The former Alberta politician trying to keep the province from splitting up with Canada says his campaign is zeroing in on its goal, but he’s not slowing down.
Thomas Lukaszuk’s Forever Canadian petition aims to make it official policy for Alberta to stay in the country.
Lukaszuk says his group, now with some 5,000 canvassers collecting names, has gathered 230,000 signatures.
That’s some 64,000 shy of the roughly 294,000 needed before the end of October to trigger a referendum.
The campaign is pushback against the separatist sentiment in Alberta that once again bubbled to the surface after the federal Liberals’ election win in late April.
Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative government later lowered the threshold for citizens to initiate a referendum, including on separatism.
Lukaszuk filed for his petition before that came into effect, and his campaign is subject to the old rules.
That includes having to gather the required signatures in three months instead of four.
Surrounded by volunteers and supporters at his home on the highway for the next three weeks — a recreational vehicle dubbed the “Unity bus” — Lukaszuk said Friday he’s optimistic.
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“We are on the home stretch. But this is a race, and you just don’t stop running when you think you’re doing well. You just continue running, and we haven’t hit the finish mark yet,” he told reporters in Edmonton.
“We are two-thirds into the campaign and we have more than two-thirds of signatures.”
As Lukaszuk shook hands, the crowd of a few dozen broke into a solemn rendition of O Canada.
His goal is to surpass 300,000 signatures in order to cushion against some being disqualified because of a missing phone number or incorrect email.
“We don’t take this for granted. We still know that we have a large number, perhaps 100,000 signatures, that we have to collect to feel comfortable,” he said.
Like many of the impromptu in-person signing efforts of volunteers canvassing the streets, the Friday event was also a collection opportunity.
Nine boxes of signed petition sheets were hauled up from the Calgary area by a volunteer. One man walking his dog in a nearby park stopped to put his name to the cause.
Lukaszuk said his campaign crew is finding support in every provincial constituency, including in rural Alberta, where many might assume that “separatism festers.”
“One thing for sure is they are damn proud Canadians.”
Smith has said she wants to see a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada and has declined to endorse Lukaszuk’s campaign.
She and Justice Minister Mickey Amery have said an opposing question asking whether Alberta should separate from Canada is constitutional and should have been approved by Elections Alberta.
The province’s chief electoral officer referred that question, from the separatist group Alberta Prosperity Project, to court for a judicial review of whether it violates the Constitution, including treaty rights.
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