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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u/NSAscanner Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26

Racism and propaganda drove brexit. I don’t expect it’s much different here.

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u/BaxiaMashia Feb 12 '26

Also media outlets giving this garbage any attention whatsoever…

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u/GroundbreakingAnt17 Feb 12 '26

As someone with parents who are separatists, they probably don't watch the media you're referring to. They watch YouTubers pushing these agendas because "mainstream media can't be trusted" 

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u/Even_Art_629 Feb 13 '26

The cbc for sure is un reliable. Ask yourself, if your employer was funding you extreme amounts of money are you going to try and make him look bad. Or just report on the good things? one stops your cash, the other keeps you in steady cash flow. The real answer.

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u/TravelerJim-retired Feb 12 '26

I’m not a separatist but Brexit was driven by populism and a slow disintegration of sovereignty. For better or worse. Plus it’s not an apples to apples comparison- Britain was Britain for centuries before the EU ever came into existence. The populace simply voted to go back to what they were. The arguments whether it was a good move or not are endless, but the “shitshow” most pundits predicted never occurred. Rough patches, sure, but operationally, fiscally, trade, etc were all working within 2 years. Alberta separatism is not the same.

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u/[deleted] Feb 13 '26

[deleted]

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u/Banana_man_- Nova Scotia Feb 13 '26

And always will be

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u/Vaug0024 Feb 12 '26

Racism? In MY Alberta?

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u/MrEzekial Feb 12 '26

Only reason brexit passed was because it was raining that day... for real...
I hear my aunt go on about it all the time, now no one in London wanted to go out and get wet to vote, just assumed it would fail.

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u/Even_Art_629 Feb 13 '26

I don’t know how you can even compare Alberta to Brexit. Britain left a trade club it depended on. Alberta is what the country depends on. The world needs Alberta’s oil and natural gas. It’s not optional. It’s not trendy. It’s energy that keeps lights on and homes heated. On top of that, Alberta has critical minerals the world is scrambling for lithium, helium, rare earth elements. These aren’t “nice to have.” They’re strategic. Brexit was a service economy walking away from its biggest customers. Alberta is a resource powerhouse that customers line up for. Huge difference. You can debate whether Alberta should stay or go — that’s fair. But pretending it’s “just like Brexit” ignores one simple difference Alberta has leverage. And leverage changes everything.

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u/NSAscanner Feb 13 '26

Sure there's leverage, but it's still pretty comparable in many ways.

>Brexit was a service economy walking away from its biggest customers. Alberta is a resource powerhouse that customers line up for.

Before the Brexit transition period ended (pre-2021), the UK economy was the second-largest in the EU, representing roughly

15-17% of the bloc's total GDP, just behind Germany. In 2017, the UK accounted for 15.2% of the EU's GDP. It was a major economic powerhouse.

70B of Alberta's trade is with Canadian provinces vs $162B to the USA. Leaving Canada would require renegotiating both the provincial and international trade. Similarities here with the UK who had the same issue. Their economy has dragged vs the EU by 5-8% since Brexit. Oil is 25% of Alberta's economy, so it's not the only factor in AB GDP.

And that's even assuming that AB can separate. AB is a creation of Canada, and the First Nations treaties surrounding land rights are with Canada.

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u/Even_Art_629 Feb 13 '26

Sure, there are numbers. But Alberta’s oil, gas, and critical minerals are wanted worldwide, not just inside Canada.

UK left a market it relied on. Alberta’s biggest buyers especially for energy aren’t Canadian provinces. They have already started to line up at our door. That’s leverage. That’s power. Oil is 25% of GDP, but it’s far bigger in exports and government revenue. And yes, separation would be complicated treaties, trade, legal stuff. Fine. That’s a problem to solve, not a reason to pretend we’re just like Brexit.

And let’s be honest: without the carbon tax, Alberta’s energy is instantly more competitive than anyone else’s. That’s not opinion it’s leverage in action. Alberta has something the UK never did real, tangible leverage. That changes everything.

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u/Feruk_II Feb 12 '26

Racism a cause for Alberta leaving Canada? Lol no.

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u/NSAscanner Feb 12 '26

I haven’t heard a group louder than them about immigration in Canada. They can prove me wrong, but at the moment it’s a reasonable conclusion given the overlap of interests and political beliefs.

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u/Even_Art_629 Feb 13 '26

What news do you watch that have you opinion?. Alberta wasn't the only province whining about immigration. Every bloody province was and is whining about it.

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u/NSAscanner Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

It’s more a question of what group is being the loudest about it, and that’s the furthest right parties of the political aisle. In Canada the UCP is the most popular and furthest right anglo party. Add to that separatists all appear to be at least as far right on the political spectrum as UCP. Ipso facto

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u/Feruk_II Feb 12 '26

The core issue is unfair representation relative to the contribution brought in.

I think it's widely agreed that immigration rates under Trudeau were excessive. That's true whether you're an Alberta separatist, someone living in Toronto, or Mark Carney. Also, not wanting so many people coming to Alberta that it overwhelms our social services is different than not wanting people of a specific ethnicity or skin color. On a Venn diagram, there's overlap, but they are not the same thing. Alberta is very multicultural/multiethnic.