With about six weeks left to collect signatures, supporters of Alberta independence are working to gather enough names on a citizen-led petition that could trigger a province-wide referendum on whether Alberta should separate from Canada.
But even if the campaign succeeds and a majority of voters backed separation in a referendum, constitutional experts say the vote would only begin what could be a long and complicated process of negotiations with Ottawa, the provinces, and Indigenous nations.
Errol Mendes, a professor of constitutional and international law at the University of Ottawa, said the path to independence would involve significant legal and political hurdles.
“At every single stage, from the time they passed the referendum and somehow managed to get past the two fundamental qualifying issues, at every stage of negotiations, there’s massive barriers to ultimately Alberta becoming an independent state,” Mendes said.
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