Chad Strohschein

Given that some top Alberta separatists have openly admitted to meeting with the Trump Administration, I think we are looking at what could be an immense bait-and-switch effort underway. In effect, the often legitimate concerns of many Albertans are being weaponized by those who are promoting ‘independence’ as a way to address those concerns, all with the intention of then using Alberta’s isolation after ‘independence’ to set it up for annexation by the United States. People would vote for what they think is going to be the status of a sovereign nation, only to be forced into the United States against their will. Further, such annexation would likely not be as a state, but as a territory. Albertans would have zero say in national leadership, contrary to Alberta’s place right now in Canada. Remember that recent Canadian Prime Ministers, including Stephen Harper and current PM Mark Carney (born in NWT but raised in Alberta as an Albertan), are from Alberta, and Alberta has significant seat-weight in Parliament that is set to keep growing as Alberta’s population grows. Alberta would be trading an important role in Canada for a total loss of political power and influence in the U.S. Further, Alberta would go from having around 12% of the national population in Canada to having about 1.4% of the national population in the U.S., an immense loss of sway. This bait-and-switch possibility means that a vote for Alberta ‘independence’ may really be a vote for American annexation of Alberta – something the overwhelming majority of Albertans oppose.