Republican Party of Alberta calls for province's independence at rally in Red Deer

Globe and Mail

25-05-2025

Inside a hotel event hall in the centre of the province, 12 Alberta flags hung around the large room. But nowhere to be found was the red and white maple leaf.
Around 400 people had gathered at the Red Deer Resort and Casino Conference Centre for a town hall hosted by the newly re-named Republican Party of Alberta to promote the province's growing independence movement.
Walking on to the stage to AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck' was the party's leader, Cameron Davies, a long-time conservative operative who has worked behind the scenes in Alberta politics for more than a decade.
In April, Mr. Davies loudly rescinded his membership to the United Conservatives, a party he helped put in power but now criticizes for it's recent health contract procurement controversies, lack of transparency and bloated government. As the head of the political arm of Alberta's separatist movement, he made a pitch to attendees focused on unity and political involvement.
'We are the conservative alternative option. This is not a one issue, single issue party,' Mr. Davies told The Globe and Mail in an interview before the event.
The weekend rally is just one conversation in a larger dialogue that has been at the fringe of Alberta politics for decades, but has recently seen a surge in the wake of the recent federal election. The province has danced around talks of separation in the past, as recently as 2019 and 2020s Wexit movement, but this month has seen a flurry of political action and growing support in some corners.
At the centre of it all is Premier Danielle Smith who has been using separatism and warnings of a 'national unity crisis' as a way to push Ottawa and Prime Minister Mark Carney against a wall on energy policy.
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Her government recently, in proposed legislation, reduced the number of signatures needed for a referendum question down to 177,000 from 600,000, opening the door to a vote on independence. But at the same time, Ms. Smith has remained steadfast in saying she is for a 'sovereign Alberta within a united Canada,' without denouncing the separatists.
Resentment toward Ottawa, and frustration over energy policy, social issues, and education dominated the chatter in the Red Deer crowd.
Paul Neumann, 31, works at a slaughterhouse in a nearby town and says he was a reluctant separatist but is all on board now, even if he's not sold on the political part. He grew up on a farm and wants to be able to own a home where he and his wife can raise a family. Financial struggles are making that goal difficult, and Mr. Neumann says an independent Alberta would be more prosperous.
'We're being taxed like crazy.' he said. 'My wife and I, we can't really afford to put money away.'
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Near a table sporting Republican merchandise which came in red, black, or camouflage, was 73-year-old retiree Jacob Korycki. He and his wife attended the event to find out more about the Republicans.
'We're here to learn about it, to see if that's what we're going to go with, or if it's gonna be something else,' said Mr. Korycki. 'I definitely don't want to be part of the United States.'
As a heavy duty mechanic most of his working years, he often worked in the oil and gas sector which he says was neutered by Ottawa in the 1980s and was again under Justin Trudeau.
'I got burnt then, and we're getting burnt again here,' said Mr. Korycki.
Two major players have emerged in the sovereignty fight – the Alberta Prosperity Project, and the Alberta Republican Party. The former has gained tens of thousands of registrations in the past few weeks and has funnelled its energy into getting signatures on a referendum ballot – one that it's leader Mitch Sylvestre filed a petition for on Friday.
The Republicans have been focused on siphoning political power from the province's dominant parties, placing two candidates in upcoming by-elections with plans to slate 87 candidates in the next provincial election, set for 2027.
When asked about how the two groups were operating in the same space, Mr. Davies said he was worried about putting all the separatist eggs in one basket.
'It's absolutely important that every group, every organization and every individual is united in the purpose of an independent Alberta,' Mr. Davies said.
Speaking at the event was Gordon Kesler, the only separatist to ever hold a seat in the Alberta legislature which he had for two and a half months in 1982. His former riding in Olds-Didsbury is where Mr. Davies hopes to win his seat in the upcoming round of by-elections. Mr. Davies called Mr. Kesler a 'giant in our movement.'
Mr. Kesler, speaking from the stage, claimed that Prime Minister Carney was installed by the World Economic Forum, likened Alberta's current place in Canada to that of pre-revolution America of 'taxation without representation,' and warned the audience not to trust Premier Smith.
'You are free freedom warriors in a time of great, great hostility towards this province' Mr. Kesler told the crowd.