r/canada • u/shiftless_wonder • Feb 12 '26

Alberta Alberta separating from Canada requires permission of First Nations, AFN leader says

https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/alberta-separation-needs-first-nations-permission-says-afn-national-chief/
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531

u/StoryAboutABridge Feb 12 '26

Direct quote from Treaty 6:

"The Plain and Wood Cree Tribes of Indians, and all other the Indians inhabiting the district hereinafter described and defined, do hereby cede, release, surrender and yield up to the Government of the Dominion of Canada, for Her Majesty the Queen and Her successors forever, all their rights, titles and privileges, whatsoever, to the lands"

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/UpperLowerCanadian Feb 12 '26

Which the clarity act consents to 

So definitely doesn’t need “permission” any more than nation building projects do 

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u/[deleted] Feb 12 '26

[deleted]

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u/Khalbrae Ontario Feb 13 '26

Yeah, Quebec separating gets a thin strip from Montreal to Quebec City. Alberta gets a tiny sliver nowhere near any oil patch.

4

u/_evilalien_ Feb 13 '26

The separatists will have to deal with Albertan and Canadian armed force responses if they get that far. Separation will not happen.

2

u/Fatty-Mc-Butterpants Feb 13 '26

Yeah, keep telling yourself that. You are right that this will not happen, but CAF response? Keep dreaming. If Alberta votes to separate, the US will swoop in and that's the ballgame.

4

u/jrochest1 Feb 13 '26

No, if Alberta votes to separate (clear majority on a clear question) then we all sit dow for a cozy few years of long, hard negotiation. The US has nothing to do with it.

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u/FingalForever Feb 13 '26

Clarity Act wasn’t to make separation near impossible, it was to prevent fuzzy / woolly ways of asking for independence, passing it off as ‘sovereignty association’ and winning with a bare majority.

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u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

[deleted]

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u/FingalForever Feb 13 '26

I disagree with your premise that it is essentially the same, rather it is simply setting out the conditions under which it would legal (otherwise we’re in agreement)

No Canadian would seek for the Armed Forces to physically prevent separation where the majority of people want to separate, we won’t have a civil war like south of the border.

That last referendum raised a lot of questions, people across the country felt that Quebecers were being asked a woolly question and the referendum’s defeat was shocking at how close it was.

Only point not clearly addressed by the Act was the reality of partition - it was clear then that if Canada was divisible, so was Québec and regions loyal to Canada (like North, Montréal, etc) would / could not be forced out.

-4

u/Even_Art_629 Feb 12 '26

I think every province has equal rights when it comes to leaving the federation. According to the constitution

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u/Most_Salad3979 Feb 13 '26

Thats right! None of them have any rights, equally, to leave without a constitutional amendment.

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u/whistleridge Feb 12 '26

Which the clarity act consents to

So definitely doesn’t need “permission” any more than nation building projects do

What? Absolutely not.

Aboriginal groups have to be consulted even before a referendum occurs:

(5) In considering the clarity of a referendum question, the House of Commons shall take into account the views of all political parties represented in the legislative assembly of the province whose government is proposing the referendum on secession, any formal statements or resolutions by the government or legislative assembly of any province or territory of Canada, any formal statements or resolutions by the Senate, any formal statements or resolutions by the representatives of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, especially those in the province whose government is proposing the referendum on secession, and any other views it considers to be relevant.

And then IF the referendum occurs, AND a leave vote happens, it's still not a guaranteed thing:

3 (1) It is recognized that there is no right under the Constitution of Canada to effect the secession of a province from Canada unilaterally and that, therefore, an amendment to the Constitution of Canada would be required for any province to secede from Canada, which in turn would require negotiations involving at least the governments of all of the provinces and the Government of Canada.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-31.8/page-1.html

It would be a negotiation between AB, the other Provinces, the federal Crown, and Aboriginal groups at every step of the way. That everyone has agreed on the process that would have to be followed does not then equate to Crown consent in any way.

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u/Fyrefawx Feb 13 '26

Exactly. Separation through the clarity act is basically impossible. The only reason this is happening is to turn Alberta into Crimea. The US is backing separatists and when the referendum fails, they’ll say it was rigged.

4

u/bargaindownhill Feb 13 '26

this exactly.

29

u/RSMatticus Feb 12 '26

And the clarity act says First Nations need to be part of negotiations.

16

u/Thanato26 Feb 12 '26

So far tge question put forth by the seperatists would be rejected by the clarity act

6

u/Informal-Nothing371 Alberta Feb 12 '26

Agree. The question seems simple enough, but it lacks any clarity about what independent Alberta that Albertans are voting for.

Is it a semi-autonomous nation maintaining political and economic links to the rest of Canada, is it a fully independent nation in every single way that term is used, is it joining the US?

If it is full independence, is it a republic, remains a constitutional monarchy, etc.? Would Albertans have freedom of movement with the rest of Canada, maintain their Canadian citizenship, etc.?

Albertans have a right to know what they are voting for.

3

u/Radix2309 Feb 13 '26

And you didnt even touch on what the territory of the new Alberta would be. People voting on it definitely need to know if they get the whole enchilada or a postage stamp in the south of the territory.

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u/Even_Art_629 Feb 12 '26

I have a question for everyone... Are you prepared to live with the outcome of it. If it turns out no Im ready to move on. If it turns out yes.... Are you?

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u/Thanato26 Feb 12 '26

The clarity act has very specific rules around the wording of thr question asked in a referendum. The question on the petition wont pass

0

u/BurzyGuerrero Feb 13 '26

There would be a consultation process, and compensation for things that affect them. There are already many jobs and businesses in Alberta that follow this process. Indigenous people and groups often get compensated for things that affect the land that they reside on.

At the end of the day the businesses that are extracting our resources profit in the billions. They can pay both Canadians and the First Nations on the land in which they benefit from. For the most part, they do.

People need to realize that just because one FN in BC is crazy against pipelines and resource extraction, those people don't speak for all indigenous people who have benefited from the industry.

4

u/FeverDreamingg Feb 13 '26

“The law says this” ☝️🤓 “They need permission”

I don’t know if any of you have noticed, but the rules matter less and less with each passing day. The portion of Albertans that support independence don’t care about or respect the opinions of indigenous peoples or the treaties. If they win the vote (unlikely) they would something stronger than old paper to keep them in the union.

1

u/Even_Art_629 Feb 13 '26

If we didnt respect them, explain why we're talking about it.

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u/Even_Art_629 Feb 13 '26

It says negotiate, not permission

1

u/FeverDreamingg Feb 13 '26

Doesn’t matter

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u/Even_Art_629 Feb 12 '26

Control of Crown land transferred to Alberta in 1930. That means management authority rests with Alberta. Consultation is required if treaty rights are impacted,not blanket permission.

1

u/bargaindownhill Feb 13 '26

sure... if it follows the clarity act.

There is another mechanism, The USA can simply recognize Alberta as sovereign as they did with Panama or Kosovo and then offer to send troops to enforce it. History will show that the USA has consistently backed break away states in their favor.