EDMONTON, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) –– Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government will allow, but not support, a citizen-led referendum on independence in 2026 in light of increasing frustration with the federal government.

In an announcement on Monday, Smith said she would chair the “Alberta Next Panel,” which will engage citizens across the province in the form of Town Halls to discuss the province’s future in Canada in light of “hostile” federal governmental policies. Smith made clear that while her government does not support separation, she would allow a citizen-led referendum to be held in 2026 should enough signatures on an official petition be gathered.

“So, while I will, in good faith, work with Prime Minister Mark Carney on unwinding the mountain of destructive legislation and policies that have ravaged our provincial and national economies this past decade, until I see tangible proof of real change, Alberta will be taking steps to better protect ourselves from Ottawa,” Smith said.

Smith’s comments on Monday come after she said last week that she would consider taking serious steps for Alberta to have greater autonomy from Canada after the Liberals were re-elected to a fourth consecutive term.

Her announcement also comes just days after her United Conservative Party government announced Bill 54 – a piece of legislation that sets the groundwork for possible independence referendums by making such votes easier to trigger.

Explaining the rationale behind allowing such referendums to take place, Smith said that Alberta “has contributed hundreds of billions of dollars more to the federal treasury for use in other parts of the country than we’ll ever receive back in benefits,” and that the province has “allowed this to occur because, quite frankly, we know how blessed our province is with an endowment of natural resources that no other country on earth possesses – and we want all of our friends, families and fellow Canadians across the country to benefit from it.”

As it stands, Albertans can call a referendum under the Referendum Act and the Citizen Initiative Act, but in order to trigger such a vote citizens would first have to collect signatures from 20 percent of eligible voters (about 600,000 citizens) within just 90-days, and do so on an official government-approved petition.

Under Bill 54, the number of eligible voter signatures needed would be slashed in half to 10 percent, and the window to collect signatures would increase to 120 days.

Smith’s warning comes at the same time some pre-election polls have shown independence sentiment on the rise among Albertans, with over 30 percent favoring a more toward sovereignty.