Judge overturns Elections Alberta’s approval of separation referendum petition

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Judge overturns Elections Alberta’s approval of separation referendum petition

CBC News
Michelle Bellefontaine
May 13, 2026

The Alberta government says it plans to appeal a decision by an Alberta Court of King’s Bench justice that has quashed the approval of a petition seeking a referendum on Alberta independence.

The judge's decision puts the future of Stay Free Alberta's independence petition, which the separatist group said has garnered more than 300,000 names, in question.

In two decisions issued Wednesday, Justice Shaina Leonard found that Elections Alberta's chief electoral officer Gordon McClure made an error in law to approve the second citizen initiative petition and failed to consider an earlier court decision that said separation would violate Indigenous people's treaty rights.

Leonard's conclusion says there was an error of law, "rendering the [chief electoral officer]'s decision unreasonable."

At an unrelated news conference, Premier Danielle Smith spoke about her government's plans to appeal Leonard's decision.

"We think that today's decision by the court will deny opportunity to well over 300,000 Albertans to have their petition verified by Elections Alberta," Smith said Wednesday afternoon.

"We think that this decision is incorrect in law and anti-democratic, and we will be appealing it as a result.

"Our cabinet and caucus will, of course, be meeting in the next couple of days to discuss the full context and make some decisions after we've had a chance to talk it through."

(more)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/judge-quashes-decision-to-approve-separation-petition-9.7198553

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