EDMONTON – Thomas Lukaszuk is feeling reasonably optimistic.
For the last three months, the former deputy premier of Alberta has been on a mission to keep the province from splitting from Canada with his “Forever Canadian” campaign.
He and roughly 6,500 volunteers have been door knocking and setting up shop everywhere from airports, dog parks and parades to driveways, farmers markets and zoos — all with the goal of collecting 294,000 signatures on a petition by a deadline on Tuesday.
The petition asks: “Do you agree that Alberta should remain within Canada?”
He started his campaign as a counter to separatists wanting a referendum on Alberta independence.
Those involved with Lukaszuk’s petition are still tallying up signatures. Earlier this month, he said they had gathered 230,000.
“At this point in time, I am very reasonably optimistic,” Lukaszuk said in an interview Monday.
He’s set to drop off boxes of signed petition sheets to Elections Alberta and reveal the final number of signatures on Tuesday.
“I knew that this was going to resonate with Albertans, because I know Albertans to be proud Canadians first and that the vast majority of Albertans are what (former premier) Ralph Klein would have called severely normal,” Lukaszuk said.
“We have struck a chord with Canadians, with Albertans and this is extremely important to them.”
Lukaszuk said Albertans should be given the opportunity to vote in a referendum or allow legislature members to vote on the petition question in the house.
He said he’s not aware of any current sitting legislature member who has signed it.
The United Conservative Party government, under Premier Danielle Smith, has urged Alberta to stay in Confederation while at the same time making it easier to hold a referendum on separation.
The government recently lowered the bar for groups like the Alberta Prosperity Project to launch a referendum. Its proposed question is: “Do you agree that the province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province in Canada?”
The province’s chief electoral officer referred that question to court for a judicial review. If approved, the group would need to collect 177,000 signatures in four months.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2025.
— By Bill Graveland in Calgary
