Albertans would keep the same Charter rights and freedoms after independence.

Summary

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of Canada's Constitution and is enforced by Canadian courts. If Alberta left Canada, it would have a new and different constitutional order, and its residents would lose the enforceable Charter protections they now hold. An independent Alberta could write its own bill of rights, and it might end up similar, but the Alberta courts that reviewed a proposed independence referendum found that a promised future Alberta rights charter could not, at this stage, be treated as equivalent to the constitutional guarantees Canadians currently enjoy. Continuing the same rights is something Alberta would have to build and cannot simply assume.

Evidence

• The court found that an independent Alberta would necessarily have a new and different constitutional order and that a promised future rights charter could not be said to be equivalent to the current constitutional guarantee.

  Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP (analysis of the ruling)

• If Alberta left Canada it would lose all enforceable rights and protections offered by the Canadian Constitution and get only what it can bargain for.

  The Conversation (what an independent Alberta would face)