Latest news with #AlbertaSecession
CTV News
6 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Alberta separation becoming the focus of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills byelection
A Canada flag, left, and an Alberta flag flap in the breeze with Mt. Kidd in the background in Kananaskis, Alta., Monday, June 2, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh) The Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills byelection is quickly turning into a mini referendum on Alberta secession. The riding saw its MLA, former speaker Nathan Cooper, step down earlier this year to take a provincial job in Washington. That's meant the conservative stronghold will be one of three Alberta areas electing a new representative on June 23. The UCP has held the south-central seat since the party's inception. Before that, it bounced between the Wildrose and the Progressive Conservatives. But the recent federal election and tension between rural Alberta and Ottawa have another right-leaning party convinced the byelection is there for the taking. Cameron Davies is running for the newly created Republican Party of Alberta, which he also leads. Provincial separation is the party's main goal. 'Albertans are ready for change,' he told CTV News. 'Justin Trudeau, he read the book on how to be a socialist. But Mark Carney is the gentleman who wrote the book. So, any politician who goes out there and tells you they have high hopes for Mark Carney, I think, needs to take a closer look at who he is.' The Republican Party of Alberta Davies and his party believe that Ottawa's treatment of western Canada has alienated voters and edged them out of important decisions. They want to leave confederation. And while he alleges some within the governing UCP are separatists, Davies doesn't think the party is 'conservative enough' for the province. 'The UCP has, over the last several years, attempted to pander to downtown Edmonton and downtown Calgary,' he said. '(Albertans) are ready for an alternative: a truly conservative option that doesn't apologize for our values.' Asked what those values are, Davies began with a message: 'I can look you in the eye and tell you there's only two genders,' he said. 'Let's start there.' The Republican Party of Alberta does seem to be focused on popular conservative ideas from south of the border: at various points in the interview, Davies brought up parental choice, property rights and 'family values.' 'I believe that the longer we wait for the conservatives to figure out if they are in fact conservatives, the more and more disappointed we will be,' he said. And some of his messaging is obviously resonating. An afternoon of door knocking in Three Hills showed there's an appetite in this area for what the Republicans are pitching. Despite Canadian flags lining multiple lawns, residents were happy to engage in conversation with the party leader and ask him questions about leaving the country. Davies promised it's not just here. He claimed the party's other two byelection candidates are making inroads, passing out hundreds of signs in city centres like Edmonton. Post federal election, the party alleges to have 24,000 members. They want to double that and pass Davies' former Wildrose party in sign-ups before the party's autumn AGM. 'And regardless of the outcome (in this byelection), our objective is to make sure that our message is heard,' he said. The Alberta NDP Bev Toews is running for the Alberta NDP. She has worked at an Olds high school for years and calls herself a 'community volunteer.' Toews is the first Alberta NDP candidate in this riding to be local: a badge she wears with pride. 'This talk of separatism is very concerning to me, and so I thought it was really important that somebody had a voice and talked about health care, education, affordability and being a strong Alberta in a strong Canada,' she told CTV News. In 2023, her party brought in only 18.8 per cent of the vote. The UCP's Cooper exceeded 75 per cent. At the time, another separatist group, the Alberta Independence Party, garnered 1,140 votes: 4.7 per cent of the ballots. The new NDPer says she understands some of the federal frustration in the riding — and believes her party having more voices in Edmonton can help. 'Certainly, there are things we can make better, and there are things that Ottawa can do better for Alberta,' Toews said. 'But I think we have more possibility of making a positive change working together than being all on our own.' Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills is largely comprised of born-in-Alberta residents and agricultural workers who lean to the political right. They've never given the NDP more than 4,600 votes. Toews understands it'll be an uphill campaign — but expressed some excitement Wednesday that there is more choice for constituents. 'And if they're not happy, this is an excellent opportunity for them to send a very strong message to (Premier) Danielle Smith and the UCP,' she said. The United Conservative Party Tara Sawyer is the United Conservative candidate. CTV News reached out to Sawyer and the UCP multiple times to set up an interview but never received a response. Earlier this week, Sawyer refused to give a planned all-candidates forum any availability in the lead-up to June 23's vote, meaning the forum was cancelled. Expert insight A Mount Royal University political scientist believes the byelection could be a close one between the UCP and Republican Party of Alberta. 'It's an area that is likely to be more sympathetic to the kinds of things that the Republican Party stands for than in other parts of Alberta,' political scientist Lori Williams said. 'So, it will be very interesting.' As for the separation talk, Williams says she'll be watching closely to get a sense of just how real the rural secession appetite really is. It's been talked about for decades, but she's still not entirely convinced separation will be a decider when the voting pencils are picked up. That's because the logistics of the move would be extremely complicated and costly. 'More fairness within confederation is a message that resonates frankly across the province to some degree; it's just whether that extends to the point of independence,' Williams said. 'That may make (Davies) more of a hard sell. If it were just about entitlement, corruption and a failure to represent within the United Conservative Party, I think that Cam Davies could have a significant impact on this election.' 'It will be a test: both of the Republican Party, but also of the United Conservative Party and to what extent other conservatives are more appealing than the UCP in Alberta.'
Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
The oil-rich Canadian cowboys who want their own Brexit
Many of the Albertans who have concluded the province must secede from Canada contemplate the potential breakup of their country with regret, if not outright grief. Not so Ron Robertson. The retired police detective and leader of the Independence Party looks forward to the day Alberta, an energy powerhouse often compared to Texas, is unshackled from the rest of the nation. His quixotic vision, sketched out to The Times over lunch at a Thai restaurant in a small prairie town, is not as outlandish as it once seemed. Discontent with Canada's political elite has long festered in the western provinces, where residents complain of neglect from the establishment back east, but the oilmen, cowboys and cattle ranchers in Alberta's secessionist movement have been invigorated by the recent general election. The result — in which Mark Carney, the former Bank of England governor, was elected prime minister, handing the Liberal Party a fourth consecutive term in office — was met with dismay among many in Alberta. Separatists argue that climate policies championed by the Liberals — led for the past decade by the despised Justin Trudeau — stymie their homeland, where vast reserves of oil and gas make the province one of the most resource-rich regions in the world. That is only one complaint among many reeled off by Robertson who, in an unfailingly polite manner befitting the Canadian stereotype, accuses the establishment in the capital of treating the province like a colony. Ottawa steals Alberta's money, he says, and residents are powerless against the wishes of the eastern metropolises of Toronto and Montreal. 'Taxation without representation,' he says, echoing the American revolutionaries in a reference that has perhaps become more potent given Canada's recently frayed relationship with its southern neighbour. 'We don't have a vote here. Every election in Canada, the prime minister is picked by the time the vote finishes at the Ontario border.' After Carney's victory over Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative leader who held a commanding lead in the polls until President Trump's tariff threats hit Canada hard, Alberta's head of government promised action. Danielle Smith, the premier of the province, does not support separatism but told those who do that if they can gather enough signatures she will hold a referendum next year. Traditionally a constitutional petition needs the support of 20 per cent of all voters as well as at least 20 per cent in two thirds of a province's ridings, but under proposed rule changes it would require only 10 per cent of voters who turned out for the last general election. Secessionists were galvanised; Smith's critics called her reckless and said she risked repeating the ignominy suffered by David Cameron, the British prime minister who called the Brexit referendum and lost in 2016. Smith is facing similar dynamics to Cameron's Conservatives in her United Conservative Party, with a right wing agitating for action. Polls suggest she should avoid Cameron's fate, though going to the populace always represents a gamble with uncertain odds. A survey taken after the election by the Angus Reid Institute, a non-profit bipartisan organisation, suggested more than half of voters would vote to stay and only 19 per cent would 'definitely' leave. Casting further doubt on the prospects of a Canadian national divorce, three quarters of respondents expected a referendum to fail. Shachi Kurl, the institute's president, said Alberta's leaders may also not believe secession is a realistic goal but agitating serves a useful political purpose. 'The politicians want leverage,' she said, adding that the more discontent among Smith's constituents, the harder the bargain she can drive with Carney. Albertans who claim they are short-changed by the government may have a point. Last year the Fraser Institute, a conservative think tank, released a report that found the province had given Ottawa far more money than it had received. From 2007 to 2022, the report said, Alberta's net contribution to the federal finances amounted to C$244.6 billion ($174 billion), more than five times as much as Ontario's. If Alberta was an 'average contributor' based on other provinces, the institute said, the federal government would have had a fiscal shortfall in 2022 of C$16.9 billion ($12 billion). Supporters of separatism argue Alberta's financial potential is even greater. Smith is said to be angling for concessions from Carney on environmental policies, including lifting a ban on tankers off the neighbouring province of British Columbia. She also wants the repeal of Bill C-69, which requires an assessment on the impact an infrastructure project might have on the environment and indigenous people before getting the go-ahead. Critics dubbed it the 'no new pipelines act'. If Alberta did decide to wrench itself from the rest of Canada, the process would be so fraught with complications it could make Brexit appear a minor administrative task. The question of everything from national parks, indigenous lands, currency, trade agreements and border crossings would be up for negotiation and likely to take many years to resolve. Given the vast areas of Alberta that are federal or indigenous lands, it is unclear how much of the province would be left if it opted for independence. Then there is the economic uncertainty: Alberta, with its population of five million, is landlocked — how would its trade work if embittered neighbours hindered its pipelines on their territory? Perhaps the central legal question would be the status of indigenous peoples, estimated to make up about 7 per cent of Alberta's population. Canada would face an unprecedented administrative challenge, Eric Adams, a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, said. 'The break-up of this constitutional democracy of over 150 years is just not easy to contemplate, negotiate or achieve,' he said. 'The constitution [dating to 1867] did not contemplate its own break-up. It contemplates amendment but no one was talking about divorce on the wedding day.' In 1998 Canada's supreme court ruled that unilateral secession was not legal, after the French-speaking province of Quebec sought independence in a referendum three years earlier. However, the court said that faced with a 'clear majority' on a 'clear answer' in a province-wide vote, the federal government would be obliged to negotiate with that region in good faith. Robertson is not certain that the government would do so. The 68-year-old, who spent much of his career investigating organised crime in Edmonton, has a profound distrust of the establishment. He spoke to The Times in Olds, a town of about 10,000 on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway between Edmonton and Calgary. To the west loomed the snowy Rocky Mountains. Olds, a small dot on the vast prairies of Canada's wild west, is in many ways unremarkable but holds a special place in separatist history. It was the site of a by-election victory in 1982 for a secessionist, which supporters at the time hoped was the start of a movement but which proved a false dawn. The episode pains Robertson. He believes Alberta has its own distinct cultural identity, forged by its frontier status. When on holiday, he proudly informs other tourists he is from Alberta, not Canada. He dismisses the naysayers who argue secession is too tall an ask, conceding that the process would not be completed overnight but is doable. He has not ruled out becoming America's 51st state, though he insists independence must come first and believes Albertans will want to remain on their own once they get a taste of freedom. 'Why would you want to join the US when you can create your own nation? You can build whatever you want,' he said, 'because once you're out of Canada, it's entirely up to the people of Alberta to decide.' Yet for all Robertson's enthusiasm and the evident resentment in Alberta, the sheer scale of the legal and administrative challenges for separatists represents an obstacle to rival the Rockies. Then there is the Trump effect. His threats to make Canada the 51st state provoked an outpouring of patriotic fervour, with citizens rallying around the flag. Shops around the country are filled with notices urging customers to shop Canadian, while in Olds itself the red and white maple leaf fluttered around town. In this environment, is secession likely? Robertson, his faith in a dream he has harboured all his adult life undiminished, has a message for sceptics. 'They think of it the way Brexit was thought of in the UK,' he says with a smile. 'They don't look at it as being serious. And the day it happens, it's going to catch them with their pants down.'
CBC
15-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Alberta secession talk 'unhelpful,' ATCO chief executive says
The chief executive of ATCO Ltd. says discussions around Alberta secession are already hurting the investment climate. Nancy Southern says Asian partners in a major hydrogen project have said they won't make final investment decisions unless there is certainty around the Alberta separatism question. She says the prospect of Alberta independence is raising too many questions for companies to feel confident making big investment decisions. Those include how it would get its products to coastal ports, what kind of trade deals it would have with its neighbours, what currency it would use and how stable the economy would be. In reaction to Southern's comments, Charles St-Arnaud, chief economist with Alberta Central, told CBC News "it's not surprising. We know businesses don't like political uncertainty." He said the same has been observed in every case where there's a question of independence or a chance of a referendum, for example in Quebec and Brexit in London. "That uncertainty becomes a headwind for investment." Southern said she understands Albertans' frustration with the federal government over environmental regulations affecting the energy sector, but that she believes Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to change things. "I think the separatist discussion is very unhelpful and not constructive to Alberta," Southern said in an interview following her company's annual shareholder meeting. St-Arnaud said he anticipates more people may follow Southern's lead, speaking out about the negative consequences of secession talk in the province. "For most businesses, especially those who have to attract capital from outside Alberta or even companies that are kind of on the fence of whether or not they should be investing in Alberta or in Ontario or B.C., it can be a deciding factor in terms of whether or not investment happens in the province," he said.
CTV News
14-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Atco chief executive sees ‘astounding' opportunities in northern defence
ATCO chief executive officer Nancy Southern addresses the company's annual meeting in Calgary on Wednesday, May 15, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh CALGARY — The chief executive of Atco Ltd. says discussions around Alberta secession are already hurting the investment climate. Nancy Southern says Asian partners in a major hydrogen project have said they won't make final investment decisions unless there is certainty around the Alberta separatism question. She says the prospect of Alberta independence is raising too many questions for companies to feel confident making big investment decisions. Those include how it would get its products to coastal ports, what kind of trade deals it would have with its neighbours, what currency it would use and how stable the economy would be. Southern says she understands Albertans' frustration with the federal government over environmental regulations affecting the energy sector, but that she believes Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to change things. "I think the separatist discussion is very unhelpful and not constructive to Alberta," Southern said in an interview following her company's annual shareholder meeting. She highlighted potential opportunities for the Calgary-based company's defence arm in an increasingly unstable geopolitical climate. Last month Ottawa awarded a contract to a joint venture between Atco Frontec and the Inuvialuit Development Corp. for a new radar defence system in the Northwest Territories. The two-year contract is worth $48.4 million. It covers the design, construction, installation and operation of the Polar Over-the-Horizon Radar system. "The opportunities in Canada are really quite astounding, especially as Canada moves to modernize the Norad system and strengthen our northern defence," Southern told the meeting. She said the system is "very needed in today's North" and it can detect targets at long ranges — hundreds to thousands of kilometres. She said she's encouraged Carney is taking action on housing, defence and energy. "As we stand at a pretty critical juncture in our country's, province's and company's future, and as we navigate through these very turbulent times, the uncertainty that we've faced in recent years is likely to persist and potentially intensify," Southern said. "Trade tensions, supply chain, inflationary pressures, geopolitical conflict, and the accelerating pace of technological change are all converging to create a stubbornly complex and unpredictable environment." Atco, with some 21,000 employees and a global footprint, has subsidiaries in a diverse array of sectors, including defence, modular building construction, electricity distribution and transmission, and more. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2025. Companies in this story: (TSX: ACO. X) Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
