Alberta residents deserve the ability to hold a referendum on independence.
Ricardo Acuna of the Parkland Institute (a left-wing Albertan think tank) took to X to post a video explaining how support for independence is too low to merit holding a referendum on the issue. Most of his narrative was based on a single poll from early 2025, indicating 18% support for independence. He not only posits that a referendum shouldn’t be held but says the movement for independence itself isn’t legitimate. Ironic considering the historic labour movements his institute venerates began with seeds of public support much smaller than the independence movement in Alberta has.
The point of a referendum is to get a full and controlled measure of the voting citizens on an issue through a democratic vote. With a campaign on an issue followed by scrutinized voting and counting, a resolution can be reached on a contentious issue. Polls conducted by governments, media or advocacy groups tend to be slanted and only take small samples from the public. A referendum is the ultimate gauge of public opinion.
Referenda can’t be held on every trivial issue. That's why bars are set for citizens to invoke them. Usually, the trigger for a referendum is based on petitioning from advocates on an issue. Switzerland has mastered the art of citizens’ initiatives and regularly holds referenda on them. Alberta has set up a similar system.
The bar to initiate a referendum in Alberta was set at 178,000 citizens signing a petition asking for one. On the question of unity, over 700,000 Albertans signed petitions asking for the question to be put to a referendum. This is far and beyond where the bar was set. It would be irresponsible and undemocratic for the government to refuse to allow the question to be put to citizens for resolution in a vote.
Whether current polling shows heavy support for one side or the other is irrelevant. Those support levels can and will swing as campaigns develop. That is the nature of participatory democracy. That, of course, is why the Parkland Institute doesn’t support holding a referendum. Left-leaning groups such as that are not known for their love of democracy or confidence in the citizens’ wisdom to make decisions for themselves.
Nobody can say with certainty how Albertans may vote on October 19th. But we can say with confidence that the unity issue merits putting the question to citizens in a referendum this fall.
Signup
The legacy media is counting on one thing: that you'll see the false headline and never see the correction. Don't let them get away with it.
Sign up for email updates from Alberta Fact Check and we'll send every new fact check straight to you the moment it's published. You'll always know what was said, who said it, and exactly where they got it wrong. It's free, it takes ten seconds, and it's the easiest way to stay one step ahead of the spin.