Fact Check: Can Premier Smith cancel the October 19 referendum?
The provincial government technically has the authority to cancel the referendum if it chooses to.
Former Redford government MLA Thomas Lukaszuk posted on X, “Danielle Smith is dishonest in saying that a referendum must happen because of the Citizens Initiative Act. None of the referendum questions are posed as a result of the Citizens Initiative Act petitions. Instead, all the questions are introduced by Smith. She can cancel it.”
Mr. Lukaszuk has a notoriously poor record when it comes to telling the truth, but in this case, he is mostly correct.
None of the 10 questions being asked in the referendum on October 19 were the result of citizen initiatives. Petitioning was done to have questions put on the ballot by Forever Canadian, Stay Free Alberta and an anti-coal mining coalition, but none of the questions they petitioned for ended up being put forth for the referendum.
Every question in the referendum was written by the provincial government, and the provincial government technically has the authority to cancel the referendum if it chooses to. The Citizen Initiative Act doesn’t apply.
That said, the political fallout if the premier were to cancel a referendum mid-stream would be devastating. Over 700,000 Albertans signed petitions demanding a unity question be put to a referendum in Alberta, and while the exact wording of the ballot questions may not be what they wanted, they still clearly want the issue put to citizens democratically. The premier isn’t bound by legislation to continue with the referendum, but she is bound by principle.
Thousands of volunteers have worked for months on the federalist and independence campaigns. Millions (estimated since Forever Canadian refuses to disclose fundraising figures) of dollars have been contributed by citizens into the campaigns, and millions of tax dollars have been spent by Elections Alberta in preparation for the referendum. Stopping the process at this point would be irresponsible and a very expensive slap in the face to citizens working on a democratic exercise.
Lukaszuk is correct that the premier could stop the referendum. But he is being unreasonable in thinking she should or would do so.
Cory Morgan
Cory Morgan is an Alberta-based columnist, political commentator, and longtime advocate for Western Canadian independence. He is the author of the recently updated book The Sovereigntist’s Handbook, a grassroots guide for independence supporters and political activists.
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