Separatists in the Canadian oil-rich province of Alberta say they have gathered enough signatures to put a ballot measure before voters that If passed would make the province independent from Canada. 

Stay Free Canada said it formally submitted 302,000 signatures of the 178,000 names it needs for the measure to get on the ballot. The vote could take place as early as October, Fox News reported. 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who doesn't support the measure, has been critical of the federal Liberal government's regulations that she says impede the province's ability to produce and export oil, costing Alberta billions of dollars.