By Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press

Provincial Politics

Alberta increases referendum petition fees to $25,000 a 5,000 per cent hike

Dec 18, 2025 | 12:12 PM

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s government is hiking the cost to apply for a citizen-initiated referendum by 5,000 per cent, saying it’s about making sure applicants are serious.

A cabinet order released late Wednesday afternoon ups the fee to $25,000 from $500.

Justice Minister Mickey Amery’s office says the petitions are costly, and the higher fee is meant to discourage “frivolous applications and protect Alberta taxpayers.”

The cost will be refundable if the applicant meets the required threshold of signatures and completes reporting requirements.

Elections Alberta says a different application by Corb Lund seeking to stop new coal mining in Alberta’s Rockies will have a grace period and the new fee would be waived if he files his paperwork by Jan. 11.

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Earlier this year, Smith’s United Conservative Party government significantly lowered the threshold for citizens to apply for a referendum, and the premier has consistently said she wants to encourage direct democracy.

Irfan Sabir, Alberta’s New Democrat Shadow Minister for Justice, issued the following statement in response:

“This UCP government keeps changing the rules of the game as they go. This time, they have increased the application fee for citizen initiative petitions by 50 times —from $500 to $25,000. This change is clearly meant to stifle democratic action by citizens who are simply exercising their rights under legislation created by the UCP themselves. This is a concerning trend from this government where they change the rules and processes when they no longer work in their favour. We saw this with Bill 14 when they stripped independent oversight from citizen initiatives and gave sweeping control to the Justice Minister, and this extraordinary cost increase to citizen initiative application fees is just the latest example.

“Albertans deserve better. They deserve a government that shows respect for the democratic process and doesn’t change the rules mid-game to protect its power.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 18, 2025.

(With files from rdnewsNOW)