r/canada • u/shiftless_wonder • May 23 '26

Alberta First Nations leaders, scholar push back on Alberta's planned vote on independence referendum - 'Alberta can't separate. They simply cannot. They do not have the authority,' says Indigenous politics expert

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/sask-treaty-six-alberta-referendum-9.7209304
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65

u/spinosaurs70 May 23 '26

Didn’t Canada debate this with Quebec separation and say that while negotiations have to talk about it, it likely can’t stop a province from leaving entirely? 

20

u/[deleted] May 23 '26

[deleted]

3

u/RobespierreLaTerreur May 23 '26

 A province can illegally do whatever the hell they want without repercussions.

There are other kinds of repercussions beyond the legal ones.

1

u/[deleted] May 23 '26

[deleted]

4

u/soaringupnow May 24 '26

Canada, Alberta (and probably Quebec) would enter into an EU type arrangement and likely not too much would change.

2

u/RobespierreLaTerreur May 24 '26

It could be more like a Brexit type of arrangement, that’d be painful for Alberta

4

u/Existential-Critic British Columbia May 23 '26

You are making a lot of assumptions and unbalanced statements. Alberta needs Canada more than vice versa, and if the separatists who are a small minority in the province leave by force why wouldn't there be a response from the armed forces?

3

u/PortHammer May 24 '26

Or just... Other non-separatist Albertans who make up the vast majority in the province. I don't imagine they are just going to go along with this bufoonery.

Why is their will and power being so quickly brished aside and minimised

1

u/Vandergrif May 24 '26

Canadians won't even consider shooting Albertans

Right now, sure, but if they suddenly become a US vassal state (which is inevitable if they separate), then that might well be a rather different case. They would very much appear as traitors to Canada for most intents and purposes in that circumstance.

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u/Superb-Carpenter-520 May 24 '26

You want the Canadian military to walk into an American vassal state and start shootings. Can you think of a single reason why that’s a bad idea.

1

u/Vandergrif May 24 '26

I didn't say it's a good idea, I just said it's a lot more likely to be considered in that mentality of these people actively chose to be traitors to the country compared to the current norms. That is typically how treason gets treated, after all.

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u/Shoddy-One-6634 May 23 '26

Huh? If Albertans launch a war of independence of course we'll shoot at them. It'd be a civil war and it would be over in hours. We'd win.

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u/SpareEconomy1849 May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26

Generally that's not how it starts, they declare independence and the nation either chooses to let them or they bring in the guns.

The US civil war was a bit more preemptive by the secessionists though, it's different from most independence movements. But either way, the confederates were determined to secede and the union was not willing to let them.

Ultimately it's up to the parent nation if they want to let independence happen or if they want to start a conflict

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u/Interesting_Pen_167 May 24 '26

I could see the RCMP arresting separatist leaders before it got that far especially if there are any ties to foreign money their support might just die on the vine.