Alberta Independence: Update
information sources
The drive toward Alberta Independence, while a grassroots movement, features several notable and noteworthy spokespeople. These individuals - listed below, with information / links - address our questions and concerns to the best of their abilities (and those are not inconsiderable).
The reasons to remove ourselves from the once-great country of Canada are numerous and varied, but also raise significant concerns, such as expenses and pensions, revenue, taxation, transition logistics, freedoms, laws, system of governance … the entire gamut. Valid considerations, all. Of course we can’t know with any degree of certainty precisely how events will unfold, but let’s keep a few things in mind as foundational:
the spectre of secession has been a low-rumbling fact of life in this province since the early 1920s, less than two decades after our province was annexed by Canada, and for good reasons (as valid today as they were 100 years ago, if not more so)
the issue is a hot one and - given the current cultural trend toward extreme polarization - needs to be settled … one way or the other, and the October referendum will do just that
Canada seems to be the only Western democracy (although we cannot legitimately consider ourselves democratic these days) with laws outlining conditions through which a province may secede
the blood of pioneers runs thick through our veins: unknowns and difficulties in this day and age pale in comparison to those of our grandparents and THEIR parents who were instrumental in founding our beloved province.
The Alberta Prosperity Project includes innumerable answers to frequently asked questions, well-researched and clearly explained. The site includes a draft version of potential budget with a clear invitation to download, read, and submit feedback.
Stay Free Alberta provides information about locations where we might sign the citizen-led initiative / petition enjoining the province to hold an independence referendum. Those unable to travel to those locations may request a canvasser visit them instead.
The Let’s Talk Alberta tour, featuring several of the following individuals, includes numerous locations throughout the province, providing information, answering questions and inviting debate. Check online for dates and venues.
Among the Albertans I consider most credible spokespeople, least inclined to be hyperbolic or attempt to incite emotional reactions, those I have found to be honest arbiters of solid and well-considered information without regard to their own agenda, are the following (in no particular order of priority, understanding that their names are here by virtue of the valuable and relevant information they provide):
Eva Chipiuk - X / Twitter, LinkedIn
Cory Morgan - author of The Sovereigntist’s Handbook: Charting the course to Western Independence, X / Twitter, YouTube
Kathy Flett - X / Twitter, LinkedIn, Substack, co-founder of Alberta Women’s Independence Network (with Angela Tabak)
Tanner Hnidey - Substack
Keith Wilson - X / Twitter, YouTube
Tanya Clemens - X / Twitter
Michael Wagner - author of No Other Option: Self-Determination for Alberta and Alberta Separatism: Then and Now, LinkedIn
Jason Lavigne - X / Twitter, YouTube
Chris Scott - YouTube, Whistle Stop Cafe blog
Bruce Pardy - Substack
Nadine Wellwood - YouTube
Marco Navarro-Genie - author of several books, Substack
Barry Cooper - author of several books, Substack
Colin Macleod - author of The Case for Alberta Independence, X / Twitter, Substack
Article by Jack Mintz: An oil pipeline won’t end Alberta’s alienation. Excessive Ottawa spending, including equalization, high taxes and central Canada’s political domination are all cause for division.
Article by Dennis Modry: Europe’s existential crisis should terrify Canada and explain Alberta’s push for independence. From Brussels to Ottawa — how overregulation, debt, and centralized power are undermining prosperity.
In addition to the foregoing Substack and other articles as well as books, those who enjoy reading might be interested in Moment of Truth: How to Think About Alberta’s Future, edited by Jack Mintz, Ted Morton and Tom Flanagan (two of the signatories to the 2001 Firewall Letter).
Of course I may have missed some good sources. Please do not hesitate to add to this list in the comments section.
Dr. Dennis Modry & Mitch Sylvestre, principles in the Alberta Prosperity Project, while not accessible through social media, are available to various degrees at independence events (typically hosted online by Freedom Calendar). Another of the members is Jeffrey Rath but - trigger alert - he may or may not head off in a diatribe maligning Premier Danielle Smith (harping on his own seemingly endless personal set of grievances). Mr. Rath typically holds forth on X / Twitter.
Max, at Freedom Calendar, does great work live-streaming events and goes so far as to provide short clips featuring various speakers which we can easily share to those of our friends / associates with questions / concerns about any number of topics.
Relevant podcasts include but are by no means limited to …
Several of the individuals involved in a draft transition plan and draft constitution have indicated that feedback from ALL Albertans will be necessary - as will numerous consultations / conventions - before we (ideally) vote on the governance of our new country.
Sit back for a minute and consider how exciting that will be, to have a hand in the formation of a new country. Between now and the days we start debating that constitution, let’s look around the world and make note of what has worked for other countries: direct democracy, for example? How about the Swiss model with an exceptionally small central government and self-governing districts (cantons)? What makes the Indonesian army rank 23rd of 140 countries? The more we know, the better able we will be to start off on the right foot and leave a strong country to the generations of freedom-loving individuals following in our footsteps.
The following excerpt (of the full conversation, Alberta: The Promised Land for Canada’s Future) touches on some of the underlying causes for the east / west disconnect in Canada.
Another book to consider reading: Independence Blueprint: What Alberta Can Learn From Quebec by Sheila Gunn Reid (https://www.amazon.ca/Independence-Blueprint-Alberta-Learn-Quebec/dp/199058313X)