A wildfire continues to rage through a vast expanse of Alberta’s foothills Friday and emergency officials are urging backcountry users to keep their distance from the front lines.

With a green light from the federal government, Alberta hopes to begin construction on a new oil pipeline as early as fall 2027, with oil flowing by 2033-34. But, there remains no clear private sector investor to pay for it.

Alberta separatists say they have collected more than enough signatures to force a referendum on declaring independence from Canada.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith came together Friday to agree on a new climate and energy agreement that could see construction on an oil pipeline to the West Coast start as early as September 2027.

In an exclusive interview, Danielle Smith says the Canadian energy rich province can meet capacity challenges to upscale exports to the US, Asia and many key markets.

A judge sided with an Indigenous group that had asked for a petition by separatists to force a vote on the oil-rich province seceding from Canada to be thrown out.

A court decision which many thought would quash the possibility of a pro-separation referendum was given new life after Premier Danielle Smith announced her UCP government would be appealing the decision.

Documents filed in the Court of King’s Bench shed new light into Elections Alberta’s investigation into how a separatist group exposed the personal information of millions of Alberta voters online.

Stay Free Alberta declared it has enough signatures to trigger a vote on Alberta leaving Canada, with a provincewide ballot possible by October 2025.