And with the rains came the Forever Canadian Unity Bus, nourishing the seeds of unity and sprouting forth signs of red and white from the lawns of those who seek to keep the country intact, just in time for Canada’s 159th birthday.
The Forever Canadian Unity Bus made its way through the Peace Country last weekend, making a stop in Grande Prairie on Saturday to meet and greet a very wet group of volunteers and supporters and distribute signage that encourages Albertans to remain a province within Canada during the October referendum.
The campaign, and the bus, driven by Thomas Lukaszuk, the former MLA and deputy premier, hit the road in mid-May with the goal of visiting every town in Alberta. This, following the petition campaign that included more than 10,000 volunteers provincewide, including 5,000 canvassers.
“I put enough kilometres on this bus to drive from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Victoria, BC, and back, so I’ve crisscrossed Canada, in a way, twice. I’ll just continue driving and giving out signs and meeting with people and signing people up to make sure that they come out on referendum day.”
“It’s important that we hand out as many of these signs as possible, that we sign up as many people as possible before the referendum. I am still very, very cautiously optimistic that the premier will change her mind and remove the referendum altogether because, well, it’s her choice.”
It’s also an expensive proposition with estimates at over $120 million to conduct the 10-question referendum and hand count the votes, Lukaszuk said, noting the province could build four new junior high schools, or address homelessness in a big way with that money.
Premier Danielle Smith announced the separation question would join nine questions already chosen to be part of the Oct. 19 referendum. It asks whether Alberta should remain a province of Canada or start the legal process to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether Alberta should separate.
The Forever Canadian petition garnered 404,293 verified signatures, while the Stay Free Alberta campaign to separate from Canada, gathered more than 300,000 signatures but remains unverified by Elections Canada due to a lawsuit brought by Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the Blackfoot Confederacy. On April 10, a temporary stay issued by an Alberta Court of King’s Bench judge issued the injunction, halting the verification process until a full judicial review is completed.
On June 29, the Alberta Court of Appeal granted a partial stay of proceedings, allowing Elections Alberta to complete the verification process and report the results.
A group of roughly 20 Stay Free Alberta supporters braved the rain as well, waving contrasting blue Alberta flags and displaying their own signs at the corner of 106 St., making their presence and perspective known. The two groups never interacted, except by sharing the same parking lot at Centre 2000. RCMP were notified beforehand that there would be an opposing demonstration and there was an officer parked nearby for most the event.
Lukaszuk said he has been greeted by separatists at several locations, but it hasn’t been all that common.
“There were a couple when we came up, here and there, but I don’t mind that, it’s democracy. They have a right to express their point of view, and that’s the irony, because some of them call themselves freedom fighters, but the fact is that there is freedom. If they were doing that in the United States, they would be incarcerated,” he said.
More than 300 signs were distributed during the Grande Prairie leg of the tour, according to organizers.
“I’ve been in Grande Prairie for 30 years, and I’ve lived in other parts of Canada, and I’m pretty proud of this province and the role that it plays in Canada, and so I’m a Forever Canada type of guy,” said Liam McCracken, using his new sign as a makeshift umbrella.
“For me, Canada is my country, and right now I want to be ‘elbows up, arms out,’ which means we need to be making Canada a stronger country, not a weaker country,” said Dylan Bressey.
Albertans are Canadians, Lukaszuk said, and the momentum behind making that known is building. He said he’s seeing more and more Canadian flags draped alongside blue Albertan flags.
“What we have to do is pull together and recommit to Canada and show how proud we are as Canadians, and I hope that these signs stay on people’s lawns forever … Notice how many flags are already hanging across Alberta everywhere,” said Lukaszuk. “We are bashful as Canadians; we don’t fly that flag as often as other countries do and maybe it’s time that we start doing that.”
By Chris Zwick, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Jul 02, 2026 at 10:16
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