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Several Alberta First Nations are expected in court to challenge a proposed referendum question calling for the province’s independence.
They want the Alberta separatism petition declared null and void and the process deemed unconstitutional.
“It’s an unconstitutional question that’s going to have an impact on our Treaty relationship, so we’re going to have to take a stand,” said Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation Chief Sheldon Sunshine.
Sturgeon Lake, located in Treaty 8 territory, is scheduled to be in court Tuesday.
The Indigenous community in the Grande Prairie region is one of several First Nations challenging the provincial legislation permitting citizen-led petitions that seek referendum votes, such as the ongoing campaign to put separation on a ballot.
Indigenous leaders have been vocally opposed to the separatist movement in Alberta, arguing the province does not have jurisdiction over their lands.
Treaties 6, 7 and 8, all of which were signed with the Crown between 1875 and 1899, predate the existence of Alberta, which joined Confederation in 1905.
In December, a judge ruled the proposed separation question is unconstitutional.
It came after chief electoral officer Gordon McClure referred a referendum on Alberta becoming a “sovereign country” proposed by the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) to the Court of King’s Bench last summer, to determine if it was constitutional.
In December, Justice Minister Mickey Amery introduced Bill 14, which gave himself the authority to approve or deny petitions for a referendum, rather than the chief electoral officer.
Less than a day later, Justice Colin Feasby of the Court of King’s Bench ruled that a referendum on Alberta independence would be an unconstitutional violation of Treaty rights.
But with Bill 14 in effect, McClure approved a petition from a new organization with the same leaders as the APP, Stay Free Alberta, with a slightly reworded question that refers to Alberta becoming an “independent state” — effectively ending the court review.
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The group pushing for the referendum said last week it had collected the required approximate 178,000 signatures to trigger the vote.
Stay Free Alberta said those people deserve to be heard and the province’s changes mean there shouldn’t be any legal action at this time.
“The idea they need to be consulted prior to citizens being able to communicate their views to the legislature is frankly, just silly,” said Jeffrey Rath, a lawyer for the organization.
“This is a purely political issue.”
Speaking to reporters last week, Justice Minister Mickey Amery said his government will review any outcome.
Premier Danielle Smith has said she will move forward with a provincewide referendum if the required number of signatures are gathered and verified.
The NDP has been accusing her government of procedurally delaying moving forward on a “Forever Canadian” petition organized by former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk to make it official policy that Alberta stay in Canada.
That petition successfully gathered over 456,000 signatures as of October 2025, far exceeding the 294,000 required under previous rules the UCP has since changed.
The Forever Canadian petition was verified successful by Elections Alberta in early December.
Opposition leader Naheed Nenshi has also criticized Smith for reducing signature thresholds to make it easier for a separation question to go on a referendum ballot.
“This isn’t democracy. This is a premier grasping for power,” he said last week.
Smith said last Tuesday questions need to be cleared up on whether Lukaszuk’s petition drive was to trigger a provincewide referendum or trigger a vote by legislators in the house.
Lukaszuk said in an interview with The Canadian Press last week that he is concerned Smith will allow the separatist question to leapfrog his own.
“She’s been driving the Zamboni, clearing the ice for them to compel her to have a referendum.”
He said he filed his petition as a policy proposal because he wants it to be resolved in the legislature by a vote, but the premier can put his question on a referendum if she wants.
Lukaszuk said his group is readying for a referendum should it be called. “I can’t sit on my hands.”
A legislature committee led by UCP MLAs is set to meet April 21 to begin work to discuss the Forever Canadian petition.
NDP deputy leader Rakhi Pancholi has noted that if the committee doesn’t report to the legislature by the time the house rises in mid-May, the petition it won’t be tabled until after a referendum on immigration and constitutional questions planned for late October that could also include the separatists’ question.
For more information on this story, watch the video above.
— With files from Lisa Johnson and Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press
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