Alberta separatists said Monday they have formally submitted almost 302,000 signatures to try to trigger a referendum on the province leaving Canada.

The group needed 178,000 signatures to force the province to consider such a vote.

The question of separation could go on a provincewide ballot as early as October, as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said she would move forward if enough names are gathered and verified. Smith has said she personally does not support the oil-rich province leaving Canada.

A “yes” vote would not trigger independence automatically. Negotiations with the federal government would have to take place and Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said some Indigenous groups who are already using the courts to prevent an independence referendum would use venues including the courts to stop independence from happening.