The referendum goose could still be cooked
By Professor Bruce Pardy | Published by The Western Standard
For Alberta supporters of independence, the Alberta government has fixed a problem and created a new one.
In Brief by Rights Probe
In an October column for the Western Standard, law professor Bruce Pardy called for the repeal of section 2(4) of the Citizen Initiative Act (CIA), which prevented Albertans from proposing a referendum on independence and stalled the Alberta Prosperity Project’s (APP) question in the courts. On December 10, the Alberta legislature passed Bill 14, which repealed this section, allowing for the collection of signatures for a proposed independence vote, expected to take place in late 2026. However, the new bill also grants the government the power to choose not to implement the results of an independence referendum if the people vote “yes,” even though this is not explicitly stated in the legislation.
Although Bill 14 removes the initial barrier to proposing a referendum, it introduces a new obstacle by allowing the government to act as a gatekeeper at the end of the process. If a referendum on independence were to pass, the government could still choose not to implement it, particularly if the vote margin is narrow. Prof. Pardy argues that while the path to a referendum has been cleared, the government retains the authority to reject the will of the people, potentially undermining the independence movement.
The full version of this opinion piece is available at the publisher’s website here.
Bruce Pardy is executive director of Rights Probe and professor of Law at Queen’s University.
Related Reading
Contact us to book Bruce Pardy for an interview or appearance, or to subscribe to our newsletter: rightsprobe@protonmail.com.
