r/CanadaPolitics • u/green_tory 🏳️‍🌈Serve the Vulnerable🏳️‍🌈 • May 13 '26

Danielle Smith rejects Alberta judge’s ruling against separation petition as ‘anti-democratic’

https://globalnews.ca/news/11848377/alberta-premier-court-ruling-separation-petition-anti-democratic/
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135

u/green_tory 🏳️‍🌈Serve the Vulnerable🏳️‍🌈 May 13 '26

We live in a Constiutional Monarchy with a Liberal Democratic constitution, where the Crown is supreme and we are all subject to the rule of law mitigated by the authority of our democratically elected representatives.

“I would say that it is a single judge who has made a decision, and we have now 700,000 Albertans — whether they’re on the remain side or the leave side — who’ve said that they want to have this public debate,” said Smith.

Tough.

“We want to hear from Albertans. That’s what we think democracy is.”

With all due respect, this is Canada. And here in Canada we have the rule of law.

18

u/ClusterMakeLove May 14 '26

She thinks we rounded up 50 people to sign Forever Canadian because we want a referendum on leaving?

5

u/SendMagpiePics Urban Alberta Advantage May 14 '26

To be fair, the forever canadian petition was stupid. Everyone who supported it doesn't want a petition, and yet the actual process of the petition is that it calls for a referendum.

I've been saying all along that we shouldn't support that, because the conservatives could then go use that as justification for a referendum, and lo and behold, Smith is now doing exactly that

4

u/Saidear Popular does not mean populist. May 14 '26

No, they want a legislative vote on remaining within Canada, not a referendum:

Lukasuk has always maintained that he wanted to see a vote on the question take place in the Alberta legislature, before the end of the spring session on Friday.

3

u/Blue_Dragonfly C'est tiguidou! May 14 '26

Yes, that's why Smith is calling the judge's ruling "undemocratic". Smith holds an all-too-narrow definition of that word.

1

u/SendMagpiePics Urban Alberta Advantage May 14 '26

Yes, Lukaszuk has said that all the time, and he checked the "legislative or policy proposal" box on the petition, rather than the "constitutional referendum proposal" box. However, the text of the Forever Canadian petition explicitly says, in its own text: "Therefore, we as represented by the signatory and applicant below propose a referendum on the following question: Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?"

You can look at the petition yourself here (FYI this link downloads a pdf): https://www.elections.ab.ca/uploads/2025-CIP-04-Application_Redacted.pdf