Premier Danielle Smith speaks during a news conference in Brooks on April 1, 2025. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

By Eli J. Ridder

POLITICS

Ex-MLA urges Premier Smith to lower referendum threshold

Apr 3, 2025 | 1:51 AM

Former Medicine Hat-area legislator Drew Barnes says Premier Danielle Smith should lower the threshold for Albertans to force an independence referendum after Smith said she doesn’t see herself putting the question to a ballot.

“The door is open, but only by the slimmest of margins,” Barnes said Wednesday.

Currently, an independence petition — as an issue requiring a constitutional amendment — would require 20 per cent of registered Alberta voters, or about 594,000 signatures.

Petitioners are granted 90 days from registering to acquire the support. There are also rules stipulating a minimum of support from across most of the provincial ridings.

“It’s not achievable and if she really supported it, you know, she can put the weight of her office and the government behind it,” Barnes added.

Smith on Tuesday said she doesn’t “foresee” the province initiating a succession vote. But she pointed out that citizens have options to make it happen, while also seeming to acknowledge a high bar.

“We do have citizen-initiated referenda, and it will be up to Albertans to decide what kinds of questions that they want to put forward,” she said during an unrelated news conference in Brooks.

“I don’t think we’ve seen any successful citizen-initiated referenda yet, but that’s the mechanism for things like that.”

The idea of Alberta separating from the rest of Canada has never seen majority support in modern times.

A Western Identity Report by Pollara that surveyed 2,000 western Canadians found that only about 20 per cent of both Alberta and Saskatchewan residents are in favour of leaving Canada.

Research Co. in 2023 found that 22 per cent of Albertans agreed with the idea of Alberta becoming a country. That number rises to 29 per cent for UCP voters.

However, the Pollara report also found 55 per cent of Albertans feel that their province is being treated unfairly by the federal government.

While acknowledging a successful independence effort may be out of reach, Barnes said there is a lot of support for a strong, independent province within Canada.

“What she can’t ignore is that Albertans are more than ever wanting to determine their future, wanting to do something about the affordability crisis, wanting to do something about the lack of opportunity,” Barnes said.

He added that Alberta should put Ottawa on notice “that we’re expecting a fair deal, that we’re expecting the chance for Albertans to determine their future and have opportunity and hope again.”

The premier, for her part, has long been adamant Ottawa needs to treat Alberta fairly.

Smith has laid out several demands for the next prime minister to address within six months of being elected, saying there will be a unprecedented national unity crisis if they don’t address the list.

But the premier made it clear Tuesday her focus is on improving the country over leaving it.

“I got a mandate to try to fix Canada. I got a mandate to try to make Canada work, and that’s what I’ve been working towards relentlessly over these last two and a half years,” she said.

Medicine Hat-based political consultant Jim Groom says her answer Tuesday shows she is backpedaling on the issue because of a negative impact it’s having on her favoured federal party.

“This is a premier in damage control mode,” said Groom.

“We’re right in the midst of a federal election where Canadians have never been so united against Donald Trump,” he added, in reference to the U.S. president’s damaging tariffs and threats to annex Canada.

“To have a premier continue to talk about the national unity crisis and the potential for independence and things of that nature, it’s just doing tremendous damage to the federal Conservatives.”