With the Liberal government returning to power, calls for separatism have intensified across Canada. The election of a Liberal government has reignited separatist sentiments in several provinces, particularly in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia. What began as rumblings of discontent has taken a sharp political turn, with Alberta, the country’s oil capital, officially moving toward holding a referendum on separating from Canada. The discontent, long-simmering, has now spilled onto the streets and into the legislature.
Alberta’s Surprise Move
In a dramatic announcement, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith declared that she will hold a referendum on separation from Canada next year if a citizen-led petition reaches the required number of signatures. Although the government itself will not place such a question on the ballot, Smith confirmed that if petitioners gather the necessary signatures, the question will be included in the 2026 provincial referendum.
“The vast majority of these individuals are not fringe voices to be marginalised or vilified,” said Smith. “They are loyal Albertans, our friends and neighbours, who’ve simply had enough of a hostile federal government attacking their livelihoods and prosperity.”
The speech comes a week after Smith’s United Conservative government introduced legislation that will sharply reduce the bar petitioners need to meet to trigger a provincial referendum. If passed, the bill would reduce the required threshold to 10 per cent of eligible voters from the last general election, approximately 177,000 signatures, and extend the time to collect them from 90 to 120 days.
“To be clear from the outset, our government will not be putting a vote on separation from Canada on the referendum ballot,” Smith said on May 5. “However, if there is a successful citizen-led referendum petition that is able to gather the requisite number of signatures requesting such a question to be put on a referendum, our government will respect the democratic process and include that question on the 2026 provincial referendum ballot, as well.”
Smith said Alberta has no choice but to take steps to combat a decade of hostile federal Liberal policies she says have not only taken an unfair share of Alberta’s wealth but in doing so have also undermined the oil and gas industry that drives its economy.
Roots of Discontent
The drive for Alberta’s separation is rooted in deep economic and political grievances. Many Albertans believe their province’s interests have been consistently sidelined by Liberal governments in Ottawa, particularly when it comes to energy policy.
Alberta has a total area of approximately 661,848 square kilometres, nearly equal in size to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh combined. Alberta is home to the third-largest proven oil reserves in the world, after Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. When Canada holds about 10 per cent of the world’s proven oil reserves, its 97 per cent is located in Alberta.
The resentment dates back to the 1980s, when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau’s National Energy Program imposed a 20 per cent tax on Alberta’s oil industry. The policy devastated the province’s economy, forcing the abandonment of major projects and leaving a lasting scar. Since then, Pierre Trudeau, father of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has remained one of the most reviled political figures in Alberta’s history.
Today, those frustrations have been reignited under the leadership of his son, Justin Trudeau. Albertans believe that recent federal policies have stalled pipeline development, burdened the energy sector with regulation, and redistributed Alberta’s wealth to other provinces like Quebec, under a system they believe is fundamentally unjust.
Many Albertans now identify more with the United States, economically, culturally, and politically, than with Eastern Canada. This sense of alienation has only deepened over the years, and the latest federal election results seem to have shattered any remaining hope in Confederation.
Separation: From rhetoric to reality
Support for separation is no longer confined to political rhetoric. Thousands have taken to the streets in Alberta in support of independence, with rallies in Edmonton featuring both Alberta and American flags. Amid the calls for independence, calls to join the United States as its 51st state are also gaining traction, although politicians remain cautious about endorsing such moves for now.
Speaking to media, one of the protesters Katheryn Speck captured the mood, “Once the votes are counted in Ontario, the election is over. We don’t matter. We never have.”
A recent poll found that nearly a quarter of Albertans identify as “Albertan first, Canadian second.” Over 100,000 people have reportedly signed an online registry in support of separation.
Similar sentiments are rising in neighbouring Saskatchewan, where activists are now working to gather signatures for their own referendum on independence. The movement is no longer isolated as it has spread to more provinces.
Will Alberta Join the United States?
Whether Alberta could become the 51st state of the United States is a question now on many people’s minds. However, local politicians have largely remained silent on the matter, as the more immediate issue is Alberta’s potential separation from Ottawa. Geographically sharing borders with the United States, Alberta is a province rich in oil and water resources, both of significant interest to the US.
The timing of Alberta’s separatist surge is significant. Newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington to address trade tensions and other bilateral issues. Throughout the recent election campaign, the “Donald Trump factor” was a recurring point of discussion. As international media noted, concerns about Canada’s sovereignty in light of statements made by US President Donald Trump have overshadowed much of the election discourse. Trump has publicly stated that it is highly unlikely the US would ever use military force to annex Canada. Nevertheless, his open and repeated calls to alter Canada’s territorial integrity and annex it into the US are now being taken more seriously than ever.
Many observers believe that Trump’s remarks about making Canada the 51st US state, combined with the Liberal Party’s recent electoral victory, have contributed to the rise of separatist sentiment in Alberta. Notably, Alberta leader Cameron Davies did not dismiss the possibility of joining the United States. He emphasised that the first priority is to sever ties with what he described as an “abusive relationship” with Ottawa.
“The Alberta Republicans are the leading movement to hold a binding independence referendum. We have to divorce from the abusive relationship with Ottawa before we entertain anything else,” he said on X, responding to a question about the US option.
Regardless of how Albertans vote, it is clear that the relationship between provinces like Alberta and Ottawa is unlikely to return to the status quo. The frustration and differences have become deep and irreversible. The coming days will be critical for Canada’s unity as a nation, which now faces unprecedented uncertainty. If more provinces follow Alberta’s path and gain support from the neighbouring United States, it could mark a historic shift in the region.
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