EDMONTON – In the beginning it was Quebec. The dream of an independent nation, separate from the rest of Canada, has always been the prerogative of the most French-speaking (and least North American) province in the country. But the two referendums for independence – in 1980 and 1995 – rejected this idea, although not entirely clearly: in 1995, the “no” votes prevailed over the “yes” votes 50.58% to 49.42%. By a hair’s breadth, Quebec did not “break away”. Today, the wind of separatism is blowing strongly in Alberta, the most American province in Canada. There, the secessionist movement actually already existed but has now gained strength and what until now had been a breeze risks turning into a tornado, powered by the victory of Donald Trump in the USA and the defeat of the Canadian Conservatives in the federal elections.
Alberta, in fact, is more conservative than ever, so much so that in the elections won by Mark Carney’s Liberals, the province led by Conservative Premier Danielle Smith remained completely “blue”: Conservatives at 64.8% and Liberals at 28.4%. And the victory, at the federal level, of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s party, did not go down well with Albertans, according to whom it was precisely Liberal policies that destroyed their economy and that of the entire country, well before Trump’s return.
But the Alberta vote is worth little, because “once the votes are counted in Ontario, the election is over. We don’t count. We never count” said to The Canadian Press Katheryn Speck, one of the participants in the separatist demonstration held last Saturday at the Alberta Legislature in the capital Edmonton. Hundreds of people were present, with many in the crowd waving flags of Alberta but also some showing the stars and stripes of the United States. Among the separatists, in fact, there are also those who wink at Trump and his “desire for Canada” that is his will to make it the 51st US state. The separatists’ first option, however, remains independence: from Canada and from the rest of the world. Also because, as another protester, Susan Westernaier, told The Canadian Press, “we have oil, we have resources. We’re fine…”.
Then, Premier Danielle Smith added fuel to the fire (or oil…) by “coincidentally” proposing a law that would lower the limit of signatures needed to request a referendum, from the current 600,000 to 170,000 (Alberta has just over 4,260,000 inhabitants – 2021 census). The proposed law concerns any type of referendum, in general, on anything: but it is clear that this move would make it easier for Alberta citizens to request a vote for secession from Canada. Equally “coincidentally”, separatist movements have already started work: the Alberta Prosperity Project’s online signature collection has reportedly already exceeded 140,000. And with the new law, the goal would already be almost achieved…
In the photo above: separatist protesters in front of the Alberta Legislature, in Edmonton (photo from Twitter X – @albertaseparate)
