A First Nation in Alberta has said that a separatist push for the province to secede from Canada is “consummately irresponsible and dishonourable” and should be shut down, arguing in court that a proposed referendum would violate their treaty rights.

A minority of residents of the oil-rich province have long argued that the province’s woes are due to the structure of payments to the federal government and a perceived inability to get their vast fossil fuel reserves to market.

In recent months, separatists have seized on the sentiment and collected nearly 180,000 signatures to request a referendum. But the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, near Edmonton, has asked a court to halt the campaign.

The hearing, which began on Tuesday, is expected to last three days.

Last year, Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith, reduced the number of signatures required for citizens bring a constitutional referendum, dropping it from 588,000 to roughly 178,000. The provincial government also changed how citizen-initiated referendums worked, removing powers from Alberta’s chief electoral officer. Now, referendums can pose questions that would run afoul of the Canadian constitution.

The group behind the push to secede, Stay Free Alberta, says it has received the required number of signatures, a month before the cutoff date.

They hope their question – “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be part of Canada and become an independent state?” – will be added to a planned referendum in October, which will also include questions on immigration, healthcare and the country’s constitution.

Sturgeon Lake, one of 39 nations which signed a key treaty with Canada in 1899, argues that the province of Alberta, the federal government and the province’s chief electoral officer have failed to uphold key provisions of that agreement.

“Alberta has treated [Sturgeon Lake Cree First Nation] as though they are chattel on the land, merely an afterthought in forced negotiations, not the first step in any potential secession,” the First Nation said in its court filing. “Alberta has no right to secede from Canada and no right to take Treaty No. 8 territory.”

The First Nation is asking a court to reinstate the rule that a citizen-initiative petition must follow the constitution – and to halt the current drive for signatures.

“In 2026, Alberta’s actions are not only illegal, but they are also consummately irresponsible and dishonourable.”

The First Nation has also warned the current push has invited the threat of influence of foreign actors and a vote to leave Canada “will enable foreign interference from the most powerful nation to the south”.

Late last year, separatist activists held covert meetings with and members of Donald Trump’s administration – a move one provincial premier called “treason”.

The judge overseeing the case is expected to deliver a ruling on 2 May – the deadline for signature collection.