UCP MLA who backed Alberta separatist petition not seeking re-election

A United Conservative Party politician who promoted a petition pushing for a referendum on separation says he will not seek re-election.

Red Deer-South MLA Jason Stephan said in a statement released Monday evening that he sought to “speak the truth as best as I understand it” because his “duty is to seek freedom and prosperity for Alberta.”

Stephan, who served as parliamentary secretary for constitutional affairs in Premier Danielle Smith’s government, promoted a petition earlier this year that pushed for a referendum on separation.

Albertans overwhelmingly rejected the idea of holding a formal referendum on separation Monday, with around 76 per cent voting to remain part of Canada.

“Canada could be the most free and prosperous nation on earth, but it is not,” Stephan said in his statement, which cited Texas as having a larger gross domestic product than Canada.

“The status quo is not the right way for Albertans.”

Even though Alberta will remain in Canada, hundreds of thousands voted in favour of asking the province to begin the process of separating.

The separatism question, one of 10 in Monday’s referendum, asked voters if Alberta should remain in Canada or if the provincial government should begin the legal process of holding a future binding referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada.

Smith posed the question to address Alberta’s longstanding grievances toward the federal government, and the growing separatist constituency in her own party.

Four years ago, Alberta separatists worked to oust former premier Jason Kenney and get Smith elected leader of the United Conservative Party.

The party never campaigned on holding a separation vote in the 2023 provincial election, but this year Smith said a referendum was necessary to resolve the matter once and for all.

Smith, who said she voted to stay in Canada, said a 50 per cent plus one majority would mean no follow-up referendum for the rest of her government’s mandate.

When he promoted the petition, Stephan argued a referendum was about holding Ottawa accountable, citing “stupid laws and policies” that damage economic prosperity and “erode Albertans’ freedoms in favour of a nanny state.”

He said in his statement Monday that when next year’s provincial election arrives, he will have served more than eight years in politics and that it’s the right time to step back.

“Most families in Red Deer share conservative values, desiring freedom and prosperity for themselves and their children,” Stephan said in part.

“Thank you to for supporting my efforts to seek freedom and prosperity for Albertans, a blessed land that we love.”

— with files from Karen Bartko