Alberta provnce took a first step toward a separation referendum after a citizen-led petition was signed by well in excess of the 300,000 people required to trigger a vote on seceding from the federation. File photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
May 22 (UPI) -- Canada's oil-rich Alberta province took a first step toward a separation referendum after a citizen-led petition was signed by well in excess of the 300,000 people required to trigger a vote on seceding from the federation.
Announcing the decision on TV on Thursday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the referendum, scheduled for Oct. 19, would ask voters a straight-forward binary question, should Alberta remain part of Canada or should her government initiate the process for holding a legally binding referendum.
The decision came despite polling indicating separation is not widely supported and rival Forever Canada "remainers" claiming they had gathered 404,000 signatures.
Smith said she, her government and her caucus believed Alberta should remain Canadian but defended the democratic right of people among the province's four million population who disagreed to have their say.
