Alberta separatists are clashing over Monday’s referendum after the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) urged supporters to leave nine questions blank, warning that approving them would undermine the push for independence.
“DECLINE THE NINE,” reads an automated text message sent Wednesday to APP members and signed by CEO Mitch Sylvestre.
“Leave Question 1 through nine blank,” the message states. “Mark only Question 10, Option 2: tell the government to start the legal process for a binding referendum on Alberta independence.”
The campaign comes as Albertans vote on nine questions proposed by Premier Danielle Smith addressing immigration, provincial powers and constitutional reforms, alongside a tenth asking whether Alberta should remain in Canada or begin the legal process toward a subsequent binding independence referendum.
The APP warns that approving Smith’s questions would allow Edmonton and Ottawa to portray the results as evidence Albertans favour reform over separation.
“If the nine pass, Edmonton and Ottawa will point to them as proof Albertans want to fix Canada and stay,” the message reads. “Don’t hand them that.”
Jeffrey Rath, who has served as legal counsel for the APP, defended the strategy in an interview with Juno News, revealing that he personally declined all nine questions.
“I personally declined the nine, and I voted only on option 10,” Rath said.
Rath blasted Smith for voting to remain in Canada, accusing her of surrendering Alberta’s strongest negotiating tool against Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“Do you trust Danielle Smith as a negotiator? None of us do,” he said.
“Her best leverage is option two ... to continue to maintain pressure against Ottawa. But she’s voting against her own leverage.”
Rath also accused Smith of failing to secure meaningful concessions from Carney, citing ongoing federal pipeline restrictions and the continued existence of Bill C-69.
Despite defending the APP’s campaign, Rath insisted Albertans should decide for themselves how to vote.
“People should vote the way they want,” he said. “Vote for the questions you want to vote for.”
However, the campaign has drawn criticism from fellow separatists who argue that supporting provincial reforms does not contradict pursuing independence.
Pathway to Independence leader Cory Morgan said the “decline the nine” campaign was not being “very well received,” accusing the APP of focusing more on Smith than advancing separation.
Let Alberta Decide co-leader Keith Wilson also rejected the strategy, revealing that he supported all nine reform questions alongside the independence option.
“I voted YES to the nine and Option 2 on question 10,” Wilson wrote on X. “I recommend everyone who wants a better future for their kids to do the same.”
Alberta Transition Council co-lead Dennis Kalma also criticized the APP’s campaign, warning that leaving questions unanswered could allow politicians to dismiss voters’ concerns.
“Absolutely idiotic to not vote for the nine,” Kalma wrote on X.
“Politicians will interpret what they want from non-responses and almost always it will be: Voters don’t care about this....I can safely ignore the issue.
“Vote as you will, but vote on every question,” he added. “Personally I will be voting Yes to the Nine and Option 2.”
Smith, who voted to remain in Canada, has presented her referendum questions as a way to address Alberta’s grievances within Confederation.
Five concern provincial policies, while four require constitutional changes. Abolishing the Senate would require unanimous provincial consent.
Alberta’s 2021 equalization referendum highlighted the limits of such votes. Despite roughly 62 per cent supporting the removal of equalization from the Constitution, Ottawa did not pursue an amendment.
For Rath, the prospect of independence remains Alberta’s strongest bargaining chip, even for voters who want to remain in Canada.
“Even if you don’t want independence, it’s the only way to maintain our leverage against Ottawa,” he said.