The provincial referendum has been scheduled for 19 October, the premier said.
Smith, in a televised address, said the question being put to Albertans this coming autumn will be be: “Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?”
The premier said she herself will vote in favour of Alberta remaining a part of Canada.
“That is how I would vote on separation in a provincial referendum,” she said, adding, “It is also the position of my government and my caucus.”
However, she said she is “deeply troubled” by a court decision in which an Alberta judge tossed out a petition calling for a referendum on separation after indigenous First Nations groups argued that they were not properly consulted, which infringed on their rights.
That halted the verification of the petition signatures, leaving the potential for a referendum in limbo.
“As Premier, will not have a legal mistake by a single judge silence the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans,” Smith said on Thursday. “Alberta’s future will be decided by Albertans, not the courts.”
She added: “Kicking the can down the road only prolongs a very emotional and important debate, and muzzling the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans wanting to be heard is unjustifiable in a free and democratic society.”
