# 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:** 43
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/844 "2026-08-16T23:37:15Z")
You think you are going to get a better deal from a country where you have ZERO political clout? Surrounded 85% by the country you claim in your fevered imagination has been blockading you and 15% by one who will be either run by people who find your government repulsive or who think of you as some kind of 21st century version of a resource extraction colony. It is to laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/845 "2026-08-16T23:57:29Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > You think you are going to get a better deal from a country where you have ZERO political clout? No county has ‘political clout’ over another. Now, do we have economic clout? Yep, quite a lot actually. The third largest oil and gas reserves on the planet type of clout. They type of clout that would eliminate debt, allow tax rates to be in the low teens or even lower type of clout driving investment at unseen levels type of clout. So much clout in fact that the premiers of other provinces have only our oil and gas as the only remaining leverage with the US and expect us to sacrifice it to save jobs for them. Yes, we have clout. > [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > who find your government repulsive Repulsive? This is the main reason we want to leave. The left is insane and is driving the country to ruin with their divisive rhetoric and whacky policies. They, rightly, point out flaws in others, but when the lens is turned back on them are incapable of any sort of recognition or responsibility. And we’re ‘repulsive’ for saying the emperor has no clothes. I’ll give you an easy one. You’re non-repulsive government over the last 14 years has driven over a trillion dollars of investment from Canada. Any responsibility for that? How about even an acknowledgment of it? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2026, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/846 "2026-08-17T00:05:36Z")
You keep throwing out claims with no substantiation and we will keep ignoring them as if they were rectally extracted. Agreed? ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2026, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/847 "2026-08-17T00:17:03Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > If we were independent, then we could block trade from BC to the ROC. I don’t follow how this would make Alberta any better off. > [@Uzi](#): > > The third largest oil and gas reserves on the planet type of clout. They type of clout that would eliminate debt, allow tax rates to be in the low teens or even lower type of clout driving investment at unseen levels type of clout. Look to Iran. Having massive amounts of oil and gas reserves makes you the plaything of empires who have no interest in your sovereignty. Maybe you feel it’s like that already but breaking Alberta off into its own petro-state doesn’t fix it. Blockading your neighbors definitely doesn’t fix it and I would think that would be fairly obvious if you’ve been watching the news lately. > [@Uzi](#): > > I’ll give you an easy one. You’re non-repulsive government over the last 14 years has driven over a trillion dollars of investment from Canada. Any responsibility for that? How about even an acknowledgment of it? Canadian pension funds have a mandate to globally diversify so it’s not the government’s fault that they invest overseas. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature. Why would you count sound investment as a loss? ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2026, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/848 "2026-08-17T00:41:17Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Blockading your neighbors definitely doesn’t fix it and I would think that would be fairly obvious if you’ve been watching the news lately. Why does BC get to put a toll on Alberta products counter to the constitution? How is this fair? Why can’t Alberta do the same? If Alberta was independent, then we could protect ourselves. FYI, Alberta isn’t Iran. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2026, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/849 "2026-08-19T15:36:12Z")
Long suspected, now confirmed: Russian bot farms are all over social media, promoting Alberta separation. Oh, and while the Russian influencers are covert, the campaign by the United states is described as “overt”. [Albertans targeted by pro-separation ‘influence campaigns’] ([Albertans targeted by pro-separation ‘influence campaigns’](https://edmonton.citynews.ca/2026/08/17/alberta-pro-separation-influence-campaigns-russia/)) But Premier Smith is not troubled by this at all: > "“I trust that Albertans are able to do that research. I trust that they can identify sources that are credible and sources that are not.” ---
**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:** [August 19, 2026, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/850 "2026-08-19T16:22:45Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > FYI, Alberta isn’t Iran. Quite true. Alberta has 5% of the population of Iran. Just for the sake of a bit of humour, let’s picture this independent Alberta. It would be tiny, completely unprotected and vulnerable, lacking any of Canada’s formal and traditional agreements and relationships with the US, and would fall to American hegemonistic dominance so fast it would make your head spin – and history tells us with stunning clarity that this would **not** be to your benefit. At all. Colonization never is to the colonized. > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Long suspected, now confirmed: Russian bot farms are all over social media, promoting Alberta separation. > > Oh, and while the Russian influencers are covert, the campaign by the United states is described as “overt”. Right. I’ve said this before. But the motivations are different. Russia is supporting Alberta separation lunatics because it wants to destabilize western democracies. The MAGA-infested USA is supporting them because it wants to colonize more resources, at least for as long as oil and gas remain useful commodities. This will become less and less important as EVs begin to dominate, so with any luck, after it’s no longer useful to them, the US may just be content to let the new Nation of Alberta fade away into becoming another of the world’s backwaters. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/851 "2026-08-19T16:57:02Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > and would fall to American hegemonistic dominance so fast it would make your head spin – and history tells us with stunning clarity that this would **not** be to your benefit. This. Alberta would not become a state. Obviously not. They would be magnanimously granted the status of “territory”. No congressional representation in the house or the senate. No voting for president. US federal taxes payable (as well as Alberta territorial taxes) Importantly: All natural resources are owned and controlled by the US federal government. Healthcare removed from provincial control, and given over to US owned private insurance corporations. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2026, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/852 "2026-08-26T00:59:36Z")
Chiefs call for [treason investigation](https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/rcmp-alberta-treason-review-9.7315676) of Smith. Not sure if I’m pro or con on this. But accusing someone of treason for allowing a democratic vote that, at this point, doesn’t even start negotiations if it passes a bit of a stretch. But people have a right to complain. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2026, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/853 "2026-09-04T06:10:12Z")
Danielle seems to think she doesn’t have to consult until AFTER a referendum, and that she can git ‘er done in two months. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2026, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/854 "2026-09-04T23:43:14Z")
She shouldn’t have to consult as no rights are affected. She shouldn’t have to consult on directly asking people their opinions. The left really has weird ideas on democracy. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/855 "2026-09-05T09:41:17Z")
Even moreso on the right. When exactly do you think consultation should take place, if at all? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/856 "2026-09-05T09:58:32Z")
Let me try to understand: Danielle Smith is holding a referendum on something-something-immigration and somehow, it’s a referendum on something leading to negotiations on separating from Canada? I cannot make the connection. Honest question, what is the connection between immigration and Alberta separation, and oil and coal and gas? ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/857 "2026-09-05T10:07:52Z")
Consultation should occur when the law requires it to occur: when government action is actually capable of affecting treaty or Aboriginal rights. A petition asking whether Albertans want a referendum does not itself alter a treaty, extinguish a right, redraw a boundary, or change the Constitution. Nor does a referendum result itself accomplish secession. The Supreme Court of Canada has already said that a clear vote for secession would trigger negotiations, and those negotiations must address the rights of minorities and Indigenous peoples. What concerns me about the present approach is that a **possible future effect on protected rights is being used to stop other citizens from exercising a present democratic right to petition their government**. So we should distinguish an actual present restriction from a hypothetical future violation. Indigenous rights must be protected if and when they are engaged. But protecting them should not require preventing Albertans from asking a political question in the first place. Why are those who emphasize potential future rights violations not equally concerned about an actual present restriction on democratic participation? Are petitions only allowed if they support a person’s view? ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/858 "2026-09-05T10:11:34Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Danielle Smith is holding a referendum on something-something-immigration and somehow, it’s a referendum on something leading to negotiations on separating from Canada? She put up a bunch of BS questions mostly related to things that won’t change even if 100% of the people vote for them. Similar to Kenney’s BS referendum to stop equalization. Where did that go? Dropped like a hot potato even though over 60% of Albertans voted for it. She did it as a sop to the separatists prior to having to add the question to ask a question. And she only did that because a judge gave a group of people super rights and blocked their petition because of them. Otherwise, it would have been required to be a clear question on independence. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/859 "2026-09-05T11:25:48Z")
The [Alberta Transition Plan](https://albertatransitioncouncil.com/plan/). A comprehensive plan for Alberta becoming its own state. I’m not endorsing it, as I’ve only run it through AI at this point for a summary, but it seems comprehensive covering pensions and indigenous rights which tend to be common concerns. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/860 "2026-09-06T07:54:59Z")
I don’t imagine the First Nations members would see it that way. They should be consulted from the very start, when changes to the constitution are even being considered. They were not. This is why the Stay Free petition was quashed in the first place: the UCP failed to consult the First Nations on an important POTENTIAL referendum question that would affect them. Consultation is VERY important—at least if you want someone’s buy-in anyway. Danielle and all the cont\*rd separatists could really care less about First Nations’ rights, and by extension, Section 35 of Canada’s constitution. Separatists will not prevail and it would be nice if they would STFU after they lose on October 19. But we know they will not admit defeat gracefully. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/861 "2026-09-06T09:54:25Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > at least if you want someone’s buy-in anyway. They don’t need to consent, they do not have a veto. But they do have a vote like everyone else. The transition paper outlines the options. At the worst, everything stays the same and they stay under the benevolent indifference of the Canadian government, which has worked out so well for them. In any case, they can continue to hunt, trap, do what they are currently doing and the new country of Alberta will uphold those rights. Understanding of course that Canadian courts will no longer be the determining body on any conflicts that are within Alberta as the Constitution of Canada would no longer apply. Or, they can make better deals within the new country. Their choice. The paper is very careful to state it will be their choice, no one will be forcing them to make it. But they can’t prevent independence if that’s what the people want. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2026, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/862 "2026-09-06T10:42:23Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > Understanding of course that Canadian courts will no longer be the determining body on any conflicts that are within Alberta as the Constitution of Canada would no longer apply. No worries about that. Your hero Danielle Smith has already declared that **[the Constitution of Canada doesn’t apply to Alberta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberta_Sovereignty_Act)**. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2026, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872/863 "2026-09-06T14:45:08Z")
The Liberals have already thrown it out given what they have been doing. Intruding on provincial jurisdiction, violating the rights of Canadians to protest and seizing their property, violating their own court’s requirements on consulting with indigenous costing the Canadian taxpayer $34B to avoid the inevitable lawsuits from the builder if they hadn’t bought the pipeline. So, I’m kind of wondering what your point is? Why does the left only seem to care about the constitution when the other party is the one challenging it? > [@wolfpup](#): > > Your hero Danielle Smith I’ve never said she was my hero. While I might have supported her previously, and may have to again given the alternative to another NDP disaster, it doesn’t make her my hero. She’s a collaborationist like Chamberlain, sleeping with the enemy for short term gain that doesn’t benefit anyone. She should have told Carney to pound sand on carbon capture and only agreed to it if every other producer on the planet agreed to it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872.md?page=42) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-natural-resources-and-the-rest-of-canada/1017872.md?page=44)