The province of Alberta will hold an advisory referendum on a possible secession from Canada
The Canadian province of Alberta plans to hold a non-binding referendum on secession from Canada in October.
This was announced by the head of the provincial government, Danielle Smith.
The initiative is largely symbolic in nature, but it could pose a political challenge to the federal government led by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose administration holds a slim majority in Parliament.
According to Smith, the referendum will not lead to Alberta’s immediate secession, but will allow the province’s residents to express their position on the region’s future status. She noted that if the idea of secession is supported, the Alberta government will be able to subsequently initiate a constitutional procedure to hold a binding plebiscite.
In Canadian history, such votes have only taken place in one region—the province of Quebec, which has held referendums on independence.
Earlier, the activist group Stay Free Alberta announced that it had collected over 300,000 signatures, significantly exceeding the required threshold of 10% of voters (178,000 people) to initiate a plebiscite. If the authenticity of the signatures is officially confirmed, a referendum on the province’s independence could take place as early as October 19, 2026.
Earlier, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith stated that she would hold a referendum on secession from Canada in 2026 if the citizens’ petition gathered the required number of signatures.
On December 22, 2025, the Alberta Election Commission officially approved the Alberta Prosperity Project’s initiative to hold a referendum on the independence of Canada’s main oil-producing region.
