Danielle Smith: The Alberta Premier who could split Canada with 2026 secession vote
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has proposed a 2026 referendum on Alberta's separation from Canada, escalating tensions with the federal government. Smith, a former broadcaster, aims to give Albertans a voice amid growing Western alienation, particularly concerning energy policies. The referendum, sparked by a petition process, has ignited debate and raised questions about Alberta's future within Canada.
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Danielle Smith's rise: from broadcaster to Alberta's separatist symbol
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Referendum sparks talk of Alberta secession in 2026
Alberta flexes its muscles amid growing western alienation
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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has announced a potential 2026 referendum on Alberta's separation from Canada . With rising Western alienation and federal-provincial tensions at a peak, Smith's proposal could redefine Canadian unity Here's everything to know about the bold leader behind Alberta's growing separatist movement and what it could mean for Canada.Also read: Alberta seriously considering secession from Canada as Premier Danielle Smith promises referendum next year if citizens gather enough signatures Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has reignited the national debate over Canadian unity by proposing a 2026 referendum on the province's separation from Canada. Her announcement marks a dramatic escalation in Alberta's long-standing tensions with the federal government. The move reflects mounting support in Alberta for greater autonomy—or even full independence.Born on April 1, 1971, in Calgary, Smith holds degrees in Economics and English from the University of Calgary. She rose to prominence through a career in media before entering politics.As leader of the Wildrose Party, she made waves by turning the right-wing upstart into the Official Opposition in 2012. Though she temporarily stepped away from public office, her political comeback culminated in becoming Premier in October 2022, leading Alberta's United Conservative Party (UCP).In a livestream on May 5, 2025, Smith unveiled legislation that would allow Albertans to vote on whether to leave Canada. If 10 per cent of voters sign a petition within 120 days—lowered from the previous 20 per cent within 90 days—Smith pledged to hold a binding referendum on Alberta's secession in 2026.'I'm not advocating separation,' Smith emphasized. 'But I do believe Albertans deserve the right to be heard if they feel they're being ignored by Ottawa.'Also read: Alberta flexes its muscles, no independence from Canada for now, but a big hint The Alberta secession referendum is already stirring controversy across Canada. While actual independence is improbable, political analysts argue the threat alone could be a powerful tool in negotiations with the federal government.Smith's critics see the proposal as a political bluff, but her supporters argue that it's a necessary assertion of Alberta's rights within the confederation.Tensions between Alberta and Ottawa have soared in recent years, particularly around energy policy. Smith has repeatedly attacked federal climate regulations, which she claims are stifling Alberta's oil and gas sector. 'We just want to be free to develop and export that incredible wealth of resources we have,' she said.Her government's "Alberta Next" panel will chair public consultations across the province to explore autonomy options—including constitutional challenges to federal mandates. The panel's proposals are expected to frame the 2026 vote.Internationally, the issue gained traction after U.S. President Donald Trump provocatively suggested Canada could become America's '51st state.' While dismissed by many as political theater, the statement reflects increasing global interest in Alberta's sovereignty push.Smith's approach parallels Quebec's referenda in 1980 and 1995—both of which failed but left a lasting impact on Canadian federalism.Now, Alberta may be writing its own chapter in that history.
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Time of India
10 minutes ago
- Time of India
JD Vance sends 'veiled threats' to deport 'Menswear Guy' who 'hates his suits'
'You don't like VP's suit, you gotta deal with the consequences'! But what might be the fitting 'punishment' for a man who did not like the suit that the Vice President of the United States of America wore? Turns out, deportation is the answer! After all, isn't that enough to uproot a man from his habitat and deport him for his 'crime'! At least, JD Vance thinks so! In a recent incident that has sparked widespread debate, VP Vance seemingly threatened to deport Derek Guy, a prominent fashion critic known as the 'Menswear Guy', after he criticized Vance's sartorial choices. What happened? Derek Guy, who boasts a significant following on social media platforms, has found himself in the crosshairs of JD Vance. Guy, who has built his reputation by offering detailed analyses of men's fashion, often targeting public figures, recently revealed that he has been living in the United States without legal documentation since his childhood. In a detailed thread, Guy recounted his personal journey, saying his mother brought him across the Canadian border as a baby after his family fled Vietnam during the Tet Offensive. After that revelation, one X account posted, 'The menswear guy just openly admitted on here that he's here illegally.' A second user quote-tweeted that initial post and added, 'JD Vance I know you're reading this and you have the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever.' Now, this X post caught the VP's attention, and he replied with a GIF of Jack Nicholson slowly nodding his head, raising his eyebrows, and flashing his menacing, signature grin. What followed: Although VP Vance did not elaborate further on his 'veiled threat' wrapped in the sinister grin, or issue any statement via his office, Guy responded to the threat with a joke about how tight Vance's clothes can be on occasion. Guy said, 'I think I can outrun you in these clothes,' in a post directed at Vance. Derek Guy's immigration status In the wake of Vance's post, when Guy revealed that he had entered the United States illegally from Canada as a child, he explained that his family had fled Vietnam, and he has been living in the US since his mother brought him across the border during his childhood. Despite not being a DACA recipient, Guy insisted that the US is the only home he knows. But why did Guy expose himself at such a vulnerable moment? Guy said he was inspired to tell his story because of the growing unrest in Los Angeles, which has been the site of recent immigration raids and demonstrations against the crackdown that have not always been peaceful. The past feuds Last year in July, Guy posted that Vance's jackets 'don't hug him very well.' He compared photos of Vance in a jacket with those of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, whom he noted has jackets that are 'properly seated on his neck.' That was just the beginning. In October, Guy posted a thread criticizing Vance for wearing a fuchsia raw silk tie to his vice presidential debate against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. 'You should also know what you're communicating,' Guy wrote. 'A fuchsia raw silk tie is very casual because of its color and material. To me, this is something you wear with seersucker or cream linen suits to summertime garden parties. The tie says, 'I'm here to have fun. '' He wrote on the eve of the inauguration, 'Vance's sleeves are too slim, causing them to catch on his shirt and ride up. Common problem any time something is too slim—might look good when you're standing still at the fitting, but it will bunch and catch as soon as you move.' Then, a month in, he could not resist taking a jab at Vance for wearing way-too-short pants on stage at CPAC, occasionally exposing part of his shin and calf. 'The second lady should advise him to get wider pants and over the calf socks so that his bare leg doesn't show when he sits down,' he wrote. The aftermath: Now, VP Vance's response to Guy's open admission aligns with the Trump administration's broader stance on immigration, which has emphasized stricter enforcement and the deportation of undocumented individuals, including non-criminals. However, it may be argued that Vance's response was an inappropriate use of political power to silence dissent. Will he really deport Guy? Or has it been just a simple social media banter? Time will tell.
Time of India
14 minutes ago
- Time of India
Hindi teacher for English, science taught via YouTube: In these Haryana schools, almost nobody cleared board exams
In these Haryana schools grappling with a severe teacher crunch, the writing was already on the wall when class XII exams came. While their peers did the customary whoop, jump in the air and celebratory group hug — hallmarks of result season — they retreated into anonymity as class 12 board scores were published last month; away from probing questions, the scorn of family members, inquest of neighbours, and commiserations of friends who had done better. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now At 18 schools, all students who took the Haryana class XII board exams this year failed. At 82 more, the pass percentage was below 35, an outcome anomalous with the 85.7 overall, which was an improvement from 85.3 in 2024 and 81.6 in 2023. No forensic investigation is needed to explain their poor showing. In one school, for example, the Hindi teacher was also taking the English class. At another, science lessons came from YouTube channels, supervised by a teacher from the humanities section. Students, principals and parents TOI spoke to also referred to strict measures against cheating that were taken this time as a factor that had 'spooked' some of them. The risk many of the failed students run is dropping out of the education system. Girls resisting pressure from families to get married fear they will no longer be able to do so. And for boys under pressure to add to the family income, it's the inevitable path into low-paying informal jobs. 'In such circumstances, the community questions the value of further schooling, with remarks like, 'will he or she become a lawyer, or DC?'. This leads to parents not re-admitting their children after they fail,' says Kusum Malik, science teacher at a govt school, underlining the need to reach out to students and their families and rebuild confidence through special classes. 23 appeared, 22 failed At Govt Girls Senior Secondary School in Nuh's Shikrawa, only one student from the whole batch had a pass score in all subjects. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 'A great shame' is how sarpanch Azhar Shikrawa described the feeling, pointing out that 'this village has given our justice system two judges and some police officers'. In principal Amar Singh Beniwal's practical analysis, this was a result foretold. The school is without dedicated teachers for history and political science and has had severe problems in the science stream. Last year, of the six girls who had taken science, three failed and three received a compartment. The school introduced the science stream three years ago, but has been struggling to find teachers. At present, says Beniwal, it has teachers for physics and chemistry, but not biology. And yet, students did relatively better in biology — which was taught by the chemistry teacher — than in chemistry itself, confounding the principal. Isha, who failed in chemistry, blamed it on a 'lack of revision'. Nasreen said English questions 'were out of syllabus' and has made stoic peace with the result, calling it ' kismat ki baat (a matter of fate)'. Farzana referred to a sudden drop in performance after class 11 'as the medium of teaching changed to English from Hindi'. Farzana's father had a different take — he felt the results were affected by 'strict checking and presence of exter0 nal observers during the exams, which had made the children nervous'. Beniwal told TOI , 'Absence of leadership in the past caused teachers to become complacent. The core issue is staff shortage. Our teachers are overburdened and have to teach subjects beyond their expertise. It's true that many students are transitioning from Hindi medium. This year, we also implemented stricter measures to prevent cheating.' 13 appeared, all failed Since Govt Senior Secondary School in Autha, also in Nuh, started its higher secondary section in 2022, very few have cleared the boards. This year, none did. The school hasn't had a specialist English teacher since 2022. It's the Hindi teacher who stands in. Political science has just one teacher for junior and senior classes. There were, however, two Sanskrit teachers till this Feb. Azhar, who didn't clear his boards this year, says there was an all-round crisis of teachers. 'The physical education teacher sometimes came and took science class. The principal, who has been at the school for around a year-and-a-half, taught us history and political science. But the principal also has other things to do,' he said. Apparently, the exams were also marred by confusion. One student said the English paper started 60-90 minutes late in some rooms at the exam centre. Another said there was confusion about allotment of rooms. Shri Krishan, the school's principal, said, 'The primary cause of poor performance is the lack of specialised subject teachers. Our students rely entirely on the school for learning; if they don't receive proper guidance here, they don't study at all.' 105 appeared, 95 failed The All Boys Senior Secondary School in Nuh's Punhana did not have teachers for chemistry, physics and biology, its principal Abdul Nafe told TOI . 'A teacher for chemistry joined in Nov, but the batch had little time left for preparations,' he says, adding that science teachers have not been available for two years. It did not, therefore, come as a surprise that just three students had pass marks in physics. 'Since we didn't have subject teachers, we tried to learn from material on the web. Teachers in the classroom would play YouTube videos for us. We could understand the material to some extent, but it was difficult to clear doubts in this manner,' a student said. Marks in humanities subjects were better, even though geography and home science had no teachers. 'But the overall result was affected by students failing in specific subjects despite passing others (like passing history but failing in Hindi or political science),' says Nafe, adding that many students came to class 11 with very weak foundational knowledge, struggling even with basic reading and writing (the school identified 28 class 9 students who cannot write Hindi or English). 25 appeared, 21 failed K Ramniwas minces no words. 'We are very ashamed of the result,' says the principal of Govt Senior Secondary School in Khanda, Sonepat. The school had no shortage of teachers. 'It's even more shameful that despite having all teachers available in our school, only four students passed,' says Ramniwas, identifying poor attendance as the main culprit. Most of the students in this rural school belong to farming families and economically weak sections, and so have to 'regularly engage in work with their family to earn some extra money', according to the principal. The results are a reality check for the school, which needs a course correction in political science and history, two subjects in which most of the current batch failed. 'The previous years were fine. This time, results were affected by these two subjects,' says Ramniwas. This session, the school will have a bigger batch in class 12 (34 students). 15 appeared, 10 failed Govt Senior Secondary School at Kaurali in Faridabad has not had a full-time principal since Suparna Trikha retired on Aug 31 last year. Neither does it have teachers for social sciences, science, Hindi, English and Sanskrit. It's, therefore, somewhat a matter of surprise that five from the batch of 15 that appeared in the boards this year actually cleared it and will move to college. 'How can students be expected to study when there are no teachers for even the main subjects? The condition of govt schools must be improved. Students are suffering,' says , the sarpanch of Kaurali. An officer at the education directorate in Panchkula, told TOI , 'Out of the 18 schools where all students failed, only three are govt schools. In Nuh, the poor performance of schools is largely due to a shortage of teachers. The situation is expected to improve following a teacher transfer drive, which aims to address this issue.' Kusum Malik says the 'class readiness programme' in the months of April and May needs to be strengthened with a focus on improving basic skills in Hindi, English and maths. 'To address social factors, parent-teacher meetings need to be held regularly. Teachers can explain the benefits of education and use success stories from the community as role models to inspire them,' she says.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Iran says sixth round of U.S. talks planned for June 15
Iran's Foreign Ministry has announced that a new round of nuclear talks with the United States is scheduled for Sunday (June 15, 2025), following President Donald Trump's earlier announcement that it was expected to take place on Thursday. 'The next round of Iran-U.S. indirect talks is being planned for next Sunday in Muscat,' foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement Tuesday (June 10, 2025), adding foreign minister and chief negotiator Abbas Araghchi would this week attend the Norway's Oslo Forum, a gathering of conflict mediators. Iran and the United States have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear deal to replace the 2015 accord with major powers that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018. On May 31, after the fifth round of talks, Iran said it had received 'elements' of a U.S. proposal for a nuclear deal, with Mr. Araghchi later saying the text contained 'ambiguities'. 'Lacking elements' Iran said on Monday the U.S. proposal was 'lacking elements' reflective of the previous negotiations and that it would present a 'reasonable, logical and balanced' counter-proposal to the United States through mediator Oman. Mr. Trump has said new U.S.-Iran talks this week could clarify if a nuclear deal is possible to avoid military action. He added that the latest meeting with Iran was expected Thursday, although a source familiar with preparations said it would more likely be on Friday or Saturday. Diplomatic standoff Iran and the United States have recently been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a 'non-negotiable' right and Washington calling it as a 'red line'. Iran currently enriches uranium to 60%, far above the 3.67% limit set in the 2015 deal and close, though still short of the 90% needed for a nuclear warhead. Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, while Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
