A group called Stay Free Alberta is hosting a petition signing event and town hall in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, on Friday, January 23, 2026, to gather signatures for a citizen initiative seeking a referendum on Alberta’s independence. The gathering will take place in the Normandy Room at the Fort Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Legion (Branch No. 27), with petition signing starting at 4:30 p.m. and speakers beginning at 7:00 p.m., according to the event listing on the Stay Free Alberta website.
Organizers are using Alberta’s Citizen’s Initiative Act to trigger legislative or referendum action if they collect the required number of valid signatures. Elections Alberta has set the requirement at 177,732 valid signatures (10% of the 2023 provincial electorate), and the signature-collection period runs from January 3, 2026, through May 2, 2026. Elections Alberta rules — and the Stay Free Alberta campaign — require signatures to be collected in person as wet signatures; online signatures do not count. The petition question, as issued by Elections Alberta, reads: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?”
Similar meetings elsewhere in the province have seen large crowds and long lines. Global News reported that Mitch Sylvestre, the lead organiser associated with the campaign, described turnout at recent events as “This is overwhelming” and expressed confidence the campaign could reach its goal by the May deadline. Local coverage from CityNews Edmonton and other outlets documented high turnout in communities such as Red Deer and Millet, where community halls were reported to be at or near capacity.
While Stay Free Alberta (the public campaign) is collecting signatures, other Albertans have organized counter-efforts. A separate campaign, commonly called Forever Canadian (filed with Elections Alberta as “Alberta Forever Canada”), led by former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk, earlier reported collecting more than 456,000 signatures in favour of keeping Alberta in Canada. Organizers on both sides say events such as the Fort Saskatchewan meeting will be used to measure local support for their positions in the Edmonton area.
