FORT CHIPEWYAN, AB, April 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ – Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) Chief and Council are pleased with the decision from the Alberta Court of King’s Bench to issue a stay in the Alberta separation referendum campaign.
Justice Leonard’s decision to issue a stay means that Alberta’s chief electoral officer cannot certify the separation petition until after the court has issued a decision in the court cases launched by Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and the Blackfoot Confederacy.
The three Nations submitted their claim to the court stating that any attempt to secede from Canada, especially without consulting the First Nations, is a violation of the sacred Treaties. Further, they argued that the UCP government’s facilitation of the referendum process, including granting separatists more time to collect signatures and lowering the number of signatures required, was a betrayal of the Duty of the Crown to uphold the Treaties.
“Whether the summer of 1812 or the spring of 2026, Canada’s Indigenous people have always been the first and last line of defense against American annexation. While Ottawa sleeps, Alberta’s first inhabitants are doing everything we can to save confederation. We shall never allow our Treaties to be broken, and we will never bend the knee to foreign tyrants or their useful idiots,” said Chief Adam.
“We are standing up for our Treaties, for our people and for the land that is all under threat through this referendum effort,” said Chief Adam. “We are doing this for all Albertans, especially children and youth, who deserve to grow up in a country that respects the rule of law and recognizes the supremacy of the constitution.”
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SOURCE Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation
