The Water Not Coal campaign says it submitted more than enough signatures to force a referendum on new coal mining in Alberta’s Eastern Slopes, but Elections Alberta says it missed the mark by 5,644. Now proponent Corb Lund is exploring a court challenge over how the count came up short.

In a statement issued July 6 Lund says he has concerns about the “procedural fairness” of Elections Alberta’s validation and verification process and is consulting lawyers over whether it was applied reasonably.

Of 207,435 signatures submitted, the agency validated 196,088 — comfortably above the 177,732 required under Alberta’s Citizen Initiative Act. But a verification step that involved contacting a sample of signatories by phone and email reduced the estimated number of valid signatures to 172,088, leaving the campaign short.

Lund has concerns about the number of signatures removed during the process.

“In the end, 35,000 of 207,000 signatories were rejected for various reasons. This seems like a ridiculously large number, given the thoroughness and dedication of our canvassers,” he says. “After being briefed by my lawyer/scrutineer that was in the room during the count, I have some real issues with the way this was handled.”

He says Albertans made their opposition to coal development clear and the government should not allow “thousands of Albertans” to be disenfranchised. He and his team have 30 days to file for a judicial review and are weighing their options.

Lund says the provincial government should recognize the 172,088 verified signatures and pause coal development in the Eastern Slopes.

“That’s 10 per cent of actual voters from the last election,” he says. “The overwhelming voices of Albertans opposing development in these areas needs to be respected.”

Water Not Coal director Laura Laing defended the campaign’s canvassers.

“We had 196,088 validated signatures, meaning there was only a five per cent error rate in the signature sheets submitted by our volunteer canvassers. In a complex and detailed process, this reflects exceptional integrity and professional accountability,” she says.

“They are understandably exasperated by the announcement.”

Lund says he is now “up to his eyeballs in meetings with attorneys specializing in administrative law.”

Next steps for Water Not Coal are expected in the days ahead.

Reaction in the region is split

The outcome landed differently among locals, in a region long divided over coal development.

Allan Garbutt, a Cowley resident who supports the petition, is unhappy with the result. He questions whether the verification process was fair to signatories, not the campaign.

“I don’t think there was a lack of signatures,” he says. “I think it’s a difficult verification process.”

“This day and age, who picks up the phone for an unknown caller? A whole lot of email gets directed straight to junk. I suspect that had a lot to do with Elections Alberta not being able to verify some signatures.”

Garbutt trusts Lund and Water Not Coal to navigate the legal process ahead.

Pincher Creek resident Don McRae takes the opposite view. He is “very pleased” with the announcement, saying modern regulations already protect water sources from mining impacts.

“I believe the environmental guidelines today make companies more accountable to ensure water is not harmed,” he says. “I believe the southwest corner of Alberta needs an industry like Grassy Mountain to bring economic development to our area.”

McRae says the province should work with the federal government to keep environmental standards in place while approving development.

“Our younger generation needs some good-paying careers so they stay and raise families in our communities,” he says.

How the count worked

The 177, 732 threshold represents 10 per cent of the voters who cast ballots in Alberta’s 2023 provincial election.

Elections Alberta says signatures were most often removed during validation for errors in elector information, missing information, duplicate entries — 551 in all — and incomplete canvasser declarations.

The verification process, which reduced the total further, involved contacting a random sample of petition signatories by phone and email to confirm their information. This reduced the estimated number of valid signatures to 172,088.

The agency also checked the petition against seeded names as an anti-fraud measure and found none among the submitted signatures.

Background

The petition, formally titled No New Coal Mining in the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains, sought to prohibit new coal mining and exploration. It would have exempted mines already in active production as of Jan. 1, 2026.

Two projects were named directly. One is Northback Holdings’ Grassy Mountain project near the headwaters of the Oldman River in the Crowsnest Pass. The other is Valory Resources‘ Blackstone project in Clearwater County, near the headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River.

Grassy Mountain has a contentious history. A joint federal-provincial review panel rejected the project in 2021, when it was held by Benga Mining. It later returned to the approval process under Northback Holdings. In May 2025, the Alberta Energy Regulator approved deep-drilling exploration permits for the site.

The petition campaign launched with the issuance of a notice of initiative petition on Feb. 10. Signature collection ran until June 10. Lund and Water Not Coal supporters delivered 18 bins of signature sheets to the Elections Alberta office in Edmonton, unloading them from a horse trailer.

Verification began June 11 and concluded July 2, as required by regulations. It was the first citizen initiative petition verified with scrutineers present, a change introduced through Bill 23, the Justice Statutes Amendment Act, 2026.

Under the act, Lund and other proponents were required to return the petition and canvasser identification documents, destroy copies of signature sheets and file a signed affidavit confirming both steps by July 6.

Financial reports related to the campaign are due to Elections Alberta by Aug. 10.