Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation says it welcomes the stay.

FORT CHIPEWYAN, AB, April 11, 2026 /CNW/ - Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) Chief and Council are pleased with the decision from the Alberta Court of King's Bench to issue a stay in the Alberta separation referendum campaign.

Justice Leonard's decision to issue a stay means that Alberta's chief electoral officer cannot certify the separation petition until after the court has issued a decision in the court cases launched by Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and the Blackfoot Confederacy.

The three Nations submitted their claim to the court stating that any attempt to secede from Canada, especially without consulting the First Nations, is a violation of the sacred Treaties. Further, they argued that the UCP government's facilitation of the referendum process, including granting separatists more time to collect signatures and lowering the number of signatures required, was a betrayal of the Duty of the Crown to uphold the Treaties.

"Whether the summer of 1812 or the spring of 2026, Canada's Indigenous people have always been the first and last line of defense against American annexation. While Ottawa sleeps, Alberta's first inhabitants are doing everything we can to save confederation. We shall never allow our Treaties to be broken, and we will never bend the knee to foreign tyrants or their useful idiots," said Chief Adam.

"We are standing up for our Treaties, for our people and for the land that is all under threat through this referendum effort," said Chief Adam. "We are doing this for all Albertans, especially children and youth, who deserve to grow up in a country that respects the rule of law and recognizes the supremacy of the constitution."

A newly independent Alberta would inherently draw a new international boundary within the territory of Treaty 8 (which ACFN is part of), which includes parts of Alberta, NWT, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Separation stands to physically and legally harm this treaty and the other treaties within Alberta, the lawyers for First Nations argued.

Numbered Treaties

In Canada, treaties are legal documents made between the First Nations people and the Crown. Prior to Confederation, treaties were signed by the British Crown and the First Nations people; they were technically made with the Crown, which is embodied by the reigning monarch (currently King Charles III), not the shifting political government. Pre-confederation treaties were mostly concerning issues of peace and friendship.

Today there are eleven “Numbered Treaties” which were signed between 1871 and 1921. The government thought the treaties would help to assimilate First Nation peoples into white, colonial society and culture. For First Nations people, treaties were oral agreements that discussed the sharing of the land. These oral agreements were later written by the government, omitting certain oral promises. Oral tradition and spoken words held more importance to First Nations people than what was written on paper.

First Nations groups of Alberta and government representatives understood the process of treaty negotiation and signing from very different perspectives.

Treaty Boundaries Map for Canada 

Alberta Treaties 6,7,8

There are 48 First Nations in Alberta, organized under the historical treaties of Treaty 6, Treaty 7, and Treaty 8. These First Nations have a significant cultural and historical presence in the province and continue to play an important role in Alberta's social, cultural, and economic landscape today

Treaties 6, 7, and 8 cover most of Alberta but also include parts of NWT, Saskatchewan and British Columbia

Related:

Alberta Treaties 6, 7, 8