The spin on Alberta separation is that it’s all about separation from Canada.
It’s not.
It’s really about joining the U.S.
Oh, of course, it wouldn’t happen immediately. But change the times a bit, change the players, and you can bet the farm that it would happen before long.
Just imagine the U.S. sitting there in the Lower 48 and having that opportunity of a direct land-based route to Alaska! And a wedge between the Canadian provinces, opening up another opportunity for the future. It wouldn’t be long before the offers of everything good and wonderful would start flowing, offers of pipelines, offers of trade, and of course, seats in the U.S. House and Senate. Just imagine the ceremony of the new Alberta House reps and senators being seated on their first day in office. There wouldn’t be much said about the share of the U.S. national debt that Alberta citizens would have to assume.
Should even this first referendum on separation pass, the one which would authorize a real separation referendum, there would be a huge interest created in Washington, D.C. Should that occur, you can be sure that Donald John Trump would know about it by the time he ate his eggs and toast the next morning.
The Americans, you see, would not see Alberta as its own country, they would see it, within a very short time, as the 51st state, which Trump has been talking about, There would still be a bit of ground, a chunk of the Northwest Territories and Yukon, to acquire between northern Alberta and Alaska, but that would be looked at as a much smaller challenge than acquiring Alberta.
I don’t blame the U.S. for being interested in Alberta. Why wouldn’t they be? As much as DJT likes to say that the U.S. doesn’t need anything Canada has, we all know that he’s talking through two sides of his face when he says it. Think of the oil and gas, the availability of critical minerals, the military options it would provide. The list is long of why they would like to have access to what Alberta has, let alone the American foot in the door to the rest of the divided country, pick up one part now and get the rest later.
Now it is clear that if Canada, or any part of it, were to join any other country, the U.S. is who we would like to join. We and they are very much alike, no two other nations are more alike than we are. Many of us came from there, in bloodlines if no other way. We all have four sets of great-grandparents. Two of my sets came from the U.S. I went to college there, all my first cousins on my Dad’s side are there. And my story is not unique, yours could be similar.
But what’s in it for Albertans?
Well, what the Alberta separatists see in it is freedom from anyone telling them what to do. Like the kid who runs away from home, the planning, the anticipation is all roses and sunshine, no more of Mom and Dad telling he or her how to run their young little lives. But the reality sets in later on, like on Day Three of being an adult, or Day One Hundred. All those adult decisions, like paying for medical premiums, and groceries, television, transportation, rent. But, at some point there reaches a time when the kid just can’t go back home to where things were much easier. So it would be for Alberta, the first few years would be fun, but I would bet it would be part of the U.S. within a generation, and one thing that would never be an option for them once flying the Stars and Stripes is another separation. Like the kid, there comes a time when you can’t go back, and in the case of joining the U.S. that point is right after you join.
Once part of the U.S., always part of the U.S. That issue was decided very clearly down there.
It was called the American Civil War.
It was when, not one, but eleven states wanted to continue slavery and when the U.S. would not agree they decided to secede, to leave the United States. To separate.
And what happened?
Take a look at any map of the United States. All eleven states are still there. Look for North and South Carolina, they are still there. Look for Virginia, it’s still there. Look for Texas, it’s still there too. There’s no such thing as separating from the U.S. The civil war made that very clear.
So if Alberta is a province that likes the idea of separation, it should know that after separating from Canada, and the likely joining the U.S., the idea of separation would have burned the bridge behind it. Riding that pony is a one-way trail, for the pony knows there isn’t any way home.
And when all is said and done, would a pipeline to the Gulf of Mexico be any more guaranteed , or any cheaper than a pipeline to Canada’s west coast? Remember Keystone?
I said in this space back in May that separation wouldn’t be going anywhere in Alberta. I still think that. Still hope that.
When is the referendum?
October 19, 2026
