On a windy Sunday at The Confluence, Canadian country music star Corb Lund strummed his guitar in front of dozens of people, promoting the Water Not Coal petition to stop new coal mining in Alberta. The petition is in its final weeks of gathering signatures, with a goal of at least 177,000 by June 10 to present to lawmakers.
Lund, known for his hit This Is My Prairie, has become a vocal advocate against open-pit coal mining in the Rocky Mountains. He emphasized that the issue transcends political lines. 'It's not just an urban issue,' Lund told reporters. 'I don't care about political parties. It wasn't left-leaning environmental people that brought me into the fight. It was the ranching families west of Nanton who were going to have their places messed up by strip mining and their rivers ruined.'
This marks the first political issue Lund has publicly addressed, highlighting its importance to him. He participated in a three-day horseback ride from Longview to Edmonton alongside ranchers to raise awareness and collect signatures.
Water Not Coal Campaign
The Water Not Coal campaign, founded by Laura Laing, has been active for six years. It began when foreign coal companies approached ranchers, and the government rescinded a decades-old policy blocking open-pit coal development. The campaign aims to prohibit new coal mining on the Eastern Slopes of Alberta's Rockies, focusing on the proposed Grassy Mountain project by Northback Holding Co., a subsidiary of Australian mining giant Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd, in the Crowsnest Pass region.
If the petition reaches the required signatures, the province has pledged to include a question on the fall referendum about banning coal mining in the region.
