If crowd size is to be believed, the idea of Alberta separating from Canada is gaining momentum as a large crowd of supporters attended a meeting on the proposal in Red Deer Wednesday evening.
The organizers, a group called Stay Free Alberta, are attempting collect enough signatures on a petition calling on the provincial government to hold a referendum on separation.
To be successful, they need to collect about 177,000 signatures by May 2, of which 10 per cent must be eligible voters from the last provincial election.
The signatures must then be validated by the province’s Chief Electoral Officer, before the petition can be presented to the Alberta government.
The media was not allowed into Wednesday’s meeting, not allowed to shoot video of anyone signing the petition and none of the organizers on site would agree to be interviewed by the media.
However, others who spoke off the record claimed some people waited in line for up to three hours to sign the petition.
Anger with the federal government appeared to be the motivation for most of those who did agree to speak with Global News.
“It’s been an abusive relationship for so long. I just think most of us just want out,” said James Dunsmuir. “We’re just tired of being taken advantage of by the east. A lot of our money goes east and not a lot comes back and we’re not treated very well out east and I think we’d just be better off ruling ourselves.”
“The federal government has taken advantage of Alberta and all its resources and I really hope that everybody can see that we are hard-working Canadians and we deserve to have and reap what we sow,” said Amber Klaffke.
“This is overwhelming, for sure. It’s great, it’s wonderful, but I’ll tell you what, it’s a small segment of what you’re going to see in the next few weeks, I guarantee,” added Don Bouvette.
In an interview on Thursday afternoon, the head of Stay Free Alberta, Mitch Sylvestre, wouldn’t reveal how many signatures the group has gathered on its petition so far, but said he’s confident they’ll get enough by the May 6 deadline.
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“I know for sure we’re ahead because I’ve got a little rough tally in my head. I think we have a very good chance to succeed here based on turnout that we’ve been getting.”
While a few people at the Red Deer event were also seen wearing red “Make America Great Again” hats, Sylvestre rejected the idea that the group is getting support from the U.S. government.
“It’s very simple. We’ve been there, we’ve spoken to them, you know, very informally. We don’t want to become a 51st state. And that’s basically all there is to it,” said Sylvestre.
According to two recent polls, a large majority of Albertans don’t want to separate from Canada, however one shows support for the idea has grown.
We’ve been tracking this issue for the past couple of years, said Mario Canseco, president of Vancouver-based Research Co.
“It’s a two-to-one margin when we ask Albertans if they want to stay or if they want independence, 62 per cent saying that they oppose this move, 31 per cent who say that they support it,” said Canseco.
However, he says there are some interesting demographic differences.
“Across generations, people aged 18 to 34, are significantly more likely to say that they favour Alberta’s independence. More than two out of five tell us they are happy with that idea, and essentially those over the age of 35 are not really that supportive of it,” Canseco added.
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While the idea of separation is often perceived to be an issue of rural versus urban Albertans, the polling results showed that support for separation is up slightly in Alberta’s two biggest cities.
The Research Co poll said 31 per cent of Calgarians and 29 per cent of Edmontonians support the idea, both up by 5 per cent since 2023.
“We cannot look at this as a rural campaign anymore,” said Canseco.
Another poll conducted in December 2025 by a Pollara Strategic insights, shows little change in the support for separation.
“Currently, 19 per cent of Albertans would vote to separate, to leave Canada if there was a referendum,” said Matt Smith, Pollara’s executive vice-president. “We’ve been tracking this since 2021, and only once has the number gone above 20 per cent. One year it was 23 per cent.
“So it is relatively stable in or just below 20 per cent of Albertans feel that they would vote yes to leave.”
However, Smith said the poll also found that only about half of people living in western Canada think the the federal government thinks about them when making decisions.
“So I think all of that adds up to explain, or to show that, of course western alienation is real,” added Smith.
Even if successful in gathering enough signatures, the organizers of Stay Free Alberta may still have some other legal hurdles to clear.
On Friday, Jan. 16, an Alberta Court of King’s Bench judge in Edmonton will hear arguments from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation that the provincial legislation under which a separation referendum would take place is illegal because it fails to recognize the constitutionally protected rights of First Nations who have vowed to block any attempt at separation.
A separate petition, called the “Forever Canadian” petition, spearheaded last year by former Alberta Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk, calling for Alberta to remain part of Canada, collected over 400,000 signatures.
The Research Co. survey was conducted between Jan. 4 and to Jan. 6, 2026, among 703 adults in Alberta and its margin of error is +/- 3.7 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
The Pollara survey was conducted between Dec. 5 and Dec. 20, 2025. 1,000 residents of Alberta were surveyed and its margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent, 19 times out of 20.