@asytsema.bsky.social:
The ‘Forever Canadian’ petition, led by former Deputy Premier Hon Thomas A. Lukaszuk, ECA, B.Ed, ICD.D, became the single most successful citizen initiative in Canadian history, collecting over 456,000 signatures—far exceeding the threshold. It should have slammed the door shut on separation talk.
@deonandan.bsky.social:
I know you guys feel the same way. But every day for months now, I’ve been banging my head and wondering (a) how there are so many absolutely soulless evil people walking around, and (b) how so many of them managed to ascend to the highest political offices.
I’ve been doing that since I was a child. I believe most, if not all humans are equally evil and soulless once they get into positions of power. We are a monstrous species.
Alberta separatist evangelicals too
@Terrilltf:
The only things Canada needs to do is repeal the Alberta Act and the Natural Resources Transfer Acts and respect the Free Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous peoples in the creation of new provinces based on respect and cooperation. #AbolishProvinces work by treaty territory
@Terrilltf:
How much longer will people tolerate Canadians being blatantly racist and anti-Indigenous? Leave the fuck back to Europe if you don’t like things here @DemosKratosCA
… The west is collapsing and we’re going to make damn sure our rights in international law are upheld. Canada is still an illegitimate colonial occupation stealing trillions in resources.
@DemosKratosCA:
How much longer will Canadians tolerate these cosplayers dictating what we can and can’t do?
@ryankbrook.bsky.social:
Very powerful and important. The Alberta separatists are a low IQ collective living in a fantasy of their own creation. Alberta is not separating. It just isn’t.I believe Smith and her separatist leaders know that. They are pulling their shit to divide and conquer Canada, prehaps for cash bonus(es) , to make it easier for Nazi Trump to swoop in and steal what he wants to put into his private pockets.
@thebreakdownab.bsky.social:
Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation (undoubtedly to the frustration of certain KC’s and separatist leaders)…
Are making it clear that they can speak for themselves.
A new fact sheet blows absolute holes in a LOT of the separatist lies.
@flvr-twn.bsky.social:
I’m not Alberta, so I’m clearly missing something. Can someone from Alberta explain to me why, despite the apparent incompetence of their government demonstrated by this response by first nations and by many other enabled by the provincial government, why the UCP are still polling in the lead?
@coolxenu.bsky.social:
Rural Albertans are a special kind of stupid. The separatist performance is theater meant to separate money from rubes.
Rural Alberta is a hotbed of racism and conspiracy theories and is full of gullible rubes.
And, Harper’s a vicious lying end times democracy hating evangelical traitor to Canada and Carney is a Harper con who obviously also hates democracy.
@cougsta.bsky.social:
Good gawd, Rath is a deluded idiot. Probably fears there are “globalists” under his bed.
Has anyone calculated how much more taxes we, in an independent Alberta, would have to pay to cover current federal O&G subsidies and agricultural subsidies?
They’re showing clips of separatists’ grievances on Global Edmonton and holy doodle these folks don’t know how anything works. They just believe anything that they can whine about.
Alberta separatists looking to rally snowbird supporters in Arizona this weekend by Damien Wood, February 18, 2026, CTV News
Foot soldiers of Alberta’s separatist movement are making their way south of the border again.
This time, they’re looking to rally Albertan snowbirds in Yuma, Ariz., to sign their petition aimed at triggering a referendum.
Wednesday on X, Stay Free Alberta posted about its “Alberta referendum signing event” set for Feb. 21.
It’ll take place at Martha’s Gardens date farm from noon to 4 p.m.
There, Albertans holed up in hotter terrain will be able to sign their support for a ballot stating, “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be part of Canada to become an independent state?”
“With the petition drive in full swing,” the X post said, “don’t miss your chance to add your voice from the sunny south!”
Calling all Alberta Snowbirds in Yuma, Arizona! ❄️🌵
With the petition drive in full swing (launched Jan 3, 2026, running until ~May 2), don’t miss your chance to add your voice from the sunny south! Join us for a petition signing event supporting the Alberta Independence… pic.twitter.com/QRPSJkh90n— stayfreealberta (@stayfreealberta) February 18, 2026
Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney stated his distaste for the event, also Wednesday on X.
“For generations, Albertans have made astonishing sacrifices to build Canada, to defend it, and even to die for our country,” he wrote, in part.
“But some rich Canadians who spend half the year sunning themselves in Arizona are going to take a break from their regular golf-and-happy-hour routine to drop by and sign a petition, in a foreign land, to tear apart the country built by their ancestors.
“For shame.”
For generations Albertans have made astonishing sacrifices to build Canada, to defend it, and even to die for our country as the truth North strong and free.
But some rich Canadians who spend half the year sunning themselves in Arizona are going to take a break from their… pic.twitter.com/PrYzab2aq9— Jason Kenney 🇨🇦🇺🇦 (@jkenney) February 18, 2026
According to Elections Alberta, such an event is all good.
“The legislation does not prohibit signature collection outside of Alberta,” Elections Alberta told CTV News Calgary in a statement.
“The canvassers collecting the signatures must be registered with Elections Alberta and have their canvasser ID with them at the time of signature collection.
“Anyone signing the petition must be a Canadian citizen over the age of 18 and ordinarily resident in Alberta.”
Stay Free Alberta’s post on X laid out the criteria.
CTV News Calgary reached out to Stay Free Alberta but had not heard back at the time of this writing.
Trevor Harrison assumes there are many Albertans in Arizona right now.
And the retired political science professor at the University of Lethbridge says the ones who are might lean a certain way.
“Maybe this is a worthwhile pond to fish in,” he said.
“I’m not convinced it will produce a lot of signatures, though.”
The petition needs 177,732 signatures to be successful.
Stay Free Alberta has 120 days to get those signatures, and the countdown began Jan. 3, making the deadline May 2.
Stay Free Alberta’s X post also asked eligible supporters to set up similar events elsewhere outside the province.
Canada is no stranger to separatism but push for Alberta to join US is a new peril by Leyland Cecco in Toronto, Feb 8, 2026, The Guardian
While Quebec parties have long sought independence, the secret meetings by unelected Albertans with US officials have been branded treasonous by some
A separatist push for a referendum on independence from Canada. Meetings with foreign officials perceived to be sympathetic to their cause. Accusations of treason and sedition.
Ahead of a 1995 referendum, leaders of Quebec’s independence movement made a string of provocative overtures to foreign governments, including a trip by the province’s premier to France. In a move that outraged anglophone Canada, the mayor of Paris gave Quebec’s Jacques Parizeau a welcome befitting a national leader.
Three decades later, reports of a far more covert visit to the US by a group of would-be separatists from the western province of Alberta have provoked a similar backlash, reviving longstanding anxieties about foreign involvement in domestic unity debates.
“To go to a foreign country and to ask for assistance in breaking up Canada, there’s an old-fashioned word for that,” British Columbia’s premier, David Eby, told reporters. “And that word is treason.”
Proto-diplomacy – the act of courting sympathetic countries for support – has often been undertaken by separatist movements around the world, said André Lecours, a professor of political science at the University of Ottawa.
“There have been criticisms of this for sure, but when actively preparing a referendum on independence, leaders often look abroad in an attempt to secure sympathy or support. They want some signs or assurances that foreign states would be ready to recognize their independence.”
But the recently revealed contacts with the Trump administration by members of Alberta’s nascent independence movement had few substantive parallels with Quebec’s attempts in the 1990s, he said.
“What makes this movement so different is that none of these people associated with Alberta’s push for independence are democratically elected. They don’t hold any public office,” Lecours said. “While I am very reluctant to use words such as ‘treason’, I find it strange that the Trump administration would meet with non-elected officials. They have no formal democratic legitimacy.”
Within the province’s legislative assembly, there are no pro-independence parties that hold seats. Only one Alberta separatist has ever managed to get elected – in a 1982 byelection victory – but lost in a general election soon afterwards.
None of the members of the Alberta secession efforts are elected officials. And support for independence is muted in the province: a recent poll of Albertans showed roughly 18% supported leaving Canada. Prominent politicians from Alberta, including former prime minister Stephen Harper and two former Alberta premiers have rejected the idea of independence, instead calling for national unity at a time of diplomatic upheaval with the US.
Lying traitor Rath and his Alberta Nazis can do what Melania did:
Alberta’s current rightwing premier, Danielle Smith, has also come out against separation, although critics say that her call for “a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada” merely confuses the issue.One is most unwise to trust Nazi Smith or believe a word she says. She’s a separatist and incessant liar and traitor to Albertans and Canadians.
Conversely, in Quebec, five premiers have campaigned on – and won – provincial elections on an explicit separatist platform. The independence-oriented Partí Québécois is widely expected to win the next provincial election this October and has pledged to bring a third referendum.
Canada’s laws permit groups to advocate and campaign in support of a province or territory leaving the country. In Alberta, members of the pro-independence campaign have been travelling across the province in an attempt to collect nearly 178,000 signatures by May. But the recent allegations that independence activists have repeatedly met officials from a government which has become increasingly hostile to Canadian sovereignty have prompted suggestions that the movement could constitute a threat to Canada’s national security.
While pro-independence politicians in Quebec courted the French, the country’s position on the province was “non-ingérence, non-indifférence” – an official policy of neutrality.
But Donald Trump has threatened to annex Canada and turn it into the 51st state – an effort seemingly welcomed by a leader of the Alberta independence movement. Lawyer Jeffrey Rath, part of the delegation that met secretly with state department officials, said last year he and others wanted to “petition” for Alberta to gain US statehood.
And influential figures in the White House have signalled support for the separatists.
“Albertans are a very independent people,” the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, told the conservative website Real America’s Voice. “Rumour [is] that they may have a referendum on whether they want to stay in Canada or not … People are talking. People want sovereignty. They want what the US has got.”
Mark Carney has said he “expects the US administration to respect Canadian sovereignty”.Mark Carney is a lying cowardly flake, serving Harper and his anti democracy IDU and Nazi USA But there is a growing sense of unease among senior officials in Ottawa that the US could use secession movements as a political wedge to meddle in Canadian domestic affairs.
“It seems now that if there were to be a referendum on independence in Alberta – or in Quebec for that matter – the US would not stay silent and/or support Canadian unity,” Lecours said. “You’d likely hear another, far different message.”
Alberta’s Separatist Movement Is a National Security Threat, Meetings with Trump officials cast new scrutiny on the province’s bid for sovereignty by Patrick Lennox Feb. 2, 2026 The Walrus, Feb. 2, 2026
Adapted from “When does a separatist movement become a threat to Canada’s national security?” by Patrick Lennox (Substack). Reprinted with permission of the author.
@daleburnay.bsky.social:
Whenever a female reporter asks Trump an uncomfortable question, he simply insults them and moves on. Question to other reporters, why do you tolerate this shit.
Stand up for once.
@hopehimars.bsky.social:
OF COURSE THE USA is BEHIND THE CANADIAN SEPARATIST MOVEMENT
How dumb do you have to be TO NOT SEE IT ??????
PEDOtRUmp and his BILLIONAIRE PEDOPHILES want to
STEAL YOUR LAND
STEAL YOUR RESOURCES
STEAL YOUR CHILDREN !!
@FlavioVolpe1:
Section 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms, written in the Constitution Act, 1982
‘Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in & leave Canada.’
This is a constitutional right, not just a statutory one, meaning he can go take a permanent hike to USA whenever he likes.
@Isuckatpicking:
If you use the word communism to describe the federal government you’ve already lost any reasonable argument you want to make.
Nothing but lies and rage baiting to uneducated, gullible fools.
@alickasebova:
If you don’t want to be part of this country, y’all should sort this out for yourself. Or just move. Seems simplest.
@janvan.bsky.social:
What she said: I get it. I understand.
What she should have said: cool story, except none of what you’re claiming is true.
Are there no journalists left who are unafraid to speak the truth?? I don’t get it.
Traitor Dude Rath (in trouble with his self regulator yet again) lies like Trump – stupidly, grossly, hate-filled and arrogantly. Racist hate-filled vulgar old white man Nazi fucks.
@sarobertson.bsky.social:
“Swearing allegiance to communist China in Beijing while invoking the New World Order, and then threatening war with the US under Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, certainly smacks as being a lot more treasonous than anything that we’re doing.” — wow, Vassy…
@ask70.bsky.social:
One would hope people see this dude and think, wow, what a loser. However, history tells us otherwise.
@syntxoof.bsky.social:
This guy is dangerous
@carolitaestmonnom.bsky.social:
Rath has learned some twisting-the-truth skills from Trump and Vassy should have shot him down. Instead she “sees his point.” Good grief! So sick of this both-sides journalism crap.me too, it’s the most stupid way for media to further stupify the masses.
@redmcgraw.bsky.social:
He is a treasonous weasel
@robmellow.bsky.social:
Fascist US is no problem though.
Fun fact: China has never stated an intention to invade and annex Canada.
@nigelb.bsky.social:
So looking forward to having Elections Alberta examine the legality of the petition’s connections to US interests.
cdnpoli #bpoli
@albertaadvantage.bsky.social:
“Rath immediately became defensive at the mention of the movement’s coziness with the United States.”
@heatherme.bsky.social:
It’s only going to get worse. If he can’t handle that he’s done
News Alberta Separatists Kicked Us Out of Their Event After Asking About American Support
As they inch closer to triggering a referendum, the movement’s leaders have been facing new scrutiny
by Stephen Magusiak, Alberta Reporter
January 30, 2026
On Monday, several thousand Calgarians braved a chilly evening to show up to Stampede Park to pledge their support for Alberta’s separation from the country.
The Big Four Roadhouse was one of the final stops on a month-long, province-wide speaking tour by the petitioners for an independence referendum, calling themselves Stay Free Alberta (SFA).
As people filed into the 4,000-capacity hall, SFA lawyer Jeffrey Rath, grinning and wearing a cowboy hat, gave interviews to reporters about his vision of the province’s future.Fucking douche, just like his hero – kid rapist, snuff-rape film participant/creator liar buffoon convicted felon, Trump
There were many potential questions: What would Rath say to Canadians and Albertans concerned about the movement’s courting of support from the American government? What about the First Nations that have resolved to oppose the petition on legal grounds? Why do so many of the separatist movement’s policy planks focus on immigration?‘Cause if they lie like Trump, and pimp that immigrants are the cause of all Canada’s problems (and the world’s), the stupid separatists/MAGAts/SFAs won’t attack/blame billionaires for stealing their cookies (and everything else).
Unfortunately, PressProgress was unable to ask most of these questions, as we were tossed out of the event before it started, and within minutes of sitting down with Rath.SFAs are cowards extraordinaire. How the hell will they run their country, if they disallow questions they don’t like, and the truth?
We started by asking him about the group’s efforts to establish ties with the Trump administration, something that he and the other leaders of the separatist Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) had been openly speaking about for nearly a year. The group has long claimed to have held meetings with top-level officials in the Trump administration, without saying who — just that they’ve made trips to the US and found the people they’d met to be supportive.
On Thursday, the Financial Times confirmed that three meetings with Trump officials had indeed taken place. (BC Premier David Eby said it amounted to “treason.”)
But at the Big Four on Monday, Rath immediately became defensive at the mention of the movement’s coziness with the United States.Ooo la la, does the dirty douche know he’s breaking the law? He’s a lawyer after all, albeit a douchy one.
“It’s not coziness. We have mutual interests. So, I think ‘coziness’ is kind of a loaded word,” he said.Well, I think Douche Bag Rath, that traitorous you and your propagandized group are loaded Nazis, stupid ones at that.
Asked how he would respond to concerns about his going to the US, he said that people “should be more concerned with Mark Carney threatening war with the United States,” which he called “the most asinine thing that a Canadian prime minister has ever done.”
When it was pointed out that nobody, including Carney, had threatened war with the US, it became abundantly clear this was not a line of questioning that the visibly flustered Rath wanted to field.Only confident around dummies that don’t ask real questions?
“Of course he has,” he said. “What do you think he means when he’s invoking Article 5 of the NATO treaty, vis-a-vis the United States?”
NATO’s Article 5 is the treaty provision obliging member nations to come to each other’s defence in the event of an armed attack. While Carney has mentioned it in recent comments, in the context of threats to annex Greenland by US President Donald Trump, the idea that those remarks amounted to a declaration of war is a debunked claim that has circulated among far-right social media channels.
Carney, Rath continued, is “literally like a mouse biting on an elephant’s toenail. But if you don’t understand that, I’m done with the interview.”
He stormed away.
Moments later, Stampede Park security approached and asked PressProgress to leave the venue. When asked why, they said it was a private event and the organizers wanted us out. We complied.
In the past year, PressProgress has spoken many times to Rath and the rest of the main organizers of the Alberta separatist movement without incident.Things getting too hot for Traitor Dude to handle?
Speaking later in the week, petition figurehead Mitch Sylvestre said that ejecting PressProgress was a decision made without his knowledge; he said he was kept busy at the event and didn’t sign off on it.
“I wasn’t aware of it. And you know what? It’s unfortunate, because I answered those questions 20 minutes before with CBC. Actually, I have no idea why they would target you,” Sylvestre said.
“Jeff has definitely got his own way of things,” said Sylvestre, adding that he was addressing it with him.
Last year, the Alberta Prosperity Project toured every corner of the province to prepare for an eventual petition drive. With a petition application officially approved by Elections Alberta last month, many of the same organizers headed out again, under the banner of Stay Free Alberta.
The goal of the petition is to have a ballot question put to Albertans: “Do you agree that the province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?”
NO!
Rath has claimed members of Premier Danielle Smith’s caucus have signed the petition, which, in order to succeed, would need just under 178,000 signatures.
Smith has declined to denounce the separatist movement, and is frequently criticized by both separatist and anti-separatist influencers on social media.
At the Calgary event on Monday, there were Alberta flags, social media influencers and people selling Alberta-themed merchandise.
According to organizers, the hall reached its capacity of just over 4,000, and images suggest it was at least substantially full. Most attendees, when asked by PressProgress, said they found out about the event on Facebook.
Multiple livestreams of the speeches show that Rath relayed to the crowd many of the same statements about Carney that he’d made to PressProgress.
When Sylvestre took the stage, his speech, similar to Rath’s, invoked conspiracy theories.
“Mr. Trudeau said, ‘The very concept of a nation founded by European settlers is offensive to me.’ He’s offended by us. ‘Old-stock white Canadians are an unpleasant relic, and quite frankly, replaceable. And we will replace them’,” Sylvestre told the crowd.
This was a direct reference to a false claim that was circulated on Twitter in 2021, including by Randy Hillier, who was then an Ontario MPP. There was no evidence Trudeau said this, and the Canadian Anti-Hate Network described the meme as “white nationalist propaganda.”
Sylvestre emphasized that he’s “not mad at the immigrants” but rather at what he characterized as “uncontrolled immigration.”Thanks to Alberta’s disgusting toxic polluting tarsands, forcing many from their flooded homes, with nowhere to go. What do the separatists expect people to do? Line up to be shot by Trump’s SS (aka ICE, which have five fucking field offices in Canada!)?
The petition organizers have a May 2 deadline to obtain the required signatures. Recent polling shows support for Alberta independence to be as high as 28%, according to Ipsos. But the figure for those who remained committed to separation when asked to consider the consequences sits at about half that.
January 30, 2026
STATEMENT FROM THE BLACKFOOT CONFEDERACY CHIEFS ON ALBERTA SEPARATION
The Blackfoot Confederacy Chiefs affirm that any discussion of Alberta’s separation from Canada has no authority over Blackfoot Nations, lands, or Treaties. Blackfoot sovereignty predates the province and is grounded in Natural Law and Treaty 7, a nation to nation agreement with the Crown that cannot be altered or displaced by provincial political action. The Confederacy does not support Alberta separation and rejects any attempt to involve Blackfoot lands or rights in such a process.
Treaty rights are constitutionally protected, and Blackfoot territory is not a provincial asset subject to redefinition through political movements. Decisions about the future of Blackfoot Nations will be made by Blackfoot Nations, guided by their own laws, leadership, and responsibilities to the land and future generations.
The Chiefs call on all governments to recognize and uphold Treaty obligations and Indigenous sovereignty. Any conversation about Alberta’s political status must begin with the full recognition and consent of the Treaty Nations whose territories form the foundation of the province. The Confederacy remains committed to peace, coexistence, and shared prosperity under Treaty, and stands firm in its sovereignty and Treaty relationship.
@3cityyimby.bsky.social:
The thing to know about Jeffrey Rath as a lawyer, aside from his disciplinary history, is that he swore an oath to “be faithful and bear true allegiance” to the Crown and every time he takes a meeting with or money from the Yankees he’s breaking that oath.
Is Danielle Smith a Separatist? Her actions speak louder than her words by Patrick Lennox, Jan 30, 2026
I’ve been looking back at Brexit through the rearview mirror of Alberta’s runaway referendum train. And I’ve been studying David Cameron, the UK Prime Minister who called for the Brexit referendum in 2013. Ran a reelection campaign on the promise of one. Was handed a majority government in 2015 in part on the basis of that promise. Ran a campaign to remain in the EU in 2016. Lost. And then resigned the next day.
I’ve been thinking about how the story of David Cameron and the Conservative Party differs so starkly from the story of Danielle Smith and the UCP and the looming referendum they have orchestrated in the province of Alberta.
Smith, by contrast with Cameron, has never promised a referendum to decide Alberta’s place in Confederation, nor run an election campaign on that promise. On the contrary, she has always been coy, and calculated with respect to her position on national unity. She says she supports a “sovereign Alberta within a united Canada.”
You don’t need to be a scholar of public international law to know that if Alberta is sovereign, Canada isn’t united. If Canada is united, Alberta, as a sub-national province of Canada, is not sovereign. We’ll leave this detour into basic international law there. Suffice it to say that you can’t have your sovereignty both ways.
My Grandfather, who commanded Canadian warships during the Battle of the Atlantic and on D-Day used to say that “actions speak louder than words.” So what can we learn from Danielle Smith and her UCP’s actions that can provide us insight into their position on Canada?
Looking back to Brexit and the example of David Cameron’s Conservative government helps to illuminate the Premier’s true stripes.
Brexit
The idea for a Brexit referendum was first articulated in the form of a promise. This promise was made by Prime Minister David Cameron in 2013. The promise was that if his government was returned to power in the next general election, they would hold an in/out referendum to determine whether the UK should remain a member of the European Union. The Conservative party wrote this promise into their own party platform in the 2015 election.1 They would negotiate new terms with the EU, and let the people have their say on whether they agreed with those terms by 2017.
The Conservatives ended up winning an unexpected and slim majority government in the spring of 2015. That year they passed the European Referendum Act, which wrote into law David Cameron’s 2013 promise, and set a date for the UK to decide whether they would leave or remain in the European Union.
This was a major piece of legislation that was introduced in May shortly after Cameron was returned to No. 10 Downing Street. The legislation went through a very standard and thorough parliamentary process, with first, second and third readings playing out over a period of months, and culminating in Royal Assent being given on December 17th, 2015. The European Referendum Act came into legal force the following year in February of 2016, and put the now notorious Brexit referendum on the calendar for June 23rd.
At the same time, Cameron’s government renegotiated the UK’s position in the EU. The terms of that renegotiation were put on full display for all in the UK to vote on, just as Cameron and his majority Conservatives had transparently and democratically said they would do if re-elected.
Cameron, for his part, was decidedly not in the Leave camp. He campaigned forcefully for the UK to remain in the European Union and fully anticipated that after all was said and done the Remain side would win. The UK would remain in the EU under improved terms, the Eurosceptics would be appeased, and he would carry on as Prime Minister. But on the morning of June 24th, the UK woke stunned to find out that they had voted to leave the EU.
Cameron resigned the next day.
The UK was mired in years of messy exit negotiations with the EU. It was a total debacle. A botched gambit that sacrificed a decade of economic growth for the UK, weakened the EU, and emboldened Vladimir Putin.
Despite all this, it is noteworthy that the road to Brexit was paved transparently and democratically through both representative and direct democratic processes. (We’ll leave the campaign itself—which was full of dark money, disinformation, foreign interference, dirty tricks and hijynx, aside for the moment.)
Cameron didn’t surprise the electorate with an unwanted Brexit referendum. He was elected to bring it about. He was given the mandate to do what he said he was going to do. He did it. It didn’t turn out as he’d hoped it would (for a lot of reasons that are highly relevant to Alberta’s upcoming experiment with direct democracy). On the contrary, it was a colossal political fail, a face plant of epic proportion. But no one would accuse the former British PM of acting in a way that was antithetical to the mandate the people gave him. His actions lined up with his words.
#ABexit
The United Conservative Party (UCP) was not formed in 2017 as a separatist party, and did not run, and was not elected in 2019 or 2023 on a separatist agenda. The UCP is not the Alberta equivalent of Quebec’s Party Quebecois. They did not make a promise to Albertans to hold a referendum on the province exiting confederation during their campaign. That outcome was not written into their platform. It was not part of the pitch on the doors. There was no advertising to the effect that “a vote for the UCP is a vote for a referendum on Alberta leaving Canada.” None of this was transparently laid out for Albertans to vote on in a general election.
On May 29th, 2023 the UCP won a relatively slim majority over Rachel Notley’s NDP. There was an expectation that the UCP would continue in the Alberta Conservative tradition of taking an antagonistic approach to relations with Ottawa, and the newly formed UCP tradition of governing the province like an oil and gas lobbying firm. But few would have anticipated a steady drumbeat of legislation designed to intentionally bring about a referendum on secession, let alone load the dice in favour of the secessionists.
On April 28th, 2025, Canadians re-elected a Liberal minority government, much to the dismay of Conservatives across the country who had expected to reduce the Reds to a handful of seats before Mark Carney came along.
In the lead up to the campaign, Smith went on Breitbart news to explain the dynamics of the tariff war and the 51st state threat on the forthcoming election. Smith said “I would hope that we could put things on pause, is what I’ve told administration officials: ‘Let’s just put things on pause so we can get through an election. Let’s have the best person at the table make the argument for how they would deal with that’, and I think that’s Pierre Poilievre.”2
This was the line that grabbed attention at the time, because it seemed to suggest that she was conspiring with Trump officials to influence the (then) forthcoming election. As it turned out, Trump unexpectedly took to Carney and turned on PoilievreThat’s because Carney’s a Nazi like Trump, and Trump and Carney know it, and we know the rest.
On April 29th, the UCP went into full reactionary modedriven by religious hate and greed and introduced Bill 54 into the provincial legislation. The Bill was designed very intentionally to pave the way to a referendum on secession, one steered by the separatist advocacy group The Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) through their CEO Mitch Sylvestre.
The first way Bill 54 does this is by lowering the thresholds for the petition.Previously, the signatures of 20 per cent of all eligible electors in the most recent provincial election would have been required to hold a referendum on seceding from Canada. The new bill more than halves the required number of signatures to just 10 per cent of votes cast in the last election, and also allows those signatures to come from anywhere in the province as opposed to coming from at least two-thirds of electoral districts, which would have ensured urban representation on the petition sheets.Rural Albertans are the most religious, the most racist, the most misogynistic and stupid people in Canada. It also adds an extra 30 days to the petition collection period, extending it out from 90 to 120 days.
They further opened the door to dark money involvement in the process by allowing corporations and unions to make contributions up to $5,000, reversing the previous ban on this type of campaign financing.
And as a coup de grâce they made it mandatory for cabinet, upon receipt of a successful petition, to bring about a referendum on or before the next general election, unless that election is less than a year away.
All of these measures are crafted to bring on a secessionist referendum, and to weigh the scales in favour of a leave vote. The last of these is the most cynical, because it attempts to absolve Cabinet of any responsibility for the referendum, which will throw the province into unprecedented political, economic, and social turmoil once on the calendar. It’s cowardly and antithetical to representative democracy. But these aren’t the only legislative moves Smith’s UCP have made to bring this on.
After Alberta’s chief electoral officer referred APP’s Sylvestre’s proposed referendum question to the courts to determine whether it violated the Constitution, including treaty rights, Bill 14 was introduced in December 2025 to legislate an end to the litigation by removing the requirement that a petition comply with the Constitution of Canada and reducing the shifting oversight of referendum petitions from the independent electoral officer to a rubber stamp. to the justice minister. It quickly passed in the middle of the night.Few brains in Alberta con politicos, and even less in the rural con voters
This move was described as “extraordinary” and “undemocratic” by Justice Colin Feasby in his ruling which he issued despite the introduction of the legislation and the letter he received from the government telling him to put his pen down on the matter. When a pundit uses the word “extraordinary” these days it barely resonates. When a judge does, it really should punch through the collective consciousness.
What Smith’s government did in support of the separatists was an attempt to subvert the role of the courts in our democracy. This cannot be glossed over. Bill 14 lays referendum railroad tracks over the Constitution and Treaty rights. It almost ensures that Albertan’s will be asked whether they “agree that the province of Alberta should cease to be part of Canada to become an independent state?”
Justice Feasby ruled this question to be unconstitutional and a violation of Treaty rights prior to Bill 14 receiving Royal Assent. In his ruling, Feasby called out the UCP Government for its undemocratic attempt to silence the court. He said that the government in deciding to change the rules midstream undermines respect for democracy and the administration of justice.Smith is a MAGAt as are many rural Albertans, they hate democracy, and hate the law even more while spewing rule of law words.
Feasby’s ruling was followed this month with an extremely rare public statement issued by the Province’s three top justices where they evidently felt compelled by the UCP’s continued abuse of the role of the courts to lay out the basics of constitutional democracy and the importance of the separation of powers between the three branches of government:
The independence of each branch ensures there are checks and balances across the system. It is the foundation of a healthy democracy. Public trust and confidence in our institutions – and all three branches of government – depend on it. It is equally important that each branch respect and support the independence of the others.
Independence of the judicial branch protects the public. It ensures judges can make decisions based solely on the law and evidence presented. It frees judges from pressure or influence from external sources including the governments that appoint us.3
It is worth noting that the lawyer representing the APP in the hearing before Justice Feasby was none other than Jeff Rath their main spokesperson, (you know that big guy with the hat who looks like Boss Hog.)
During the hearing Justice Feasby specifically asked Rath about statements he (Rath) had made regarding assurances that he (Rath) and the APP had secured in Washington from the Trump Administration about the United States recognizing Alberta as a sovereign entity immediately following a successful referendum.
Watching the hearing live, it sounded like Feasby had been doing his research on Rath and the APP and in one of the many YouTube videos posted by alt-media outlets about the movement, where Rath had uttered words to the effect that he had managed to gain such commitments from the Trump Administration. Rath, however, appeared to deny this during the hearing, saying “I misspoke”.
From the court transcript of 2503-15116 November 20, 2025 (available upon request):
So with the Constitution and First Nations rights out of the way the UCP has further cleared the tracks for the separatists to foist their referendum on the country in a moment where the Trump Administration has put the world on battle stations. Reckless doesn’t begin to describe the legislative track record that brings us to this point now where the separatists— who have been to Washington three times and conspired with high levels of the Trump Administration to plot out what a post referendum relationship would look like with the US—are now licensed to collect signatures in support of a petition to bring about a sovereignty referendum. There is only one word to describe this: antidemocratic.
Separatist Smith?
Separatists are claiming that when they win they will instantly establish a free Alberta that is unencumbered by taxes and regulations and all the horrible things they blame the “Communists in Ottawa” for. But this fantasy is as bogus as the notion of a “sovereign Alberta within a united Canada.”
Alberta is a geographically large, resource rich province of some 5 million people. The US is numbering around 340 million at the moment. It is in possession of the most powerful military ever assembled in human history, run by a totalitarian regime, and has telegraphed a desire to dominate the hemisphere through a new form of resource imperialism described in its National Security Strategy.
So the idea that Alberta will somehow be free of US control is blind stupid and should enrage every thinking person who is forced to reason with it. The separatists can say what they want about independence after their secret meetings with senior Trump officials, and their deals to leverage Alberta’s oil reserves for a $500 Billion loan and pension roll overs, but 51st state this province will become as soon as those hooks are in.
And yet Alberta has been set on a runaway path towards a referendum on the question of whether it should leave Canada to become an independent state. This referendum, according to the Premier, is likely to happen this fall.4 She would know, because her government has done just about everything in its power to ensure this happens. Actions speak louder than words.And, we can be guaranteed plenty of foreign interference from Putin, Israel, USA and the usual kid raping billionaires.
The Conservative Party Manifest 2015. See page 30. https://www.theresavilliers.co.uk/files/conservativemanifesto2015.pdf
https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?auto_play=false&buying=false&liking=false&download=false&sharing=false&show_artwork=true&show_comments=false&show_playcount=false&show_user=true&hide_related=true&visual=false&start_track=0&url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F2049717076
Full transcript available here: https://globalnews.ca/news/11640013/alberta-judges-danielle-smith/
Maggie Baer:
Yesterday in Ottawa at the premiers-PM meeting, Smith shamelessly told staggering big lies.
She claimed that “30%”, “a million” Albertans, are sympathetic to separatism — according to polls, the number is around 10%, especially as people learn of the risks. She is blatantly overstating support.
She claimed that AB separatists “should not be demonized for their anger over ten years of Trudeau Liberals destroying AB.”
She did not explain why these separatists are angry that Trudeau and all Canadians literally bought TMX, or that oil production has steadily risen to all-time highs, or that AB is the richest per capita province.
I grew up in AB a long time ago. There have always been anti-Ottawa complainers – partisan Conservatives who hate federal Liberals. Now such people are turbo charged by MAGA, online conspiracy fuel, Covid restrictions, the convoy, etc. They are organized, funded (?), and they have captured the UCP government by controlling Smith’s leadership. They have tweeted threats to extort Smith (re huge healthcare corruption scandal involving the Premier’s top advisors).
Canadians need to understand that a small group of extremist, delusional, and Conservative partisans is holding Albertans hostage, and now the entire country. They have trampled many democratic norms already, as you outline clearly.
Smith’s entire public career has been to play with fire. She is deeply naive and shockingly weak as she persists in FAFO with Trump.
Few people in the rest of Canada understand any of this. People with public platforms like you must get the truth out there.
Thank you for your efforts!
LAS:
Maggie, I am a 76 year old Albertan who has lived in this province all my life. I do not and never have understood any of these complaints. Somehow in the 1980’s these so-called injustices to Alberta began to show up.
Ted Morton’s (an American import) magazine was a prime source for these. Photo of Morton below, one of the more vile American Alberta Republicans:
By the 90’s under Klein, Alberta had become a legend in its own mind and Albertans became mean SOBs.
The Trudeau ”complaints” are because of legislation restricting shipping in west coast waters for environmental safety, and recognizing treaty rights for consultation on pipeline development based on a Supreme Court devision following Harper’s ignoring of those rights.
“Being left out” and “having no say” are stupidities that arise because: 1. Alberta votes Conservative federally and so has had only Opposition to represent them under Trudeau and Chretien. Harper, although a Conservative elected in Calgary, did much less for the province than the Liberals—Albertans conveniently overlook this. 2. This one is the height of stupidity: Due to time zones and the fact most Canadians live to the east of Alberta, by the time polls close in Alberta, the governing party is usually already obvious. So Albertans think their votes do not count. However, my suggestion that they vote Liberal if they want to be heard or take part in forming the government falls on deaf ears. Another frequent complaint: “Ottawa does nothing for Alberta” or “Ottawa needs to do more for Alberta”. This ignores the hundreds of millions of dollars that Ottawa gives to the province (e,g,, during COVID) that never gets spent on what it is meant for because Kenney and now Smith use it to fund one of their losing propositions. Many Albertas find it easy to overlook that Trudeau bought a pipeline for them! Why am I still living in Alberta? My plan to move to Victoria was foiled by a bad back and a knee injury that made me face the fact that a move was physically impossible even though I have the financial resources. Old age is a bitch!
This is a fantastic comment LAS. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
Jocelyn Millis:
I’m one of many Albertans who is a proud Canadian, living in the province of Alberta which is a part of a united Canada. Danielle Smith was never elected to try to destroy the unity of Canada. We are not Americans.
Madonna Hollohan:
I would say, anyone who agrees and approves of what this monstrosity of a Trump regime has instituted on its citizens would be a huge YES, Smith is more than a separatist.. she’s likely a newbie fascist!In my experience, Smith’s been an exploitative fascist, back stabber and non stop liar for decades.
Patrick Lennox:
There’s only one sovereign Canada. I’m looking at it through the lens of international law.
MizWolf7146:
Patrick, Forever Canadian collected over 400,000 signatures on their petition. They did this under the previous rules regarding the number of signatures required, in the given time and with a court approved question. What happens to that petition? Why is it assumed that APPs question is the one that will be put to referendum if they collect their required signatures? It’s bad enough that she is ignoring 70% of the people in this province but also ignoring the Forever Canadian now legally certified petition. Can you shed light on how this would work.
Roy Brander:
Her top topics on the radio show were anti-vax and home schooling. There’s no way to know whether she really believes in that stuff, or is just an opportunist. And there’s no way to get me to care. As David Roberts famously pointed out about Trump, imagining that he believes anything is a category error.
vox.com/2016/9/29/13086…
Jess Harding:
Thanks, Roy.
You nailed it.
Scott Carter:
First, I confess – I live in Ontario. I could say I’m an Ontarian but I never do. The reference is always Canadian. I understand that Albertans are a breed apart and that is good. I suppose I’m trying to figure out why there is a significant separatist element in Alberta. Is it because Ottawa is in central Canada or is it that some Albertans’ attitudes were shaped by American migration into Alberta years ago. Every province or region in Canada has had its moments of national disenfranchisement. I opposed the independence referenda held twice in Quebec. I disagreed with Messrs. Levesque and Parizeau and their beliefs but I respected them for their forthright and public convictions for separation.
What I don’t understand is the vociferousness and rage some Albertans express towards the rest of the nation. Is it Ottawa? The proportion of provincial representation? Dislike of firearms restrictions. I welcome some polite answers to these questions and other critical issues.I think it’s because many Albertans are immigrants from America and carry the same racist belief that they are better than everyone else; all non Indigenous Albertans are immigrants yet magically forget that serious fact as they rage against immigration. If there was no Ottawa or fed gov’t and had never been any Trudeaus or immigrants (including where they separatists came from), Albertans would rage against vegetables and fish, BC, or Manitoba, or Italy and its pasta, and fabricate some reason for their hate. Albertans, notably rural, despise Quebec and her people, for no valid reason. I’ve lived in Alberta for decades and remain stunned at the hatred in rural people. When I ask them why, they reply with silence. The Fucker Truckers (convoyers), financed and handled by Putin and Trump to divide and conquer Canada, made Albertans much more spoiled, hate and rage filled and greedy for more. They are an insatiable people with no critical thinking skills, much like the people from where they hail from – Americans, and have been severely propagandized by religion and bad education to believe they are better than everyone else. So stupid.
Pierre Trudeau was intensely disliked in some regions but he has been dead for 26 years. And Junior is no longer prime minister.
An informed discussion on genuine grievances not based on misinformation and disinformation would be appreciated.
And perhaps Premier Smith could reveal the candour and transparency of her position on separation matters.
Thank you for this article Mr. Lennox.
Wes:Best comment!
Treasonous quisling scumbags.
Never 51
Dean Midyette:
She is a separatist. She has effectively separated ethics and integrity from Alberta politics
Pierce:
People just glossing over the fact that any separation is constitutionally bound to approval from the First Nations communities, who have said they will not support it.
But, yes, Smith is a separatist and will sell the entire province out to Trump like the right-wing grifter she is.