By Olivia Gomm

Thousands of people attended a rally in Calgary’s Stampede Park this week in support of Alberta separation, with many lining up before the rally to add their names to a petition list to urge the province to separate from Canada.

Pro-independence group Stay Free Alberta organized the event and collected signatures outside of the Big Four Roadhouse ahead of the rally on Jan. 26 for the petition submitted to Elections Alberta by Alberta Prosperity Project, calling for a referendum on separating from Canada.

The petition asks Albertans: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?” Proponents of the petition have until May 2 to collect 177,732 signatures, which is equal to 10 percent of the total number of votes cast in the last provincial general election.

Jeffrey Rath, general counsel for Stay Free Alberta, talks to media outside of the Big Four Roadhouse in Calgary’s Stampede Park on Jan. 26, 2026. The Epoch Times

Jeffrey Rath, general counsel for Stay Free Alberta and life-long Alberta resident, told The Epoch Times that his goal is to have Alberta become a “free and independent country.”

He said Albertans’ lives would be better off if the province separated from Canada as the province could eliminate corporate and personal income tax, which would attract companies to the province. The province could also get rid of the carbon tax and stop paying into equalization, he added.

Rath also said Albertans do not want to be a part of Ottawa’s “strategic partnership” with Beijing, citing Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent remarks while visiting Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

He added that he doesn’t want an independent Alberta join the United States, but have very close relations with the southern neighbour.

“I think we’d have the shortest free trade agreement in the world, zero tariffs on both sides of the border, and free flow of goods and services and workers between Alberta and the United States,” Rath said.

Robert Birth, an Alberta separation rally attendee, outside of the Big Four Roadhouse in Calgary’s Stampede Park on Jan. 26, 2026. The Epoch Times

Robert Birth, who attended the rally and supports the movement, told The Epoch Times that he loves Alberta and has lived in Calgary for most of his life. He said his biggest motivation for petitioning for Alberta separation is that he doesn’t believe in equalization payments.

“I don’t feel that one province should backstop the majority of the rest,” Birth said, adding that the Western provinces “haven’t been treated fairly by central Canada for a long, long time” but that Canada could be “scared” of Alberta leaving because “we’re the golden goose.”

Alberta Prosperity Project CEO Mitch Sylvestre has previously said that a referendum is needed because of Ottawa’s regulations on oil and gas development in Alberta, as well as the province’s low chances of seeing a significant change at the federal level that is more favourable to its interests.

Artwork about Alberta independence is seen on the outside of a house in Edmonton on June 15, 2025. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck

Meanwhile, a Leger poll conducted last May found that 29 percent of Albertans supported the province in becoming an independent country, while 67 percent were opposed, and 5 percent were undecided.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has consistently said she does not support Alberta separating from Canada, but has said her government would allow a referendum on Alberta separation to be voted on if it meets all the legislated requirements to be put to a vote.

Smith said late last year that a recent agreement she signed with Ottawa to allow the construction of an oil pipeline from her province to the B.C. coast, as well as the removal of several federal policies restricting oil and gas development, are good signs that the federal government is coming to the table to hear Alberta’s grievances.

Carney has said he “understands the frustrations” in Alberta when it comes to the issue of resource development, but that Canada is stronger when it’s unified.

Earlier this month, a northern Alberta First Nation took legal action against the provincial and federal governments, and Alberta’s chief electoral officer, over the approval of the Alberta Prosperity Project’s petition to separate Alberta from Canada, saying the First Nation’s treaty rights were not protected.

Carolina Avendano and Paul Rowan Brian contributed to this report.