Judge Nullifies Alberta Separation Petition, Says Province Had Duty to Consult With First Nations

A judge has ruled against Elections Alberta’s approval of a petition around a referendum on Alberta independence, saying the province failed in its duty to consult with First Nations.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and the group behind the petition say they will appeal the decision.

Alberta Court of King’s Bench Justice Shaina Leonard ruled on May 13 that the province’s chief electoral officer Gordon McClure made an error in law by approving the petition, which had garnered more than 300,000 signatures. Leonard said that McClure failed to consider an earlier decision that found Alberta’s separation from Canada would violate Treaty rights with First Nations.

Leonard also ruled that the Alberta government, which is a representative of the Crown, failed in its duty to consult with the applicants Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Blood Tribe, Piikani Nation, and Siksika Nation. Those First Nations launched the initial legal proceeding against the referendum in January 2026.

On April 10, Leonard granted a one-month stay on the validation process of the referendum petition in response to the First Nations’ lawsuit. She said while the referendum petition’s organizers could continue collecting signatures, the results could not be announced until an overall decision was made in the court case.

In a separate decision released by Leonard on May 13, she denied an injunction request from another First Nation to stop the petition. The Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation had argued the government violated Treaty 8 by changing the law to make it easier for the separation petition to proceed, and alleged that there were increases in misinformation and racism as a result of the petition processes.

Leonard ruled that the evidence presented did not meet a legal test to prove there would be irreparable harm if the injunction was not granted.

Stay Free Alberta, a separatist group that collected the signatures, said in a statement that it disagreed with the decision, “which appears on its face to violate principles of natural justice and contain numerous errors of law.”

“We have been instructed to prepare and file the appropriate appellate documents,” the group said.

The signature collection period for the referendum had ended on May 4, several weeks after organizers said they had reached the requirement of 177,732 signatures. The organizers, who submitted the signatures to Elections Alberta, said they had gathered a total of 301,620 signatures.

The referendum question around separation, filed with Elections Alberta in December 2025, asks, “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?”

Premier Smith said at a press conference later in the day that her government would be appealing the court’s ruling.

“Although our government does support Alberta remaining in Canada, we think that today’s decision by the court will deny the opportunity to well over 300,000 Albertans to have their petition verified by Elections Alberta,” Smith said.

“We think that this decision is incorrect in law and anti-democratic, and we will be appealing it as a result.”

Smith had previously said a referendum on Alberta independence would be held later in 2026 if the petition met the legal requirements. She also said her government would include several different questions that also met the legislated requirements on a referendum ballot.