# Alberta, Natural Resources, and the Rest of Canada **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 3, 2025, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872 "2025-05-03T00:31:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 36
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/704 "2026-06-05T02:03:13Z")
There are ways to discuss legitimate grievances, without actually threatening to burn the house down. Every. Single. Province. has legitimate grievances. And in terms of Russian interference… I think there is _some_ credible evidence. Reposting this link that Wolfpup provided: the authors have experience and credibility. Here’s a part of the executive summary for you: > Russia’s engagement with Alberta separatism is covert, it appears doctrinal, > operational, and sustained. Russian government strategy has long emphasized > exploiting divisive issues within Western democracies. Several lines of evidence link > Russian-aligned information infrastructure to Alberta separatist narratives, including > Storm 1516-linked websites and social media accounts, early attention to Wexit by > Sputnik, and a sustained pattern of Alberta-focused content across the Pravda News > Network. > ● The Pravda News Network provides especially important evidence of Russian > narrative infrastructure. Between December 24, 2025, and April 25, 2026, “Alberta,” > “Albertans,” and “51st state” were the subject of 67 articles in Pravda’s Canada section, > compared with only 14 mentions of Ontario. The content repeatedly portrays Alberta > separatism as popular, Alberta as economically exploited, and foreign support or > recognition as plausible [Link](https://disinfowatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Alberta-and-Foreign-Interference-Report-Final-052026-web.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/705 "2026-06-05T12:50:38Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > There are ways to discuss legitimate grievances, without actually threatening to burn the house down. But you won’t listen, or make a change, until that happens. > Every. Single. Province. has legitimate grievances. If they are legitimate and not being addressed then what is the point of the country? Or, are they only legitimate if some liberal says they are legitimate, otherwise they are ignored. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/706 "2026-06-05T12:53:25Z")
From today’s Toronto Star, Theo Moudakis’ editorial cartoon is very apropos. > **[Gift-redeem](https://www.thestar.com/gift-redeem/?t=b937a35f-3dc3-4141-bdf7-5502c965c930)** ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2026, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/707 "2026-06-05T15:31:15Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > > Every. Single. Province. has legitimate grievances. > > If they are legitimate and not being addressed then what is the point of the country? Whenever a significant number of people live together, there are going to be legitimate grievances; because people vary. And some of them are by their nature not going to be resolvable to the complete satisfaction of all parties. Because, again, people vary. Such things should be addressed, in the sense of discussing them, because sometimes the situation can be improved. But “addressed” doesn’t mean doing exactly what one party wants on all issues, to the exclusion of what anybody else wants; so there are always going to still be people in multiple groups displeased about something. And “addressed” doesn’t mean going over and over the same arguments to the exclusion of getting anything else done. You seem to think that the separatists are entitled to address First Nation objections by noting them and then ignoring them. Why do you think your side is entitled to do that to other people, but nobody’s entitled to do it to you? ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2026, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/708 "2026-06-06T00:16:26Z")
The issue isn’t whether Indigenous concerns are legitimate. They are. The question is why concerns about a future process are treated as requiring intervention before a question can be asked, while concerns about existing federal policies that directly affect Alberta’s economy, and have to the point of billions of dollars being lost, are often dismissed as something Albertans just have to live with. If legitimacy of grievances is the standard, it should apply consistently. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2026, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/709 "2026-06-06T00:32:12Z")
Oh yeah, Albertans have absolutely historically been oppressed by the federal government more than indigenous peoples have been, and it’s about damn time something was done about it. JFC ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2026, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/710 "2026-06-06T01:37:29Z")
That’s not what I said. I didn’t argue that Albertans have been oppressed more than Indigenous peoples. I asked what the purpose of a federation is if member provinces have legitimate, long-standing grievances that cannot be meaningfully addressed. Those are different questions. The existence of serious historical injustices against Indigenous peoples doesn’t automatically mean Alberta’s concerns are invalid. Likewise, Alberta having concerns doesn’t diminish Indigenous history. A federation doesn’t require everyone to be perfectly happy. It does require people to believe that their concerns can influence outcomes. If a growing number of Albertans no longer believe that, then that’s a problem worth discussing on its own merits rather than comparing who has suffered more. It’s interesting that asking whether Alberta’s concerns are being addressed gets translated into a claim that Alberta is more oppressed than Indigenous peoples. Those aren’t remotely the same argument. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/711 "2026-06-06T17:22:13Z")
Looks like now that reality is stepping in, support for this foreign supported independence movement is slipping significantly: [Support for Alberta Separatism Falls Despite Referendum: Poll - Yahoo News Canada](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/support-alberta-separatism-falls-despite-150710648.html) ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/712 "2026-06-09T14:41:23Z")
A while back, we heard about Youtube posters creating clips about how they were real Albertans who wanted separatism and talked all about how unfair the federal government was. [Turns out they were paid content providers](https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/co-ordinated-network-of-fake-youtube-channels-pushing-alberta-secession-and-us-annexation-narrative-report-finds/), or even AI avatars. They were paid/created to promote separatist views, and pushed false statistics and other crap. Now, it seems that there are[paid promoters on Facebook](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/facebook-overseas-alberta-separtism-9.7223966) (what a shock!) from India, Pakistan, Indonesia who pretend to be from Alberta, promoting separatism. For example, Nieta Aqila from Indonesia, was paid to say how “Canada is not a great country anymore,” and how she had rocks thrown at her when she campaigned for the separatist petition. She has never set foot in Canada. I think we need to follow the money, and find out who is paying these fake Albertans to spread lies. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/713 "2026-06-10T11:19:54Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > I think we need to follow the money, and find out who is paying these fake Albertans to spread lies. It now seems there are paid promoters on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1038350655190483&id=100070466755799&rdid=UfroAFxXXEobGtUr&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2Fp%2F1J56YwPxPJ%2F) (what a shock) from the US and other places who pretend to be from Canada, promoting the leader from a fringe political party bent on destroying Canada. I think we need to follow the money, and find out who is paying these fake Canadians to spread lies. (I’m betting on Brookfield). Seriously, this just showed up on facebook. Given that I don’t use Facebook much, and certainly not for anything political, I have to wonder that if this shows up on my feed how many others are getting it? I have never seen anything on facebook related to what you linked to above. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/714 "2026-06-10T11:59:37Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > I’m betting on Brookfield What is your obsession with Brookfield? They are a $1T company with investments in energy, real estate, infrastructure, and tourism. Their sole goal is to make money for investors, pure capitalism. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/715 "2026-06-10T15:17:03Z")
I’m using it as a clear example of potential conflict of interest for our PM who moved the company from Canada for a better economic environment to make money for their investors, pure capitalist motivations. It is a known relationship to him rather than nebulous and conspiracy theory relationships being put forward for independence proponents used by fear mongers to insinuate bad actions and on their part without a shred of proof. But why not acknowledge my point, that people will use about anything going on in the world to make a buck? Did you not make that connection? Or did it just not fit the narrative? ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/716 "2026-06-10T15:32:35Z")
While this is a common conservative talking point, Carney did not move Brookfield to the US. It is still headquartered in Toronto. One of its subsidiaries, Brookfield Asset Management, of which Carney was the appointed chairman, was moved to NYC in late 2024, and Carney resigned a couple of months later. While I am not privy to the internal management of the company, it is highly likely that Carney and the rest of the board of directors were told to do so by the parent corporation. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/717 "2026-06-10T15:37:55Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > What is your obsession with Brookfield? This is the mantra of the far right. You see it on every conversation in social media where they hate Carney with the passion of a thousand burning suns. It’s all they have. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/718 "2026-06-10T15:43:39Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > It now seems there are paid promoters on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1038350655190483&id=100070466755799&rdid=UfroAFxXXEobGtUr&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2Fp%2F1J56YwPxPJ%2F) (what a shock) from the US and other places who pretend to be from Canada, promoting the leader from a fringe political party bent on destroying Canada. How interesting. I would imagine that it is the exact same foreign people who are pushing Alberta separatism; their goal is to cause dissent and split Canadians. The reason you are getting it in your feed is that you’ve been identified as clicking on separatist links. This post in your feed is designed to get you angry, and to make you post angry comments (hint; look at the comments in that post). This helps divide Canadians. This is the goal of these kind of posts. This is a pretty common trick by foreign sources in the last US elections. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/719 "2026-06-13T23:17:06Z")
From a Leger poll for Calgarians a couple days ago: > **[Bell: Alberta separatists clobbered in Calgary in the latest numbers](https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/bell-alberta-separatists-clobbered-in-calgary-in-the-latest-numbers)** > > The latest poll, Alberta separatists get more bad news as most Calgarians are not buying what the separatists are selling, at least not yet Recent change? > [@](#): > > Smith has been talking up remaining in Canada more strongly in the past couple or three weeks. Premier Danielle Smith told the UCP faithful at a recent Calgary dinner how Alberta is winning, the tide is turning, Canadians are coming to Alberta’s side. Smith admitted some “get a little bit queasy” when she praises the efforts of a Liberal prime minister but she goes ahead and has many kind words to say of Prime Minister Mark Carney and tells the UCP crowd this progress with Carney must not be risked. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/720 "2026-06-14T02:15:53Z")
Numbers are expected to be low at the moment as the fearmongers are starting to get their message across. They are backed by government money. The independence movement, contrary to the conspiracy nuts, is a grass roots movement and largely self funded. Example: Smith saying the bill could be as high as $400B. Initially I thought this was ridiculous, but it could be when you add in our share of the national debt. The actual story is that we already have our share of the national debt being part of Canada. So, the reality is the number is already there and is being used to scare us. It should scare us. It should scare us right now separate or not. Additionally, there is no reason that we should assume our ‘share’ of the national debt is a given. That is part of the negotiations at the time of succession. Our starting position is all the money taken as equalization from Albertans offsets our share of the debt or federal regulations driving $600B from Alberta in the last decade covers it. But assured it is unlikely to be a per capita distribution as Albertans didn’t receive a per capita benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/721 "2026-06-19T18:57:43Z")
“Fearmongers” = People posting factual arguments. Just saw a letter from the MP for Calgary Signal Hill that he sent to all his constituents. This Conservative MP laid out clearly why many of the separatist arguments are either wrong, or completely bogus. I guess this long time Conservative is a “fearmonger” ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/722 "2026-06-19T23:54:47Z")
Fearmongers come in many forms. Which conservative MP’s are for independence? None of them because they know they’d never form another government without Alberta’s votes. None of them, without scaremongering, without appealing to nostalgia or how we just have to ‘fight’ to make Canada to understand our concerns and do something about it can give a reason that Alberta wouldn’t be better off without the anchor of Canada holding us down. Even if that happens none of them can answer what happens when the next generation of Turdeau grows up, someone with even better hair and less black face, gets into power won’t reverse it all again. I’m not sure why we have to ‘fight’ with fellow Canadians to produce our resources that they benefit from. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2026, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/723 "2026-06-20T00:04:28Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > > Every. Single. Province. has legitimate grievances. > > If they are legitimate and not being addressed then what is the point of the country? If you have an argument with your spouse, then what is the point of a marriage? If a child has an argument with their parents, then what is the point of a family? This Alberta separation treasonous nonsense makes me sick, especially the extent to which it’s being promoted and funded by overseas seditionists intent on destroying my country. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872.md?page=35) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872.md?page=37)