News Release
New Citizen Initiative Petition Issued
Today, Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer, Gordon McClure, issued the citizen initiative petition for the constitutional referendum proposal “A Referendum Relating to Alberta Independence”.
Prior to issuing the petition, the Chief Electoral Officer determined the requirements for the appointment of a Chief Financial Officer for the citizen initiative were met, as required under s.1.2 of the Citizen Initiative Act.
The notice on the Current Initiatives Petitions page of Elections Alberta’s website has been updated, indicating the petition has been issued, and specifying the signing period start and end dates and the number of signatures required for a successful petition.
Citizen initiative petition signature sheets have been issued to the proponent. Signatures collected on or in other forms will not be accepted. The proponent may now proceed with collecting signatures as set out in division 2 of the Citizen Initiative Act.
Petition Information
The citizen initiative petition is for a policy proposal with the following proposed question:
Subject matter: A Referendum Relating to Alberta Independence
Proposed Question: Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?
Proponent: Mitch Sylvestre
Signature collection period: January 3 to May 2, 2026
Number of signatures required for a successful petition: 177,732
(10% of the total number votes cast in the 2023 Provincial General Election).
Next steps
The proponent registers canvassers. Registered canvassers must be eligible electors and must comply with the Canvasser Code of Conduct and any guidelines for canvassing issued by the Chief Electoral Officer. Only registered canvassers may collect signatures on the petition.
Registered canvassers may collect signatures from eligible electors for a period of 120 days. Canvassers must witness each signature, view each elector’s ID which proves they are eligible to sign, and sign each petition signature sheet. For more information, see Citizen Initiative Process.
Eligible electors may sign the petition. Please see below for signature requirements.
The proponent must submit all petition signature sheets to Elections Alberta on or before May 2, 2026.
Any petition signature sheets received after May 2, 2026, will not be accepted.
Elections Alberta will verify the petition within 21 days from the date the petition is submitted (by May 23, 2026, if the petition is submitted on May 2, 2026) and report the results on our website. More information about the verification process is available on our Citizen Initiative Process webpage.
During the signature collection period, the proponent is responsible for:
providing copies of the official petition signature sheets to canvassers,
submitting completed canvasser applications to Elections Alberta (incomplete or ineligible applications will be returned to the proponent for correction),
answering Albertan’s questions about signature collection and their petition, and
providing canvassers with information on the process, timelines, contacts, supplies, and any other training and direction they feel is necessary to complete the canvassing period and ensure canvassers are following the requirements for signature collection.
Elections Alberta is responsible for:
reviewing the canvasser applications and returning incomplete or invalid applications to the proponent,
registering canvassers, and
providing each registered canvasser with identification documents (ID) that must be produced on request while canvassing.
Elections Alberta will send out canvasser identification within 2 to 3 business days of receiving completed and valid applications from the proponent. This may be extended should a significant volume of canvasser applications for badges be received in a short time period. If Canada Post service is disrupted, an alternative delivery method will be used until normal service resumes.
Important: Bill 14: Justice Statutes Amendment Bill, 2025, which came into force on December 11, 2025, made changes to rules for canvassers and electors wishing to sign a petition. These changes are noted below.
New Citizen Initiative Petition Signature Requirements
For signatures to be valid, individuals signing the petition must:
Be an eligible elector on the date they sign.
Produce proof of their identity and status of an elector to a registered canvasser before signing the petition with either one piece of government-issued photo ID with their name and current residential address or two pieces of authorized ID with their name, one of which of which has their current residential address.
Write the required name and address information legibly, confirm they are an eligible elector, and date it on the date they sign.
Sign the petition only once and only during the 120-day petition signing period.
Sign their signature. Only original physical signatures are valid. Digital or online signatures will not be accepted.
A registered canvasser must view each elector’s proof of identity, witness each signature collected, and sign each signature sheet confirming they witnessed each signature and viewed each elector’s proof of identity.
More information on the citizen initiative process, (including the proponent’s, canvassers’, and Elections Alberta’s responsibilities during the signature collection period), the status of citizen initiative petitions, financing rules, third party advertising rules, and answers to frequently asked questions may be found on Elections Alberta’s website.
Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta responsible for administering provincial elections, by-elections, and referenda.
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