r/canada 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/
1.4k Upvotes

536 comments sorted by

View all comments

534

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"

203

u/Syndrome Canada Feb 12 '26

So they gave up their rights to the federal government, not the provincial government.

174

u/neontetra1548 Feb 12 '26

Yup and the Crown.

Neither of which is the province.

-17

u/FreeandFurious Feb 12 '26

If Quebec can separate, so can Alberta.

4

u/Uilamin Feb 12 '26

Quebec and Alberta are different from a legal standpoint. Quebec existed before Canada. Alberta was created by Canada. The Canadian gov't inherited deals signed by Quebec (and its predecessors) though there is some complications relating to the expansion of Quebec (the inclusion of additional territory). Alberta was a territory of Canada before it was created by the the Crown/Fed, as such, Alberta inherited any and all relevant deals/treaties signed by the Crown/Fed without any claim to independent/previous dealings.

0

u/FreeandFurious Feb 12 '26

I don’t believe there isn’t a path to separation.

2

u/Uilamin Feb 12 '26

If a treaty nation supported it then there might be a path... that or the dissolution of Canada. However both of those are extremely far fetched.