Lukaszuk accused of misleading supporters with petition as he disavows referendum

Former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Thomas Lukaszuk is being accused of failing to deliver after disavowing a referendum despite successfully exceeding the signature threshold.

Source: Facebook (Thomas Lukaszuk)

Former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Thomas Lukaszuk is being accused of failing to deliver after disavowing a referendum despite successfully exceeding the signature threshold for his Citizens’ Initiative Petition.

Lukaszuk’s surprise announcement that he was not seeking to hold a referendum sparked concerns from constitutional lawyers and, alternatively, praise from the Alberta independence movement.

Constitutional Lawyer Keith Wilson suggested that Lukaszuk misled the 456,365 signatories of his petition that he presented to Elections Alberta on Tuesday.

“Thomas: tell the truth. Your petition calls for a referendum. Here is the legal application you signed. Did you lie to your supporters to get their signatures?” Wilson wrote in a post to X, attaching a copy of Lukaszuk’s petition application filed with Elections Alberta.

The petition, which the Chief Electoral Office received on June 5, 2025, is characterized as a legislative or policy proposal, not a constitutional referendum proposal.

Due to this, and because Lukaszuk filed his petition before Bill 54 was proclaimed, he had to gather 293,976 signatures—10 per cent of provincial electors on the post-election day list of electors—within only 90 days.

The wording of the petition clearly asks signatories if they support a referendum.

“Therefore, we as represented by the signatory and applicant below propose a referendum on the following question: Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?”

Wilson followed up, writing that the petition wording “is what gives direction to the gov’t as to what the gov’t will do under the Referendum Act.” He said the government would need to develop its own wording for the referendum question and ensure it is compliant with the Clarity Act or else risk wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on “an invalid referendum vote.”

In another post, Wilson said, “Here’s the best evidence to show how badly Lukaszuk misled his supporters and that he has now triggered a 2026 referendum on independence. His petition was not about forcing a vote in the Legislature. Read his application. He just filed the signatures needed to cause a referendum. Thanks, Thomas!”

Despite asking signatories to sign in support of a referendum and surpassing the threshold, Lukaszuk said he does not want a referendum after all.

“We knew that the vast majority of Albertans want to remain Canadian. Hence, we are not asking for a referendum. We already know that we are Canadian and we will always be Canadian. We are asking the Premier to do the right thing and ask Alberta MLAs to vote on this issue and put separatism to bed once and for all,” he said.

Other Alberta independence figures quickly joined Wilson in challenging Lukaszuk’s claims.

“TOMMY LIED TO ELECTIONS ALBERTA! He’s now saying he never wanted a referendum!” wrote Alberta Prosperity Project general counsel Jeffrey Rath on X.

Other independence advocates thanked Lukaszuk for bringing a referendum to Albertans.

“I love that the Forever Canadians gave us our referendum. Thanks guys! You saved us a lot of work,” said Take Back Alberta Leader David Parker.

Even Alberta Premier Danielle Smith previously confirmed that Lukaszuk’s proposed referendum question was a question on separation.

“This is why I’m doing everything I can to prevent a [referendum] vote, because Mr. Lukaszuk’s vote is a yes/no question. It is a separatist referendum. He may be trying to characterize it differently, but if you ask people if you want to remain in Alberta, ‘yes’ or ‘no’, there are implications if people answer ‘no’,” said Smith.

Once a citizen-initiated petition is certified, it must be tabled in the legislature within 15 days of the next sitting, accordingto Elections Alberta. The government then has 10 sitting days to refer it to a legislative committee. Within 90 days, that committee can recommend that either a bill be introduced or the matter be referred to the Lieutenant Governor in Council for a referendum. If a referendum is recommended, it must occur no later than the next provincial election. If that election is less than a year away, it must happen before the one that follows.