” he said.
“With the oilsands as a staple, we’ve got other resources as well, that are gonna play a role in that as well.”
The next petition signing events are scheduled for Friday in Okotoks, Drayton Valley and the James River Bridge area. More than 20 such events are planned across the province in the coming weeks.
Last year, Sylvestre applied to have a similar referendum question heard: “Do you agree that the province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province in Canada?”
That question was later deemed unconstitutional by an Alberta judge. But late last year, the provincial government passed amendments to Bill 14, which allows for citizen initiatives to go ahead even if their constitutionality has not been assessed.
Around the same time, the “Forever Canadian” petition was verified as successful by Elections Alberta, with over 400,000 votes. It asks the opposing question: “Do you agree that Alberta should remain within Canada?”
That petition, launched by former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk could trigger a referendum, but he has previously said his goal is to have Premier Danielle Smith ask the petition’s question in the legislature and have MLAs vote on it.
Sylvestre told CBC News that the number of signatories to the petition would not be shared until the end of the collection period.
