The federalist advocacy group continues to receive donations from Canadians outside of Alberta.

 

Forever Canadian's Thomas Lukaszuk is once again openly soliciting donations for his Forever Canadian campaign from people outside Alberta.

“This is why we need you to support the #ForeverCanadian movement,” Lukaszuk wrote on X. “If you live anywhere in Canada, sign up and donate.”

But registered referendum third-party advertisers are explicitly prohibited from accepting referendum advertising contributions from individuals who are not ordinarily resident in Alberta.

Elections Alberta’s rules are clear: a registered Referendum Third Party Advertiser can accept advertising contributions from people ordinarily resident in Alberta, eligible corporations carrying on business in Alberta, Alberta trade unions and employee organizations, and qualifying groups.

Forever-Canadian Citizens Initiative Society is itself listed by Elections Alberta as a registered Referendum Third Party Advertiser, with Lukaszuk named as its primary contact. 

So how can Lukaszuk tell Canadians from anywhere in the country to donate?

The grey area appears to lie in what Forever Canadian considers a donation to the society versus a referendum advertising contribution to its registered TPA.

Under Alberta law, an advertising contribution is money, property, goods or services given to a TPA for the purpose of third-party advertising. That means an organization may have money outside its regulated referendum advertising account, but it cannot simply use ineligible outside money to pay for regulated referendum advertising. 

Forever Canadian’s own website says individuals, businesses, unions and associations can financially support the organization and explicitly states: “There are no limits on donation amounts.” 

At the same time, Elections Alberta’s public disclosure system listed Forever-Canadian Citizens Initiative Society as having reported $0 in referendum advertising contributions as of its July 23 reporting data, despite the organization’s highly visible campaign activity. 

Independence TPAs do not have the same freedom with money raised specifically for referendum advertising. They must comply with the residency and eligibility rules, report their referendum contributions weekly and operate within the province’s referendum finance regime. Elections Alberta says the 2026 advertising period runs through October 19. 

If money donated by Canadians outside Alberta is being kept entirely separate from referendum advertising, Forever Canadian should be able to explain what those donations are funding. And if any of that money is paying for advertising that promotes, opposes or takes a position on Alberta's referendum question, Elections Alberta's own rules say something very different.

Albertans deserve to know which it is. And Elections Alberta should not expect us to take Lukaszuk's word for it.