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Nenshi challenges Smith over separatist petition timing texts

Alberta's premier says she explained changing referendum rules; the opposition leader says the messages show she gave separatists instructions.

Channel: Global News ·

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Danielle Smith under fire after leaked texts point to collusion with separatist leader Jeffrey Rath

Things we can learn from the video

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0:36Smith says referendum changes followed the April 2025 federal election, creating a transition between old and new rules.
1:06Nenshi presents messages attributed to Smith and alleges she advised Rath on petition timing.
1:45Smith says competing citizen initiatives fell under different regulatory periods.
2:21Nenshi reads a message about waiting for new rules and argues it amounts to an instruction.
3:01Smith rejects coordination allegations and says she explains citizen-initiative rules to anyone seeking clarification.

Whether advice about a deadline amounted to political coordination is at the center of an exchange between Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and opposition leader Naheed Nenshi over a separatist referendum petition.

Canada's Global News shows the confrontation during question period in Edmonton. Nenshi, leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party, reads messages attributed to Smith that he says reveal more than an explanation of government procedures. Jeffrey Rath, the separatist leader involved in the exchange, posted the messages on social media, according to the broadcaster.

At issue is a movement seeking Alberta's separation from Canada, and the rules governing citizen-initiated referendum petitions. Smith says her government introduced legislative changes after the April 2025 federal election, leaving a transition period while regulations were being written. People considering petitions asked when the new rules would apply, she says, and she answered them.

Nenshi focuses on a passage he reads aloud: "I told you and Mitch to wait till the new rules came in and it sounds like you did." He argues that this was an instruction about managing the petition's timing, not simply a response to a procedural question. He also accuses Smith of changing the law to help separatists.

Smith rejects that interpretation. She points to competing citizen initiatives, including the "Forever Canada" campaign, which she says fell under different regulatory periods. Her explanation is that she was clarifying which rules applied, rather than coordinating a campaign.

"I will talk to anybody who is trying to understand a citizen-initiated process and let them know how the rules apply," Smith says. The clip ends as Nenshi presses her again about instructions he says were given before the legislation was enacted.