Elections Alberta says it has validated a citizen-led petition seeking a vote on whether the province should separate from Canada, but the initiative remains on hold as its legality is contested in court.
Nearly 223,000 signatures have been verified, far exceeding the 177,732 signatures required for the petition to be considered successful, according to Elections Alberta. The agency noted that the verified total amounts to approximately 7.5 percent of Alberta’s estimated 2.97 million registered electors.
The validation follows an earlier overturning of the petition moving forward in May, in which Justice Shaina Leonard of the Alberta Court of King’s Bench ruled that the province hadn’t fulfilled its duty to fully consult First Nations about how separation could impact their treaty rights. …