How the UCP is reframing Alberta’s separatist gambit – Policy Options

June 16, 2025

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith waited precisely one day after Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney’s federal election victory in April before introducing Bill 54, the Election Statutes Amendment Act, which lowers the barriers to a provincial referendum on sovereignty.

While the United Conservative Party (UCP) government frames this legislation as promoting “democratic renewal,” it is actually accelerating Alberta’s already-simmering separatist movement.

Bill 54 became law on May 15. It represents the most significant change to Alberta’s referendum process in the province’s history. It dramatically reduces the threshold for allowing citizen-initiated referendums from 20 per cent of all eligible voters to just 10 per cent of votes cast in the previous election.

Read More: https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/june-2025/alberta-separatism/