Lukaszuk is calling on Smith to suspend the October 19 referendum amid the escalating Canada-U.S. trade dispute, arguing the province should instead rally behind a united Canadian response.
Thomas Lukaszuk, the former Alberta deputy premier and driving force behind the Forever Canadian campaign, is calling on Premier Danielle Smith to suspend the October 19 referendum.
That's the same Thomas Lukaszuk who earlier this year invoked Adolf Hitler and the Nazi persecution of Jews while attacking Smith's immigration policies.
In February, Lukaszuk accused Smith of following the familiar populist tactic of finding a scapegoat.
Thomas Lukaszuk has a pattern. On immigration reform and on Alberta independence, he jumps straight to Nazi smears instead of respectful debate.
— Rise Of Alberta (@RiseOfAlberta) February 24, 2026
Danielle Smith confronted him directly and demanded accountability.
Alberta deserves mature discussion, not inflammatory attacks. pic.twitter.com/pZDMe3Tz4C
“For Hitler it was the Jews,” Lukaszuk said, according to the Calgary Herald. Columnist Rick Bell summarized the argument bluntly: “Connect the dots. Hitler, Smith. Same sorts, different victims.”
Smith called the comparison “gross” and “disgusting.”
“If you’re going to call somebody a Nazi you better be referring to the Holocaust and the devastation that caused to the Jewish people,” Smith said. “It is disgusting language and it should never be used.”
Now Lukaszuk has another complaint about Smith: she's allowing Albertans to vote.
Thomas Lukaszuk has written an open letter asking Danielle SMith to suspend the separatist question in light of the economic attacks by the US.
— The Breakdown (@TheBreakdownAB) August 27, 2026
On the same day SMith seemed to say she was worried about protecting American jobs...#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/yg95cFZLCv
Lukaszuk is calling on Smith to suspend the October 19 referendum amid the escalating Canada-U.S. trade dispute, arguing the province should instead rally behind a united Canadian response.
There's a problem with that argument.
This referendum wasn't dreamed up by Smith and imposed on Albertans. It follows an extraordinary level of democratic participation on both sides of the independence debate.
And Lukaszuk knows that better than almost anyone.
His own Forever Canadian campaign used Alberta's citizen initiative process to gather signatures in support of remaining in Canada.
Elections Alberta ultimately verified 404,293 signatures from that campaign.
On the other side, the Stay Free Alberta independence petition also comfortably cleared its legislated threshold. Elections Alberta verified 279,337 signatures, well above the 177,732 required.
Put them together and nearly 684,000 verified signatures were collected by campaigns on opposite sides of Alberta's national-unity debate.
On October 19, voters will be presented with two choices. Option 1 supports Alberta remaining a province of Canada. Option 2 would direct the provincial government to begin the legal process required to hold a future binding referendum on independence.
Lukaszuk is entirely free to oppose that. He can campaign for Option 1. He can knock on doors, buy advertisements, organize rallies and tell every Albertan who will listen why he believes independence would be a mistake.
That's democracy.
But after using Alberta's democratic citizen initiative process to collect more than 400,000 signatures for his own side, Lukaszuk is now asking Smith to suspend the process before Albertans actually cast their ballots.
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