Latest news with #AlbertaSovereignty
National Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Chris Selley: Central Canadians are practically goading Alberta to consider separation
Of all the problems Canada faces in 2025, the prospect of Alberta sovereigntists winning a referendum and plunging the country into constitutional hell does not appear to be one of them. A Postmedia-Leger poll released last week, found just 29 per cent of Albertans supported the province 'becoming a country independent of Canada,' which is what the straightforward referendum question recently proposed by the separatist Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) would ask. That's even fewer than the 36 per cent of Quebecers who would vote Yes in their own sovereignty referendum, according to a Leger poll released before last month's federal election. Article content Article content But good grief, Central Canada could hardly be doing more to try to pump the APP's tires. Ironically, that includes some Quebec separatists. Article content Article content Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has offered support, in principle: 'I totally agree with provinces that stand up, that are loyal to their own parliament, that are capable of showing a strong hand,' he said earlier this month. This seems like the only logical strategic position for Quebec sovereigntists to take if — like the PQ, which is in pole position to win the next provincial election — they're actually planning on holding and winning a referendum and commencing divorce proceedings with Ottawa, the other provinces and First Nations. Article content Others in the Quebec sovereignty movement, however, haven't been able to resist broadcasting their contempt for Alberta. Legalities aside, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet averred earlier this month, a proper sovereignty-seeking entity 'has to have a culture of their own.' Article content Article content 'I am not certain that oil and gas qualifies to define a culture,' he added disdainfully. Article content Article content 'In Quebec, we have a nation, a language, a culture, a distinct history,' Marie-Anne Alepin, president of the arch-nationalist Société St-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal, told The Canadian Press earlier this month. 'They want an oil-based future. We have no common goals. We're not alike.'
Toronto Star
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Star
As the separation debate heats up, Danielle Smith sets Albertans against each other
The next year in Alberta promises to be a hot one. Premier Danielle Smith's last minute move to amend legislation that makes it so much easier to collect enough signatures for a referendum has lit the match. And what would that referendum be about? Separation from the rest of Canada. One separatist group has even told us what the referendum question should be: 'Do you agree that the province shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province of Canada?' You may think that this is just a ruse to get the Liberal government to cave in on Smith's demands, among others, for 'unfettered' access to pipeline corridors or her longing to abolish an emissions cap on carbon spewing oilsands production. And maybe it is just a harmless negotiating tactic. But the division and angst it will cause Albertans and the rest of Canadians is a high price to pay for simply getting a better deal. The uncertainty alone will cause a dramatic drop in investment. Nancy Southern, president of ATCO Ltd., a $24 billion utility and infrastructure company, who has long supported the UCP/Progressive Conservatives, is already warning that it will affect business decisions. She says the prospect of Alberta independence is raising too many questions for companies to feel confident making big investment decisions. '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. And what happens to property values as the talk of Alberta separation grows? Will people start to worry about the decreasing value of their homes? Their small businesses? As Jen Gerson, co-founder of The Line wrote in her Substack: 'Personally, I don't think the federal government should be imposing emissions cap on the provinces. I think we do need east-west pipelines, and I don't think the current equalization formula is particularly fair — but am I willing to risk my home and my citizenship on a wish list of accords compiled by junior oil and gas executives? …. No.' In response to separation talk an Alberta First Nation — Onion Lake Cree Nation — has revived its legal challenge to the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act. Chief Henry Lewis told an Edmonton press conference that the law has always been about undercutting federal control and asserting provincial control contrary to the treaty his nation signed with The Crown before Alberta was a province. 'I want to respectfully remind the premier that this land that we stand on today is treaty land and is not yours to take or make sweeping decisions about,' he said. The Alberta Prosperity Project, which is leading the charge for separation, was aiming for 600,000 signatures on a referendum petition will now only have to collect about 177,000. That shouldn't be too difficult. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW It has taken a hard line approach to the election of Mark Carney and the Liberals: 'The era of Carney Carnage is here. While every province will experience it, there's no secret he's placed an extra big bullseye on Alberta.' This is the essence of the separatism message; we are perennial victims of federal governments so why not go it alone? It makes no sense when you consider that Alberta is the richest province with the highest Gross Domestic Product per capita. It makes no sense when you consider that thousands of people are moving here to seek a better life. It makes no sense when Canada is facing a real threat from south of the border and needs to pull together. But that is nothing to Smith, who worries that if she doesn't kowtow to the extreme elements of her party and her caucus she will be booted out of office. Or she will have to face real problems like the slide in the price of oil, which depletes the provincial treasury. So to avoid it all she is going to set Albertans against each other. That's the mark of a weak leader who would rather set the province on fire than govern.
Global News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Global News
First Nation to push ahead with legal challenge of Alberta government's sovereignty act
See more sharing options Send this page to someone via email Share this item on Twitter Share this item via WhatsApp Share this item on Facebook Alberta's bill lowering the bar for a separation referendum has spurred a First Nation to push ahead with a legal challenge against the premier's flagship sovereignty act. Danielle Smith has said her Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act is needed to push back on what the province believes is unconstitutional federal encroachment on provincial jurisdiction. But Onion Lake Cree Nation Chief Henry Lewis says it undermines his community's pre-existing treaty with the Crown. Story continues below advertisement He announced the legal challenge is moving forward a day after Smith's government passed a bill significantly lowering the threshold for citizens to prompt a referendum, including one on seceding from Canada. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The First Nation filed a statement of claim in 2022, but lawyer Robert Hladun says the community put it on pause, hoping for consultation and a resolution with government. Smith has said she wants Alberta to stay in Canada, but Lewis says the referendum legislation signals that the province is pushing a separatist agenda.
CTV News
13-05-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
This is the referendum question proposed by an Alberta separatist group
Albertans gathered at a banquet hall in northeast Calgary on May 12, 2025, to hear from the Alberta Prosperity Project, an organization dedicated to the province's sovereignty from Canada.
National Post
12-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Alberta separatist group releases proposed referendum question, plans to push for vote this year
An Alberta separatist group has released a proposed referendum question on sovereignty from Canada, saying they will push the premier for a vote as soon as this year. Article content Article content That is, if they can garner support from enough provincial residents. Article content During a news conference Monday, Jeffrey Rath — a lawyer with the Alberta Property Project — pulled a blue provincial flag off an easel, revealing the question printed in large font: 'Do you agree that the province shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province of Canada?' Article content Article content 'It's not a wishy-washy question like what they had in Quebec,' Rath said, referring to a similar separatism referendum held in 1995 that very nearly saw the French-Canadian province separate from the country. Article content Article content If passed, the legislation would significantly reduce the number of signatures required and extend the time period for signatures to be collected. Article content Since the federal election, the APP has seen thousands of people join, according to CEO Mitch Sylvestre. He said the party has received 220,000 pledges, leaving only 177,000 remaining to meet the required number of registered supporters. Article content 'But our goal is to get to 600,000 pledges — to not just get the referendum but to win the referendum,' he said. Article content Article content Starting Monday with an event at the Astoria Hall, the group plans to hold 50 town halls across the province as part of an Alberta-wide 'educational campaign on the rationale and merit of Alberta sovereignty,' Rath said. Article content Article content 'We intend to knock on every door at least twice,' he added, saying that if the group were to 'educate' Albertans on the real issues, the province would vote for independence. Article content The group, which also included Dennis Modry, former heart surgeon and group chair, and former Conservative MP LaVar Payne, painted a vision of Alberta as an independent nation with no regulations from Ottawa, no obligations to eastern Ottawa, lower provincial taxes and zero federal taxes. Article content Residents of an independent Alberta would see oil and gas development double within five years, a free-market free-trade agreement with the United States, and a flat 10 per cent income and corporate tax, while being able to keep their Canadian passports and Canada Pension Plan entitlements. Article content 'We'd be the lowest tax regime in North America,' Rath said. 'Who wouldn't want to locate their corporate headquarters in Edmonton or Calgary with a flat 10 per cent corporate tax rate and a flat 10 per cent income tax rate? We think we have a robust economic message to sell.'
