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Alberta to hold referendum on whether to remain in Canada

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Re: Alberta to hold referendum on whether to remain in Canada

#91

Post by cwillu »

briga wrote: post #62
52-6F-62 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alberta was created out of several divisions of the NWT barely over 100 years ago, formed by the federal government of Canada. It's not a thing. Hatred or criticism of Toronto and Ontario at large is a thing. But that's a thing everywhere. It's a fundamental part of the Canadian identity.

If you don't think it's a thing then you're either not from here, or haven't been paying attention. The average Canadian's opinion of Alberta is also very telling, with most of the rest of the country seeming to despise the province, or think it's some sort of regressive backwater.

Meanwhile our Prime Minister was raised in Edmonton...

No, it's not a thing.

Re: Alberta to hold referendum on whether to remain in Canada

#92

Post by giarc »

canadiantim wrote: post #25

If you want to understand why Alberta is holding a referendum on whether they should hold another separate legally-binding referendum in the future, you have to look at the recent court case where a judge in Alberta ruled that one of the two main petitions wasn’t allowed to proceed (The one that specifically called for a legally-binding referendum). The judges stated reason is that First Nations were not adequately c…

>interesting how this never came up in the Quebec referendums

It did come up. It's referenced in the Supreme Court of Canada case on secession. https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1643/in...

"Consistent with this long tradition of respect for minorities, which is at least as old as Canada itself, the framers of the Constitution Act, 1982 included in s. 35 explicit protection for existing aboriginal and treaty rights, and in s. 25, a non-derogation clause in favour of the rights of aboriginal peoples. The "promise" of s. 35, as it was termed in R. v. Sparrow, [1990] 1 S.C.R. 1075, at p. 1083, recognized not only the ancient occupation of land by aboriginal peoples, but their contribution to the building of Canada, and the special commitments made to them by successive governments. The protection of these rights, so recently and arduously achieved, whether looked at in their own right or as part of the larger concern with minorities, reflects an important underlying constitutional value."

Re: Alberta to hold referendum on whether to remain in Canada

#93

Post by armenarmen »

croes wrote: post #64
armenarmen wrote: post #28

I met a Québécois woman years ago that said their own independence movement was shut down in part because of new immigrants to Canada not wanting to leave the commonwealth. No clue if that’s right or not. But given how much of a cash cow the western provinces are for Canada, and the mega spike in immigration it makes me wonder

Blaming immigrants … never gets old, does it?

Fwiw my only familial connection to Canada is my Levantine immigrant cousins in Quebec

Re: Alberta to hold referendum on whether to remain in Canada

#94

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

petcat wrote: post #69
boxed wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean.. it's not like it's Alberta that produces the oil. Oil is concentrated in smaller places than that, so why shouldn't those places then separate from Alberta?

From this article it sounds like it's the people of Alberta that want to vote on succession. Including the ones that don't literally live on an oil field.

Speaking as an Albertan, it's only a very loud and vocal minority. The UCP government has seen that the premier only stays in power if they cowtow to the fringe crazies in the party, and that's what she's doing.

Re: Alberta to hold referendum on whether to remain in Canada

#96

Post by peyton »

LurkandComment wrote: post #21

Related: Alberta Voter Data was leaked to an American Company by the separatist movement. Also, the question right now is if there will be a referendum proposal. https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/05/20/investigations/a... This is clear foriegn political interfierence. It's like mini-brexit. We have a weak, incompitent leader in Alberta who is giving in to her right-wing base so she can stay in power. It's David C…

> The origins of the data are not yet known

> The addresses of around 2,000 Albertans

> Lorne Gibson, former Election Commissioner at Elections Alberta: “The data is worth probably millions of dollars. It's probably worth at least $3 million.” “It’s the largest data breach in Canada. I haven’t heard of anything that surpasses that scale,” he added.

Not gonna lie, the Commissioner’s remarks and the general tone wouldn’t be out of place in a South Park episode about Canada, hah.

Re: Alberta to hold referendum on whether to remain in Canada

#98

Post by cf100clunk »

Some numbers to consider:

~465,000 legally verified signatories to the federalist petition to declare Alberta permanently part of Canada

~360,000 status First Nations persons within Alberta

~330,000 legally unverified signatories to the separatist petition to hold a referendum to separate from Canada

First Nations have successfully argued in court that as consultations with them are required by the Canadian Constitution, no such consultations had even been suggested by separatists.

Apart from the fact that the Alberta population is ~4 million, it is difficult to see how separatists can figure they'd win a referendum to separate.

Re: Alberta to hold referendum on whether to remain in Canada

#99

Post by briga »

cwillu wrote: post #91
briga wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't think it's a thing then you're either not from here, or haven't been paying attention. The average Canadian's opinion of Alberta is also very telling, with most of the rest of the country seeming to despise the province, or think it's some sort of regressive backwater.

Meanwhile our Prime Minister was raised in Edmonton... No, it's not a thing.

That doesn't make any sense, that's like saying because Trump was raised in New York and he's now president, that New York identity isn't a thing.

I think the dismissive attitude here is proving my point.

Re: Alberta to hold referendum on whether to remain in Canada

#100

Post by gausswho »

jszymborski wrote: post #5

Important context, this referendum isn't binding, but rather a referendum on whether a binding referendum should be held. Separation is deeply unpopular, but Smith has been putting her thumb on the scale every step of the way, and this non-binding referendum isn't subject to the Clarity act in the same way that a subsequent binding one would be.

If I recall correctly, the Brexit referendum wasn't binding either. When the result ended up the way it did, there was sufficient political capital to push it through without a follow up vote.
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