Former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk is now arguing that referendums are “not very democratic” after months spent leading a citizen petition campaign that appears to have done exactly that: trigger one.

Lukaszuk continues claiming his “Forever Canada” petition was meant as an “off-ramp” for Premier Danielle Smith to avoid a “divisive” referendum. But Alberta’s citizen initiative legislation already provides two clearly defined pathways: a legislative vote or a referendum.

Thomas Lukaszuk: "[Danielle Smith] has been given so many off-ramps. Courts on two occasions gave her an off-ramp. Elections Alberta gave her an off-ramp. With my question, I gave her an off-ramp but she seems to be committed to a referendum." pic.twitter.com/Am8GNasbK7

— Scott Robertson (@sarobertson_) May 20, 2026

Lukaszuk’s own application consistently indicated he selected the referendum option — which makes his latest complaint rather awkward.

Referendums are, by definition, among the purest forms of democratic participation available: citizens voting directly on a political question instead of outsourcing the decision to politicians, party insiders, lobbyists, or media panels.

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Canada has a long history of using referendums on major constitutional questions:

• Quebec held sovereignty referendums in 1980 and 1995;
• Canadians voted nationally on the Charlottetown Accord in 1992;
• Alberta has used referendums on equalization, Senate reform, prohibition, and most recently, daylight saving time.

Nobody argued those votes were “not very democratic” simply because the questions were controversial.

Thomas Lukaszuk used a democratic citizen initiative process to collect signatures demanding a provincewide political question be addressed democratically.

Now that the process may actually lead to a democratic vote, he’s arguing democracy is the problem. That’s buyer’s remorse.