Citizen Initiative Petition Received, Verification Begins
October 28, 2025
EDMONTON – The signature period for the “Alberta Forever Canada” citizen initiative petition has ended and Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer, Gordon McClure, has received the petition from the proponent.
Next steps
Elections Alberta will verify the petition within 60 days (by December 27, 2025), using the method as prescribed in the Act to achieve a 95% confidence level.
The verification process includes:
- Confirmation that only the petition signature sheets as provided to the applicant were used in the collection of signatures;
- Confirmation that only original signatures have been collected;
- A review of each signature to ensure the required information was provided (full name, physical address, contact information, date, signature);
- Confirmation that each signature on the petition was witnessed by a registered canvasser;
- A random sample to confirm the signatories’ addresses are in Alberta; and
- Contacting a random sample of signatories to confirm they signed the petition.
As soon as practical after completing the petition verification and no later than January 6, 2026, Elections Alberta will report the verification results on the Elections Alberta website. If the petition is successful, Elections Alberta will submit a copy of the policy proposal to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
Important: During the 60-day verification process, Elections Alberta staff will contact a sample of electors who have signed the petition to verify their information and signatures, using the contact information recorded on the petition signature sheets. Electors who have signed the petition are asked to be prepared to verify their information, as they may be contacted.
If a phone number was listed in the contact information, randomly selected electors will receive a text message from Elections Alberta indicating we will be calling to verify their information. Elections Alberta’s name will appear on the call display. There is no need to call or text us back.
If an email was listed in the contact information, randomly selected electors will receive an email from Elections Alberta with the information to be verified. Electors will respond by email with a yes if the information is correct, and no if the information is incorrect.
Initiative Petition Background Information
The citizen initiative application from proponent Thomas Lukaszuk for a policy proposal with the proposed question: Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada? was approved and the Notice of Initiative Petition was issued on June 30, 2025. For more information, please see: https://www.elections.ab.ca/citizen-initiative-application-approved-notice-of-initiative-petition-issued/.
As the application was received and approved prior to coming into force of Bill 54: Election Statutes Amendment Act, the Citizen Initiative process will follow requirements set out in the Citizen Initiative Act as of June 30, 2025.
The petition was issued on July 30, 2025. For more information, please see: https://www.elections.ab.ca/citizen-initiative-petition-issued/.
More information on the citizen initiative process, including what happens next if a petition is successful, the status of citizen initiative petitions, proponent financing rules, third party advertising rules, and answers to frequently asked questions may be found on Elections Alberta’s website.
Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta responsible for administering provincial elections, by-elections, and referenda.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Robyn Bell
Media Relations
Phone: 403-589-7233
Email: media@elections.ab.ca
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