EDMONTON — A leader of Alberta's separatist movement says some members of Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party caucus have signed the petition looking to force a vote on the province quitting Canada.

Canadian officials urge US to respect sovereignty after Alberta separatists meet Trump-linked officials, sparking national debate.

Political scientist Duane Bratt sees Smith’s rhetoric as designed to appeal to the United Conservative Party, separatists and federalists. This strategy has allowed separatist leaders to publicly claim her support, while others accuse Smith of deliberately blurring her position.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Thursday that she won’t demonize the roughly one million Albertans who are open to separation, after B.C. Premier David Eby said a group of Alberta separatists who went to Washington in search of political support are engaging in treason.

Alberta separation was in the spotlight at a Monday night independence rally in Calgary's Stampede Park, where security officials said more than 3,000 people packed the Big Four Roadhouse to hear from separatist speakers.

The petition organizers have a May 2 deadline to obtain the required signatures. Recent polling shows support for Alberta independence to be as high as 28%, according to Ipsos. But the figure for those who remained committed to separation when asked to consider the consequences sits at about half that.

British Columbia Premier David Eby says Alberta separatists meeting with the U.S. administration and seeking financial backing is an act of "treason," as the issue of national sovereignty loomed over a meeting between the premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday.

Petition drives calling for a referendum on Alberta separating from Canada have been held across the province in recent weeks, everywhere from small communities and rural halls, and now to Calgary for the first time.

The Alberta NDP says only members of its caucus have signed a pledge to denounce separatism.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith believes residents of her province would reject joining the US, her press secretary said, days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent weighed in on a possible independence referendum in the region.

The Ontario premier said reports that independence activists are meeting with the U.S. officials on separation is “unacceptable.”