The referendum was nonbinding, and if passed, had many legal hurdles, including the Indigenous issues raised in this case.

If it came to a vote, it would not have passed, and hopefully would have damaged Smith enough to end her career in politics.

It will be interesting to see if Smith invokes the Notwithstanding Clause and ignores the court ruling, and goes ahead with the referendum.

If she does, I predict an even bigger defeat and political damage to her.

and will be back before we know it.

drill baby drill

A petition to keep Alberta as part of Canada got almost twice as many signatures as the separation referendum.

Only 25-30% of Albertans favor separation.

The ruling was based on sections of the Charter and Constitution that aren't subject to the clause.

It will be appealed no doubt but this is still very good news. With the breach of privacy re voter info and this decision, Smith finds herself between a rock and a hard place and I couldn't be happier.