Alberta can override Charter rights using the notwithstanding clause without leaving Canada.
Claimed by: Commonly stated by Alberta independence advocates
True: True as written according to the settled evidence. How we rate.
Summary
This is correct, within limits. Section 33 of the Charter, the notwithstanding clause, lets Parliament or any provincial legislature declare that a law operates despite the fundamental freedoms in section 2 and the legal and equality rights in sections 7 to 15. Such a declaration lasts up to five years and can be renewed. It cannot reach democratic, mobility, or language rights, and using it is politically costly, but it is a real power Alberta already holds as a province.
Evidence
Section 33 allows Parliament or a legislature to expressly declare a law operates notwithstanding section 2 or sections 7 to 15 of the Charter, for renewable five-year periods.
The clause has been invoked by provinces since 1982 but cannot override democratic, mobility, or language rights, and the federal government has never used it.