Alberta separatists have submitted stacks of boxes to election officials, which they said contained the signatures of more than 300,000 supporters, enough names to force an independence referendum in Canada's oil-rich province.

A boisterous crowd of several hundred waved the blue provincial flag on a bright, clear day, cheering as separatist leader Mitch Sylvestre delivered the petitions to Elections Alberta.

"We're not like the rest of Canada," Sylvestre said

"We're 100 percent conservative. We're being ruled by Liberals who don't think like us."

"They're trying to shut down our industry," he said, referring to the lucrative provincial oil sector.

The pro-independence camp in the western province of five million people had existed on the margins for decades, but the movement has gathered pace in recent months and is closer than ever to triggering a vote.

Polls put separatist support at roughly 30 percent, but even if the federalist side wins a prospective referendum, leaders on both sides say the process has left Canada permanently changed.

Standing outside the provincial legislature on a grey Sunday evening, former Alberta deputy premier and activist for the federalist side, Thomas Lukaszuk, said he now struggles to look at the blue provincial flag that fluttered behind him, saying it has been co-opted by separatists.

"It stands for something that most of us Albertans and Canadians don't stand for. It's a form of treason," said Lukaszuk, who moved to Canada as a child when his family sought refuge from communist Poland.

Lukaszuk, who is spearheading Alberta's Forever Canadian campaign, said the ongoing separatist movement has been helped by a right-wing premier, Danielle Smith, who has sought closer ties with President Donald Trump's Republican Party.

Tacit support from Washington, including several State Department meetings, has also helped, he said.

"The separatists are not elected members. They're just citizens of Canada residing in Alberta, and they actually formed delegations and are received by the highest levels of US administration. That must be very empowering to them," he said.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stirred a Canadian furor in January when he said Alberta and the United States would make "natural partners".

Sylvestre heads Stay Free Alberta, which had until the beginning of May to collect 178,000 signatures.

While he says the group easily cleared that bar, Elections Alberta needs to verify the names – a process placed on hold by a court ruling.

Indigenous groups in Alberta who signed treaties with Britain before Canada secured independence – have filed a legal challenge, arguing that separating Alberta would violate their treaty rights, a case that could render the entire process moot. (AFP)



Edited by Thomas McAlinden