The group petitioning for a referendum question on Alberta separation can begin collecting signatures as early as Saturday, Elections Alberta says.

The province’s chief electoral officer has issued petition signature sheets to the Alberta Prosperity Project, a group seeking an answer to the question of whether the province should leave Canada to become an independent state.

The group now has until May 2 to collect 177,732 signatures, or 10 per cent of the total number of votes cast in the 2023 provincial election.

The project’s communications team said it planned to start collecting between Jan. 5 and Jan. 10, giving Elections Alberta time to process the registration of their canvassers.