The motivations that have contributed to the separatist movement and Alberta’s sense of grievance in recent years are not especially discrete; it’s more like a nebulous Venn diagram. Simple politics have pushed some people toward separatism. Indeed, the paucity of separatist talk during the time when Stephen Harper was prime minister suggests there’s a significant political component to the idea; when Liberals are in power, people feel more inclined to talk about leaving. Culture also plays a role. When Angus Reid pollsters talked to separatists in February 2026, 86.5 percent said they thought Canada forced Alberta to take in too many immigrants, and 96 percent believed that an independent Alberta would better protect personal freedoms.
But … separatists tend to find the economic arguments particularly seductive. Angus Reid polling shows 96 percent of respondents who want an independent Alberta believe they would be free from economically damaging federal government policies. Separatist leaders promise the elimination of the personal income tax while creating a new provincial sales tax of 5 percent. They also claim Alberta would save $75 billion from no longer paying federal taxes.
Not all separatists promise immediate prosperity, but the argument remains persuasive. Cameron Davies is the leader of the Republican Party of Alberta. “I don’t paint an immediate rosy, utopian picture of what independence looks like,” he says. “Will it be difficult? Yes. Will it be immediate sunshine and rainbows? Probably not. But will it be worth it? Five, ten, fifteen years down the road for your kids and your grandkids? One hundred percent yes.”
Receiving federal money coming from Alberta should be tied to allowing Alberta have access to global markets. In my opinion, if Quebec blocks pipelines that should make them unable to collect equalization money. Either they are for a united ‘all for all’ Canada, or they are not.
Q and A equally self centered to other provincial citizens.
This one-note blackmail approach is a fine example of pissy attitudes coming from ‘texas north’, it ignores how complex provincial interdependencies are and ignores other solutions and problems. Alberta has to adapt faster.
That’s an option. But considering the separatist movement in Alberta is at 20%+ it might be good strategy to actually listen to the complaints. Maybe it’s Canada that has to adapt, or maybe it’s both.
I don’t think we should adapt in a cooperative way to foreign interference.
I grew up in Alberta and still have lots of family there. In the 1980’s there were a bunch of texans in Calgary advocating for a move to the USA and backslappingly loud about it. People who flew back to houston every month.
Decades of advocacy and cultural pressure has built up and normalized the traitorous bullshit. Now we have social media and astroturfing and backroom funding.
The separatist movement has never been sincere or honest, and always seditious in spirit. Alberta wants to be an oil colony to oiligarchs and a large number of middle managers and employees are useful idiots.
Let’s hear some honest complaints that aren’t full of entitlement.
What are the major complaints coming from the Alberta separatists?