Forever Canada founder Thomas Lukaszuk now says, "Our question is not on the referendum."

But that's difficult to square with his own campaign. For months, the Forever Canada petition called for a referendum on Alberta's future in Confederation and collected more than 404,000 signatures asking Albertans whether the province should remain in Canada.

Now, Alberta is heading toward its first-ever referendum to ask a question about independence. "It is the premier’s question," Lukaszuk said. "It’s not our question. It’s misleading, and our campaign is taking no position on it because it’s not our question.” 

Odd, because Lukaszuk is doing a lot of campaigning as a third-party advertiser for the Federalist side anyway.

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The wording isn't identical to the one proposed by Forever Canada. But the practical result is the same: Albertans will be asked to decide whether Albertans can vote on remaining in Canada or becoming an independent state.

A "No" vote on that question is, by definition, a vote to remain in Canada.

The group that demanded a referendum on Alberta's place in Canada is now objecting to the referendum they spent months advocating for.

The issue is no longer whether Albertans should get a vote. They are getting one.

The issue appears to be whether some people are comfortable with the possibility that Albertans might give an answer they don't like.

After collecting hundreds of thousands of signatures demanding a referendum, it's difficult to argue that Albertans are somehow being denied the very vote that Forever Canada said they deserved.