Alberta musician and activist Corb Lund delivered boxes of signed petitions to Elections Alberta on Wednesday, June 10 [1].
The submission represents a formal effort to force the provincial government to ban new coal mining and exploration on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Supporters of the "Water Not Coal" campaign cite significant environmental concerns regarding the preservation of the region's watershed, and ecosystem.
Lund and his team submitted the documents to the Elections Alberta office in Edmonton [1]. To compel provincial action through this process, the petition required a minimum of 178,000 signatures [3]. Lund said more than 200,000 signatures were collected [3].
The initiative targets the eastern slopes of the Rockies, where activists argue that industrial coal extraction poses a risk to water quality and mountain landscapes. By submitting the signatures to the official election body, the campaign aims to move the issue from a public protest to a legislative requirement.
While most reports confirm the delivery occurred Wednesday, some early accounts suggested the petition was still in its final stages of collection [1]. Similarly, while some sources indicated the 178,000-signature threshold had been met prior to delivery, others noted that the final count would be verified by officials [3].
The delivery marks the culmination of a public campaign led by Lund to protect the Rocky Mountain slopes from further industrial development. The focus remains on the intersection of energy extraction and environmental stewardship in Alberta.
“The 'Water Not Coal' campaign seeks a ban on mining and exploration on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.”
The submission of this petition shifts the anti-coal movement from grassroots activism to a formal administrative process. If Elections Alberta verifies that the signature threshold was exceeded, the provincial government may be legally pressured to address the ban on mining in the Rocky Mountains, potentially creating a conflict between Alberta's industrial energy goals and its environmental conservation mandates.
