‘Serious business’: Judge to go ahead with review of Alberta separation question

EDMONTON — A judicial review of a proposed Alberta separation referendum question will go ahead, after an application to quash the proceeding and have the question approved without scrutiny was denied.

Court of King’s Bench Justice Colin Feasby said in his ruling Thursday that a judicial review and full hearing on the constitutionality of the question would benefit democracy.

“A referendum on Alberta independence that could lead to the breakup of Canada is serious business,” the judge said, adding that he thinks there are valid arguments to be made on both sides of the issue.

“The citizens of Alberta deserve to have these arguments made properly and heard in full. Democracy demands nothing less.”

Alberta’s chief electoral officer, Gordon McClure, referred the question to court last month so a judge could determine whether it violates the Constitution, including treaty rights.

The proposed question: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province in Canada?”

The group that submitted the question, the Alberta Prosperity Project, applied last week to have the referral quashed.

Feasby said there was a high threshold to throw the review out and arguments made by the group’s lawyer fell short.

“The referendum proponent calls (McClure’s) referral to the court premature, an abuse of process and an affront to democracy. It is none of those things,” the judge said.

“The referral to the court may result in delay, but it reinforces the legitimacy of the referendum process by ensuring that unconstitutional questions are not put to a vote.”

Lawyers for Justice Minister Mickey Amery and the chief electoral officer didn’t take a position on the application to quash the referral. However, the minister and Premier Danielle Smith have criticized McClure, saying they think the question is constitutional and should have been approved.

Feasby said McClure was following best practices set out in other provinces and other parts of the world.

The judge also said McClure taking a stance would be seen as a partisan move from an official who’s supposed to be independent.

Jeffrey Rath, the lawyer for the Alberta Prosperity Project, said outside court he wasn’t surprised his application failed.

But he’s confident the question will survive the scrutiny of the review to come.

“We’re going to move forward and it’ll give us a lot more opportunity to continue to talk to our fellow Albertans about the benefits of independence,” Rath said.

“We’re looking forward to getting this process forward and having Albertans finally have their say on whether or not Alberta should remain part of Canada.”

The judge scheduled three days for a hearing in November.

Some interveners will be allowed to take part, Feasby said.

“Difficult choices will be made on who participates, and it’s going to be what, in my view, is a representative group that can bring the important issues forward for the court to consider,” he said.

A lawyer for Amery told the judge that the minister plans to make submissions. Other groups, including the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in northern Alberta, have also said they want to be heard.

Opposition NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir, in a statement, called on Smith and Amery to stop encouraging the Alberta Prosperity Project and their desire for a referendum on separation.

“The premier and this (United Conservative Party) government need to stop pandering to these extremist groups, especially those led by her own party members who want to destroy our country,” said Sabir, referring to Mitch Sylvestre, the chief executive officer of the Alberta Prosperity Project, who is also president of a UCP constituency association.

If the proposed question is approved, the Alberta Prosperity Project and Sylvestre would need to collect 177,000 signatures in four months to get it on a ballot.

A competing referendum question was approved by McClure in June and asks if Alberta should declare an official policy that it will never separate from Canada.

Efforts to gather signatures for that proposal, put forward by former Progressive Conservative deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk, got underway earlier this month.

Lukaszuk, who is also seeking to intervene in the review, needs to collect nearly 300,000 signatures in 90 days in order to get his question on a ballot. His application was approved before new provincial rules with lower signature thresholds took effect.

He told reporters Thursday that Feasby’s decision to carry on with the review was “a win not only for democracy but for Elections Alberta and its independence.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press