Bruce Pardy@PardyBruce
There are (at least) three stages. One is the referendum. The second is negotiations. The third is actual independence.
The day after a successful referendum, everything legally remains as it was. Alberta is still a province. The Canadian constitution still applies. But Albertans have "repudiated the existing constitutional order." The referendum result has given Alberta a mandate to negotiate its departure from Canada.
During these negotiations, Alberta is still a province. The Canadian constitution continues to apply. Everything legally still remains the same. But because Alberta has repudiated the existing constitutional order, the Canadian constitution does not define the scope of the negotiations. The outcome of the negotiations need not conform to what the constitution requires. Everything is on the table. In these negotiations, there will be "no conclusions predetermined by law on any issue." ANY ISSUE.
At the moment Alberta actually becomes independent (after the negotiations that lead to Alberta's consensual departure, or following a unilaterial declaration of independence if Canada refuses), the Canadian constitution no longer applies. Alberta will establish its own constitution, governance system, laws and so on. (It may need a transition period to shift from one to the other.) It will be free from Canadian constitutional requirements. After all, it is an independent country. In its new constitutional order, Alberta might choose to keep or adapt some things and discard others. But those will be choices, not requirements (depending also on the outcome of the negotiations).
