Premier's Stance on Citizen Referendums Questioned
Despite Premier Danielle Smith's declared support for citizen-initiated referendums, none of the questions on Alberta's October referendum ballot will be the direct result of a citizen petition. Nine questions come directly from the premier, the 10th is a government-concocted mash-up of the Forever Canadian and Stay Free Alberta petitions, and an 11th question—on banning coal mining along the Eastern Slopes—will not appear, Smith has now all but confirmed.
Water Not Coal Petition Exceeds Threshold
The Water Not Coal petition, spearheaded by Alberta country musician Corb Lund, collected over 200,000 signatures, well above the required 178,000. Lund confirmed the petitions were dropped off earlier this month. However, Smith now argues there isn't enough time to process it before the referendum.
Smith stated that the petition must go before a legislative committee, and the legislature does not reconvene until late October. She also maintains that Elections Alberta needed all final questions by June 1 to prepare the referendum.
Contradictory Statements from Premier
Lund said he had multiple conversations with Smith and was never informed of a June 1 deadline. In February, after the announcement of referendum day, Smith said: “Whether it’s the independence petition or the coal petition, if they get the requisite number of signatures, our intention would be to put those on the ballot at the same time.” At an April referendum update, Smith referenced a different deadline: “I think the deadline would be June 10, because that’s when Corb Lund’s coal petition gets its signature requirements . . . and then there’s a verification process, which I think with Forever Canada was actually quite quick. I think they were able to verify those signatures within four weeks. That would kind of be the frame.”
Grassroots Effort Stalled
The Water Not Coal petition was a uniquely grassroots exercise, with the government initially showing little interest in the issue. The government's policy preferences have clashed with the objectives of the petition, leading to accusations of flip-flopping on coal policy. Lund expressed frustration, noting that if the group had known about the June 1 deadline, they could have accelerated signature collection. Critics argue the government had no intention of putting the question forward, making the entire process a charade.
