Danielle Smith and the separatists beaten back
Or, a good day for reason and respect
Today’s Alberta court ruling from Justice Shaina Leonard on injunctions brought by First Nations groups is a doozy and has enormous implications for any independence referendum conducted anywhere in Canada.
The injunctions sought to stop the petition process in support of a planned referendum question on Alberta independence. Justice Leonard granted one of the injunctions, and accepted some of the arguments of the other, delivering a stunning defeat for the Smith UCP government, for the Chief Electoral Officer of Alberta as a facilitator of the process, and for the separatist movement in the province.
The petition has been ordered stopped in its tracks. So much for all those boxes of paper ballots that leading separatist honcho Mitch Sylvestre dropped off at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer. They will go uncounted and unverified.
It’s a good day for reason and for respect.
Here’s why.
Let’s start with the half-win. The injunction to stop the separatist petition brought by the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation (SLCN) was based on a challenging proposition—that “irreparable” harm would be caused by the petition process and by a subsequent independence referendum. [i] The harm inflicted would, in the view of the SLCN, be two-fold: to the First Nations and their treaty rights, including through increased racism; and to the people of Alberta as a result of the potentiality of foreign interference. Justice Leonard ruled that the SLCN claims raised serious issues (para 176) but that SLCN counsel had not demonstrated irreparable harm sufficient to cause an injunction against the petition.
While that is a partial defeat, the good news is that, on the issue of foreign interference, the Justice accepted that it posed a significant risk. But she was concerned by the idea of stopping the separatist referendum process purely out of fear of foreign interference, arguing that to do so would undermine “the very fabric of our democracy” (para 171). Then she tried to balance two propositions—one that government officials had failed to step forward with any evidence about any steps they were taking to address the risk of foreign interference or even “indicate that they are addressing the risks” (para 170). Against this, Justice Leonard still felt that, “we must let our government institutions manage and address the risks to ensure any eventual referendum reflects the will of Albertans.” (para 172).
I am not sure these arguments align—the government has done nothing, but we must rely on them to do something. But at least they place squarely on the shoulders of the provincial and federal governments the need to demonstrate that they are taking the risk of foreign interference from all quarters in the separatist referendum in Alberta seriously and responding appropriately. That will be a tall order for the Danielle Smith government and will threaten to place it offside with the separatist element of their base. It will also be a challenge for fed-prov relations, and for the federal national security system monitoring foreign interference in terms of what and how to share intelligence.
The clear win before the Alberta court stemmed from a separate and concurrent action brought by the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation to stop the separatist petition on the grounds that the Alberta Chief Electoral Officer had failed in his duties by agreeing to allow the petition to proceed in the first place, given prior judicial rulings, and that the Crown had failed in its duty to consult with Alberta First Nations. [ii] Justice Leonard’s granting of this injunction amounts to a double blow to the credibility of the separatist petition process. First, it’s a serious blow to the reputation of the Chief Electoral Officer, Gordon McClure, who was appointed to the position in November 2024 after a 20-year tenure on something called the Public Lands Appeals Board. It would be a tough time for the Chief Electoral Officer to resign, given that the office is locked in a battle with the separatist “Centurion Project” over its illicit access to and handling of the province’s electoral database—something that itself raises serious concerns about foreign interference avenues. But honour and the independence and integrity of the office would otherwise demand it.
Second, the ruling insists on the duty of the government to consult with First Nations before engaging in a referendum process and castigates the Smith government for failing to do so. In effect, it means that the Smith UCP government must begin a process to consult with all 48 First Nations in the province about the separatist referendum. Good luck with that.
No doubt there will be appeals. The separatist crowd will be furious. It will be interesting to see if Smith can be measured in her political response, given previous efforts to undermine the judiciary’s reputation and standing in the province, and the presence of separatist elements in her UCP.
This would also be a good time for the feds to step up and affirm the rights of First Nations people in any separatist referendum, as well as begin to say what, exactly, it proposes to do to monitor and respond to foreign interference in a provincial referendum (a new battle ground, distinct from federal elections). Alberta will be the first test case. Quebec may follow.
[i] The case citation is 2026 ABKB 373. It is not yet posted on the Court of King’s Bench website
[ii] The case citation is 2026 ABKB 375. Not yet posted on the Court of King’s Bench website
Much as I would like to see a bonfire of Sylvestre's signatures, I would prefer Elections Alberta to check them for fraudulent names from the voters list. Or maybe the RCMP could do it since EA has so much other BS to handle. I want to see criminal charges laid against any volunteer who produced fraudulent signatures.
Smith is still sucking up to the separatists and I still think she is one herself, since she chose to surround herself with them. Anyway she lacks the guts to stop helping them.
I worry about the possibility that the loons in Smith's government will bay and howl for the province to invoke the Notwithstanding Clause, thereby giving the Charter and Indigenous peoples, not to mention the country as a whole, the middle finger.
However, like you, I'm glad to see that the Alberta Court hoisted Smith and company, including the Chief Electoral Officer, on their collective petards.