The Stay Free Alberta petition would not have met Alberta's pre-July 2025 threshold for a constitutional-referendum initiative.
Claimed by: Comparison of verified Stay Free Alberta results with former Citizen Initiative Act rules
True: True as written according to the settled evidence. How we rate.
Summary
Elections Alberta verified 222,597 signatures on the Stay Free Alberta independence petition, well above the current threshold of 177,732 signatures, equal to 10 percent of votes cast in the 2023 provincial general election. Before legislative changes that took effect in July 2025, a citizen initiative petition for a constitutional referendum required signatures from 20 percent of provincial electors. At the 2023 reference point of 2,939,762 electors on the post-election list, that former province-wide requirement was 587,952 signatures. The former law also required the 20 percent threshold to be met in at least two-thirds of Alberta's 87 electoral divisions, or 58 divisions. The verified Stay Free Alberta count would not have cleared either bar. This is a counterfactual comparison: the petition was assessed under the law in force for its process, not under the former constitutional-referendum rules.
Evidence
Elections Alberta verified 222,597 signatures on the Stay Free Alberta independence petition on July 24, 2026, above the current requirement of 177,732 signatures under the 10 percent threshold.
Before July 2025 changes, Elections Alberta stated that petitions for constitutional referendum proposals required signatures from 20 percent of electors, with the 20 percent threshold met in at least two-thirds of Alberta's electoral divisions.
The Alberta Forever Canada petition, assessed under the former 10 percent of electors rule for legislative or policy proposals, required 293,976 signatures based on 2,939,762 electors on the 2023 post-election list; 20 percent of that elector base is 587,952.
Elections Alberta (Alberta Forever Canada verification results)
Related claims
- If 10% of Albertans sign a citizen initiative petition, the government must hold a binding referendum on that question.False
- Alberta removed the requirement that citizen initiative petitions must comply with the Constitution.True
- Elections Alberta determined that the Stay Free Alberta petition met the signature requirements under the current Citizen Initiative Act.True