UCP MLA urges Albertans to sign petition calling for referendum on separation

As proponents of a petition calling for a referendum on whether Alberta should divide from Canada persist in to gather signatures, a UCP MLA is now encouraging Albertans to sign it, and the Opposition is calling for him to be removed from his party’s caucus.

Red Deer-South MLA Jason Stephan, the province’s parliamentary secretary for constitutional affairs, penned an op-ed that was posted Friday by the online media outlet the Western Standard.

In the post, he writes about why he believes a “referendum on independence is good for Alberta,” and levels criticism against the federal government over its policies.

“I invite Albertans to act and sign the petition, and invite all who love freedom and prosperity to do the same,” Stephan writes. “If Albertans do not act, there will not be a vote.

“Signing the petition to have a referendum vote is different from the referendum vote itself. Signing the petition supports your right to vote and decide on the objective merits, yes or no.”

Stephan writes that he believes Canada ’s economic state is in serious decline and that the "Ottawa establishment" doesn’t want Alberta to have a referendum on independence.

Stephan also writes that he believes some of Ottawa’s laws “erode Albertans’ freedoms in favour of a nanny state.”

Rakhi Pancholi, deputy leader of Alberta’s NDP, called for Premier Danielle Smith to remove Stephan from her party’s caucus.

Pancholi said she believes that having a referendum on separating from Canada would wreak havoc on Alberta’s economy, citing what happened during past separatist pushes in Quebec.

“It devastated their economy,” she said. “We saw people and head offices and businesses flee Quebec — flee Montreal — and they still have not recovered.

“That is the risk of dangling separatism as a way to manage frustrations with relationships with the federal government.”

Stephan was elected to represent the riding of Red Deer-South in 2019, and re-elected in 2023. He was one of several Alberta MLAs targeted by recall petitions in recent months.

“If Jason Stephan did not believe in separatism, he would not be advocating for Albertans to sign this petition,” Pancholi said.

Pancholi said she believes those who sign a petition calling for a referendum on separation do so because they believe in its agenda, “not because they just wanted to have a question put on the agenda for Alberta to vote on."

She used the “Forever Canadian” petition as an example. That petition was launched by a group of Albertans in response to separatists pushing for a referendum.

When asked for comment on Stephan’s op-ed, Smith’s press secretary Sam Blackett issued a statement that accused the NDP of “fearmongering.”

“The premier has always been clear that she, the Alberta government and our United Conservative caucus support a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada,” he said.

“This means Alberta remaining a province of Canada while advancing provincial autonomy and fighting to undo Ottawa policies that harm Albertans and intrude on our constitutional rights.

“Individual MLAs are welcome to differ in their personal opinions, but the position of the government and caucus are clear.”

“If the premier does not want her government to be viewed as a separatist government, she should be removing [Stephan] from the UCP caucus and from his role as parliamentary secretary,” Pancholi said.

Reporter

Add some “good” to your morning and evening.

---

---