Country singer Corb Lund arrived at Elections Alberta’s Edmonton office in a horse trailer Wednesday to drop off what he estimates are 200,000 petition signatures to put banning new coal mining in the Rocky Mountains on October’s growing referendum ballot.

According to Water Not Coal spokesperson Laura Laing, the citizen-initiative referendum campaign had 3,000 volunteers spread “corner-to-corner across the province,” collecting signatures in all but the province’s three most remote northern ridings.

The campaign had until Wednesday to collect 177,732 signatures in support of asking Albertans whether they agree that:

The Government of Alberta shall prohibit through legislation all coal exploration and mining activities within the Eastern Slopes of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains, other than mines that are in actual production as of January 1, 2026. For clarity, this prohibition includes Northback Holdings’ Grassy Mountain Project and Valory Resources’ Blackstone Project as well as any projects to expand any producing mines.

Lund told reporters that he expects “nothing less than the government to use our question … precisely as it’s on the signature sheet.”

The question would certainly add a different flavour to the premier’s recent referendum-maxxing, with 10 questions already scheduled for Oct. 19. These include whether to have a future independence referendum, varying degrees of immigration restrictions and constitutional changes that would give provinces (and their premiers, incidentally) more power.

Chris Chang-Yen Phillips, an environmental historian whose research focuses on the Rocky Mountains, was one of a few dozen supporters who showed up to witness Lund deliver the petition signatures, despite intermittent rain throughout the day.

“This was such an obvious question that so many Albertans just have absolute consensus on. We don’t want to pollute our waterways, we don’t want to dig up our Rockies and foothills, and I wanted to be a part of that movement,” Phillips told The Orchard.

He noted Albertans have a long history of environmental advocacy, from the Whale Society of Edmonton in the 1980s, which pushed for a global moratorium on whale hunting, to photographer Gladys Reeves’s efforts in the 1920s to protect Edmonton’s River Valley and “Indigenous people protecting this land for thousands of years.”

“We’re just the latest in a long chain of stewards,” said Phillips.

He added that when it comes to protecting the environment, “there’s not a huge urban-rural divide” as is often presumed.

Local volunteer Kathy Fisher, who recently collected signatures in Camrose, a town of 20,000 about 95 km southeast of Edmonton, said the campaign “created connective tissue between communities,” establishing “linkages which weren’t there before.”

Buy me a coffee

The movement to protect the eastern slopes of the Rockies from the predations of foreign coal companies brought together environmentalists, rural land owners and Indigenous communities beginning in 2020.

That’s when then-premier Jason Kenney rescinded the province’s 1976 coal policy, which banned open-bit coal mining on the eastern slopes of the Rockies. Kenney backtracked due to public outcry, issuing a moratorium on coal mining and exploration in the eastern slopes in 2022.

The provincial government has paid $238 million in settlements with Atrum Coal and Evolve Power for issuing the moratorium after they had purchased leases for coal projects.

In January 2025, Energy Minister Brian Jean lifted the moratorium for projects that were already underway, including Northback’s open-pit Grassy Mountain and Valory’s underground Blackstone projects.

A joint federal-provincial review panel rejected Grassy Mountain in June 2021, citing “significant adverse environmental effects.”

After an April 2024 meeting between Northback and Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) executives, as reported by Andrew Nikiforuk at The Tyee, the AER approved exploration permits for Grassy Mountain.

‘Sometimes these are long fights’

Fisher, who’s originally from Montreal, comes from a legacy of conservationist struggle. Her father was involved with the Montreal Parks and Playgrounds Association, which sought to preserve Mount Royal from industrial development.

It took until 2005 for the province to establish the Mount Royal Natural and Historical District.

“Sometimes these are long fights,” added Fisher.

She isn’t the only Water Not Coal volunteer whose environmentalism is intergenerational.

Dylan Pitman’s father was part of the movement to stop the Alberta-Pacific pulp mill in Athabasca, which produced then-environment minister Ralph Klein’s famous one-finger salute to environmentalists.

“We lost that fight. That pulp mill is there and that river is all the worse for it,” said Pitman.

He added that this movement feels different, given the impressive array of groups aligned against coal mining in the eastern slopes.

“We have all these organizations and different people that get out there and connect all across the province,” Pitman said.

Coal companies complain; Lund calls ‘bullshit’

Both coal companies named in the Water Not Coal petition — Northback and Valory — issued separate statements on June 10 in response to its apparent success.

“Alberta has a proud history of developing projects to meet global demand for our resources, and there is strong support for this project,” an unsigned statement from Northback reads, referencing a 2024 plebiscite on coal mining that was confined solely to the Crowsnest Pass, which received 72% support.

Grassy Mountain, if built, won’t be located in the Crowsnest Pass but in the Municipal District of Ranchland, which attempted to fight the mine in court.

“They cherry picked a group of people who want the jobs who will not suffer the effects of the mine. They pretend that’s democracy, and it’s just propaganda bullshit,” Corb Lund told reporters.

Valory CEO Ian Slater said it’s “disappointing to see misinformation about this industry, especially in Alberta,” without specifying which of the campaign’s claims he disputes.

“At Valory, we are committed to developing this resource responsibly through an underground mine operating under Alberta’s rigorous environmental and regulatory standards,” wrote Slater.

“The facts are simple: this project will create jobs, support local communities, protect our land and water and help supply a resource the world continues to need.”

Leave a comment

Lund said that these companies are “in a heavy duty PR campaign right now because they’re feeling the heat.”

“As soon as they get in there, in my estimation, they’ll do what almost every coal company does, which is start to push back against the regulations and lobby the government to loosen them,” he predicted.

Prairie Mines and Royalty ELC received an environmental protection order in May after a berm collapsed at its Coal Valley Mine, polluting the Lovett River with wastewater, which isn’t the first time the company has faced environmental sanctions.

“They’ll pay the fine and just keep going,” said Lund.

If the coal mining question is added to the ballot in October, which Premier Danielle Smith has indicated is her intention, expect Northback and Valory to spend big on efforts to shift public opinion in support of coal mining.

“The fortunate thing about our position is that we’re correct. They can spend all the money they want,” said Lund.

Share

Subscribe now

At Canada’s National Observer, I covered the Elbows Up for Climate summit that occurred Thursday in Edmonton, where progressive municipal leaders strategized about how to pursue climate action in the face of federal and provincial government obstinacy.

Earlier in the week, I reported for CNO about the extent to which the Centurion Project doxxing three million Albertans raises the risks of foreign interference in October’s referendum.

For Alberta Native News, I reported on Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta raising the prospect of civil disobedience if October’s quasi-independence referendum proceeds, as well as Indigenous representation at last week’s Alberta Federation of Labour Day of Protest in Edmonton.

Blogroll

Buy me a coffee

Story of the Week

Read more

This story was originally published in Alberta Native News.

Nisga’a Nation in northwestern B.C. says it hasn’t been consulted on proposed routes for a new tar sands pipeline that pass through its modern Treaty lands.

On June 1, the CBC reported that Alberta’s government is examining three potential routes to B.C.’s northern coast for a new bitumen pipeline that Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to designate as a priority project in his memorandum of understanding with Premier Danielle Smith.

The story was based on documents, “which were shown to local community leaders during private consultations on the proposed project this spring,” wrote CBC business reporter Kyle Bakx.

The Nisga’a Lisims Government issued a June 2 statement to clarify that it wasn’t part of these consultations.

Subscribe now

“We can confirm that the Nisga’a Lisims Government has held no discussions with the Alberta and the Federal Government about any oil pipeline proposals,” said the statement.

In 2000, the landmark Nisga’a Final Agreement was signed by Nisga’a Nation, the Government of B.C., and the Government of Canada, which established the Nisga’a Lisims Government and recognized its jurisdiction over the Nass Wildlife Area.

The Nisga’a Lisims Government notes that some of the proposed routes end up in ports that are part of its Treaty territory, and another crosses through it, all of which would require consultation with the First Nation.

“All Nisga’a citizens can rest assured that despite this ill-conceived process being advanced by the Alberta Government, nothing can happen on our lands without our consent, our Treaty guarantees it,” reads the statement.

“At the same time, anybody can draw lines on a map and speculate about all kinds of projects.”

Buy me a coffee

The First Nation band added that it’s “singularly focused” on its own liquified natural gas (LNG) projects, Ksi Lisims export terminal and the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline, which are being done “in a way that is compatible with our values and long-term objectives.”

Both projects, referred to collectively as Ksi Lisims LNG, have been designated as a priority at the Major Projects Office by Prime Minister Carney, with the plan to export 12 million tonnes of LNG annually upon completion.

In May, the Canadian government facilitated a deal with Germany to export a million tonnes of Ksi Lisims LNG annually starting in 2030.

The Nisga’a Lisims Government is facing a lawsuit over the project at the B.C. Supreme Court from two of its own members, who argue that band leadership didn’t adequately consult its members on the $12-billion project.

Last year, the Lax Kw’alaams Band and the Metlakatla First Nation filed separate judicial review applications in Federal Court against the federal government for approving the LNG project without considering its broader impact.

Iran responds to Israeli attack on Beirut suburbs with ballistic missiles

Iran has attacked Israel with ballistic missiles for the first time since the two countries and the U.S. reached an April ceasefire, with the strikes coming hours after Israel launched an attack on Lebanon’s capital.

The Iranian projectiles were all intercepted by Israel’s missile defence system on Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is in the middle of negotiations on a longer-term truce with Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, which the Iranians blockaded after the U.S. and Israel launched a war on Iran in late February.

Another consequence of the war was Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite militia and political party Hizbollah attacking Israel on its northern border.

As Middle East scholars Muhannad Ayyash of Mount Royal University and Jeremy Wildeman of the University of Ottawa told me in our livestream the other day, Iran insists that any long-term ceasefire deal apply to Lebanon.

Since March, Israel has occupied about 20% of Lebanese territory, killed more than 3,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands, even after a ceasefire was announced on April 16.

The Financial Times reports that the Israeli strikes on Beirut appear to have targeted the Dahiyeh suburb, where support for Hizbollah is strong:

The Israeli military claimed it was “striking Hizbollah infrastructure”, without providing any evidence.

The strike came days after Hizbollah rejected a ceasefire negotiated between Israel and the Lebanese government — the latest of many that have failed to quell the fighting. This most recent attempt would have required the militant group to cease its activities in southern Lebanon and begin to disarm, without making clear what concessions, if any, Israel would make.

It also did not specify a timeline for Israeli forces to withdraw from the swaths of Lebanese territory they now occupy.

Instead, Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said earlier this week that his country would continue its operations in southern Lebanon, and Lebanese residents would not yet be allowed to return to their homes there.

For what it’s worth, Trump said he’s “not happy” with the Israeli strikes on Lebanon and would urge the Israelis not to retaliate against Iran.

The Israeli military vowed that it would “strike the enemy with determination as soon as the order is given.”

Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right extremist even by Israeli standards, said: “Tehran must burn tonight.”

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said that any Israeli response will invite “even more forceful and regret-inducing strikes.”

Hinting at a wider regional conflagration, the Kata’ib Hizbollah militia in Iraq vowed that U.S. military bases would become “legitimate targets” if the U.S. retaliated on Israel’s behalf.

Read the full story at FT.

Leave a comment

Featured Stories

• Retired judge appointed to electoral boundary panel donated to UCP, Michelle Bellefontaine, CBC News

• Former Alberta judge tapped to chair panel redrawing electoral boundaries, Lisa Johnson, Canadian Press

• Carney government follows CUSMA letter with proposals to revive U.S. trade talks, Tonda MacCharles, Toronto Star

• Some Palestinian student visas being expedited after long wait, David Baxter, Canadian Press

• Shopify paid Kenneth Law $149K for deadly poison sales to at-risk buyers, court records show, Thomas Daigle, CBC News

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

Blogroll

Buy me a coffee

Story of the Week

New B.C. Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay promises to unite party after identity crisis, Justine Hunter, Globe and Mail (May 31)

About 25,000 Conservative members voted in the leadership race. The five candidates on the ballot offered a range from centrists who promised to appeal to the broad centre-right in British Columbia, to those who offered a strict conservative vision.

Ms. Findlay is a lawyer and former minister of national revenue under then prime minister Stephen Harper. Her husband, Brent Chapman, is already a member of the B.C. Conservative caucus. Mr. Chapman was elected in Surrey South by a wide margin in 2024 after apologizing for remarks in which he described Palestinian children as “inbred walking, talking, breathing time bombs.”

During the leadership contest, Ms. Findlay attacked another contender, MLA Peter Milobar, over the fact that his wife is Indigenous, suggesting that puts him in a conflict of interest.

Mr. Milobar, a former B.C. Liberal, placed last in the race, and refused to comment Sunday on his future with the caucus. Ms. Findlay said she had been speaking with him.

“We’re looking forward to working together.”

Leave a comment

Alberta

Danielle Smith’s constitutional adviser quit post after promoting separatist petition, Jason Markusoff, CBC News (May 25)

When will Liberal prime ministers realize appeasing Alberta will never work? Linda McQuaig, Toronto Star (May 28)

We asked all 47 Alberta UCP MLAs how they will vote in the fall referendum. Here is what they said (and didn’t say), Matthew Black, Edmonton Journal (May 29)

‘Calm down’ — Danielle Smith stands up to Alberta separatists wanting to punt her, Rick Bell, Calgary Herald (May 29)

Canada

Ontario doctor cautioned over MAID complaints can continue practice under supervision, regulator rules, Kathryn Blaze Baum and Nancy McDonald, Globe and Mail (May 25)

Aboriginal title can’t apply to private land, Supreme Court of Canada decides, Canadian Press (May 28)

False eviction letter fans the flames of anti-Indigenous racism in BC, Marc Fawcett-Atkinson, Canada’s National Observer (May 28)

Canada’s deal with U.S. data giant Palantir is ‘legitimate,’ defence minister says, Alex Ballingall, Toronto Star (May 28)

Leave a comment

Protesters out in force to demonstrate against CANSEC arms show, Matteo Cimellaro and David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen (May 28)

Global Affairs Canada Keeps Israel’s ‘Antisemitism’ Lobbying Secret, Alex Cosh, The Maple (May 28)

Canada responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity says international forum, Jesse Staniforth, APTN News (May 29)

Canada prices carbon far below the damage it causes, Paul Kershaw, Globe and Mail (May 29)

U.S.

CBS News ousts top 60 Minutes producer as part of broader shake-up, Jeremy Barr, The Guardian (May 28)

Trump appointees push $250 banknote with his portrait, Jonathan O’Connell, Washington Post (May 28)

Ken Klippenstein

Congress's CIA Eyes AI Data Center Critics

The intelligence report this story is based on comes courtesy of freelancer Daniel Boguslaw. If you’d like to see more like this, please become a paid subscriber so we can hire him! — Ken…

Read more

16 days ago · 376 likes · 11 comments · Dan Boguslaw and Ken Klippenstein

World

The Most Accurately Predicted Genocide in History, Michelle Shephard, The Walrus (May 2026 issue)

Delcy’s ‘gatekeeper’: sources say ex-Trump official Claver-Carone holds keys to Caracas, Max Blumenthal, The Grayzone (May 25)

Senegal’s leadership row mounts as parliament speaker resigns, Paul Njie, BBC News (May 25)

Russia overspends on Putin’s war in Ukraine by $28bn, Max Seddon and Anastasia Stodnei, Financial Times (May 28)

Buy me a coffee

Israeli and Russian forces added to UN blacklist for sexual violence in conflict zones, Farnoush Amiri and Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press (May 28)

Javier Milei to privatise Argentina’s $10-a-night workers’ hotels, Ciara Nugent, Financial Times (May 28)

Russian official warns Europe to brace for more drone incidents after Romania episode, Guy Falconbridge, Reuters (May 29)

Right-Wing Firebrand Surges Into Colombia Runoff, Shaking Political Establishment, Juan Forero, Wall Street Journal (May 31)

Middle East

Trump links Abraham Accords to any Iran deal, Doina Chiacu and Humeyra Pamuk, Reuters (May 25)

Israeli fire kills six-year-old girl and a woman in Gaza, medics say, Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters (May 25)

Benjamin Netanyahu orders Israeli forces to take control of 70% of Gaza, James Shotter, Financial Times (May 27)

Israeli minister confirms goal of large-scale expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, Emma Graham-Harrison, The Guardian (May 28)

Subscribe now

Iranian dissident news network received £650mn of debt relief, Arash Massoudi, Cynthia O’Murchu, Daniel Thomas and Euan Healy, Financial Times (May 28)

Ex-Trump Campaign Chief Funnelled Millions of Israeli Government Money to His Longtime Allies’ Companies, Nick Cleveland-Stout and Jacqueline Sweet, The Intercept (May 28)

Israel Captures Crusader Castle as It Expands Invasion of Lebanon, Anat Peled, Wall Street Journal (May 31)

Israeli authorities refuse to return massive trove of Oct 7 video. What are they hiding? Michelle Witte, The Grayzone (May 31)

Tech

Pope Leo Warns of Risks From A.I. in 42,300-Word Encyclical, Motoko Rich, Elisabetta Povoledo and Elizabeth Dias, New York Times (May 25)

The SpaceX IPO is the clearest sign yet of a bull market at its peak, Ian McGugan, Globe and Mail (May 30)

Culture

Gad Saad Is Very Mad That His Books Are Bad and Sad, Matt McManus, Jacobin (May 29)

Share The Orchard

This story originally appeared in Alberta Native News.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is e…

Read more

Featured Stories

• Guilbeault to resign as an MP over Carney government’s climate policies, Vassy Kapelos and Stephanie Ha, CTV News

• Steven Guilbeault expected to quit Liberal caucus as early as Wednesday, sources say, Marieke Walsh and Stephanie Levitz, Globe and Mail

• Carney says House of Commons won’t weigh in on Alberta’s referendum question, Darren Major, CBC News

• Alberta separatist leader planning to challenge Danielle Smith’s leadership or change referendum question, Jason Markusoff, CBC News

• CANSEC Arms Fair Bars Multiple Independent Journalists From Attending, Alex Cosh, The Maple

The State of Things

Issues of national security, geo-politics, global affairs, extremism, and mis/dis information are critical. The State of Things provides the context and analysis you need.

Subscribe now

For Jacobin, I wrote about Danielle Smith’s referendum-within-a-referendum gambit.

Subscribe now

I went on I Hate Bill Maher to talk to Will Weldon about the most recent episode of Real Time, including an absolutely unhinged pro-Israel rant at the end of New Rules.

Read more

This story was originally published in Alberta Native News.

Hours after NDP MLAs’ proposal to engage in consultation with First Nations before proceeding with an independence referendum was voted down in committee, Premi…

Read more

Buy me a coffee

Related Links

• How to Sell a Genocide (Pluto Press, 2026)

• We Analyzed Thousands of News Articles: Here’s Proof of Pro-Israel Bias in Mainstream Media, The Intercept

• How the Media Sold a Genocide, Current Affairs

• How the corporate media helped fuel Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Mondoweiss

Share

Subscribe now

I went on Shortcuts to speak to host Noor Azrieh about Alberta’s separatist movement, pipeline politics and the Centurion Project, as well as the risks of false antisemitism accusations.

Read more

This story was originally published in Alberta Native News.

The chief of Cold Lake First N…

Read more

This story was originally published in Alberta Native News.

Panelists contrasted the environmental and data security perils of the widespread adopti…

Read more

This story was originally published in Alberta Native News.

A Court of King’s Bench justice has ruled in favour of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation …

Read more

Subscribe now

For Canada’s National Observer, I collaborated with Rory White on a piece about Arundeep Sandhu, the UCP staffer who was on a call with the separatist Centurion Project when former premier Jason Kenney’s home address was shared.

It turns out Sandhu has some history with Kenney and Centurion Project founder David Parker.

I went on to discuss Alberta separatism and the various investigations into the Centurion Project.

Bad + Bitchy Podcast

Wild Rose Country

I sat down with Jeremy Appel, who broke the story of leaked voter data by separatist groups in Alberta. Jeremy gave more context and background to Alberta separatism for a more robust understanding of Danielle Smith, Alberta separatists and pipeline politics…

Listen now

a month ago · 8 likes · 1 comment · Bad + Bitchy Podcast

Honourable Mentions

Anyone who reads this newsletter will probably know how much it pisses me off when I break a story and don’t get credit for it, and I’ve never broken a story as significant as the illegal use of the electors list by the separatist Centurion Project.

Rather than shame those who didn’t credit me, I’m going to share the work of those who linked to and/or mentioned my original reporting, which spans mainstream and independent media, as well as the written word, podcasts and short-form video:

Here’s the real scandal at the heart of the Alberta data breach, Andrew Coyne, Globe and Mail (May 6)

The separatist call is coming from inside the house, Erica Ifill, Hill Times (May 6)

Alberta voter list leak is a potential public safety disaster: Enforcement experts, Charles Rusnell, Global News (May 4)

Daveberta - Alberta politics and elections

Largest privacy breach of personal information in Alberta’s history

It has been a while since my phone buzzed with so many questions from political contacts and non-political friends than it did this past weekend…

Read more

a month ago · 67 likes · 4 comments · Dave Cournoyer

Patrick Lennox

The Theft and Betrayal of Alberta’s Democracy

You can think of democracy in many ways. It is a word that stands in for a set of interconnected abstract concepts like freedom, equality, the right to vote in fair elections, government for the people, not the few…

Read more

a month ago · 68 likes · 9 comments · Patrick Lennox

Persecuted or unserious? A Shröedinger’s narrative about Alberta separatism, Falice Chin, The Hub (May 3)

What we know so far about the developing Centurion scandal, Jim Storrie, Progress Report (May 1)

Alberta Politics by David Climenhaga

Massive List-of-Electors data breach was inevitable – the UCP’s law-bending style of politics made it so

It may have been the fringy Republican Party of Alberta that got caught letting data from its copy of Alberta’s 2.9-million-name voters’ list be published online in vi…

Read more

a month ago · 89 likes · 6 comments · David Climenhaga

Bubble Pop with Rachel Gilmore

Did the separatists just doxx the home addresses of more than HALF of the population of Alberta??

The separatists in Alberta apparently published a searchable database providing the private information — including names and addresses — of almost three million people in Alberta…

Listen now

a month ago · 281 likes · 7 comments · Rachel Gilmore

Blogroll

Buy me a coffee

Story of the Week

Read more

This …

Read more