A former deputy premier of Alberta says the success of a petition he circulated to make it official policy for the province to stay in Canada should signal to Premier Danielle Smith that she needs to put separatism to bed.
Thomas Lukaszuk says his petition has collected more than 456,000 signatures -- smashing the province's 294,000 signature-threshold required to initiate a possible referendum.
"(Those) 456,365 Albertans have said that they don't want anything to do with separatism," Lukaszuk said during a news conference Tuesday, where he stood in front of a wall of 61 stacked boxes full of signed petitions.
"We're asking our premier to do the right thing and Alberta MLAs to vote on this issue and put separatism to bed once and for all."
He said the petition has sent a strong message.
"Albertans are not outliers. We are as proud of being Canadian as any other Canadian from sea to sea to sea."
Alberta's justice minister called the signatures "remarkable" Tuesday but did not say whether the government plans to call a referendum.
"It's too early to speculate on anything now," Mickey Amery told reporters at the legislature.
"We need to let Elections Alberta review the signatures, review the accuracy and the completion of the petition, and then make recommendations to us as to whether it needs to proceed."
He said the government will assess its next steps after the count by Elections Alberta is complete.
When asked whether he, too, signed Lukaszuk's petition, Amery said, "I did not."
"I'm a proud Canadian. I'm happy to be here. I love this country," he said.
The "Forever Canadian" petition was launched to counter separatists who want a referendum on Alberta independence.
Lukaszuk's petition asks: “Do you agree that Alberta should remain within Canada?”
Smith's government has urged Alberta to stay in Confederation but has also made it easier this year for groups to hold a referendum on quitting Canada by lowering the signature threshold.
A question proposed by the rival Alberta Prosperity Project asks: "Do you agree that the province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province of Canada?"
Lukaszuk said he hopes Smith doesn't actually call a referendum.
"This exercise was actually to give the premier an opportunity to avoid a referendum and further divide Albertans along political lines," he said.
"But she will make the decision, and if she wants to have a referendum right away, she can call one or she can attach it to the next provincial election."
Lukaszuk said he and other volunteers travelled more than 7,000 kilometres in a 33-year-old bus, through urban and rural communities, over three months to collect the signatures.
"The stories (we heard) were compelling," he said. "There was a lot of laughing and a lot of crying. People were signing this petition for very personal reasons, and people could not imagine not being Canadian," he said.
He called the process healing.
"Albertans have awoken. They have found their voice. Often in small communities, they were almost fearful of speaking out, thinking that they are the minority, but now they realize that we are the majority."
Elections Alberta confirmed Tuesday it has received the signatures.
It said in a news release it will verify them within 60 days and publish results no later than Jan. 6.
Its verification process incudes ensuring its official petition signature sheets were used to collect signatures, the signatures are original and each one was witnessed by a canvasser. It says it will also randomly call signatories to confirm they signed the petition.
"If the petition is successful, Elections Alberta will submit a copy of the policy proposal to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly," it said.
Lukaszuk said his petition is the biggest one in Canadian history.
"No elections commissioner has ever had to deal with this," he said.
"But I'm sure (the commissioner) will do it as expediently and as accurately as he possibly can."
Lukaszuk said he is looking forward to returning to his regular life now that the process is complete.
"I have some leaves to be raked in my front yard. I have to decorate my house for Halloween, and I have to return to work that actually pays," he said as a small crowd holding Canadian flags cheered and laughed.
"This (petition) paid in spades."
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
