One of the latest fear campaigns against Alberta independence is the claim that Albertans could have their Canadian citizenship or passports cancelled if the province ever became an independent country.

That's not what the law says.

In an interview with Town & Country Today, a University of Alberta law professor acknowledged that if Alberta ever separated, "something will have to happen" regarding citizenship. In other words, there is no existing law that automatically strips Albertans of Canadian citizenship. Citizenship would have to be negotiated between Alberta and Canada as part of any separation agreement.

Nor would Alberta be entering uncharted territory. Around the world, countries that have peacefully gained independence have negotiated citizenship arrangements for their residents. In many cases, people retained their existing citizenship, became eligible for citizenship in the new country, or held dual citizenship. The details differed from country to country, but there is no universal rule that citizens automatically lose their nationality when political boundaries change. 

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Canada has birthright citizenship. Many Albertans were born in Canada to Canadian parents. If Alberta created its own citizenship while Canada continued to recognize Canadian-born Albertans as Canadian citizens, many people could end up with dual citizenship, much as millions of people around the world do today. Prime Minister Mark Carney himself has held Canadian, British and Irish citizenship.

The more revealing question is this: why would Ottawa treat peaceful Albertans more harshly than convicted terrorists? 

The Trudeau government repealed citizenship revocation for dual citizens convicted of terrorism, treason and espionage through Bill C-6. Ottawa argued that Canadians who commit even the most serious crimes should remain Canadian citizens and be punished through the criminal justice system. A Canadian is a Canadian, is a Canadian, after all. 

Today, Canadian citizenship is generally revoked only in cases involving fraud, false representation or knowingly concealing material facts during the citizenship process.

So under current Canadian law, a Canadian-born terrorist keeps his citizenship.

Yet some federalists now suggest that Canadian-born Albertans who peacefully vote for independence could somehow lose theirs.

If that ever happened, it would not be because Canadian law required it. It would be a political decision. It would amount to punishing people for exercising a democratic choice.

The bottom line is simple. Claims that Albertans would automatically lose their Canadian citizenship if Alberta became independent present speculation as settled fact. Legal experts acknowledge the issue would have to be negotiated.

History shows there are many models for handling citizenship after independence. And any attempt to strip Canadian-born Albertans of their citizenship while allowing Canadian-born terrorists to retain theirs would be difficult to defend as anything other than an act of malice and spite against people for voting the "wrong" way.