Western Provinces of Canada Separate?

[Tyger]

Three possibilities: 1) become an independent nation separate from Canada,
2) become a territory of the US, or 3) become actual US states.

@Burnt State I've been watching this for several months - what do you think?

Published November 30, 2025: [Video Run Time 18:13] Canadian Reporter Channel
"Western Provinces just officially announced intent to become the 51st-56th States.

 

[Burnt State]

No plan for separation

I would say that everything that person is saying above is nothing but hype. The only folks meeting in the states from Alberta are Alberta Republican party reps and no real governmental officials. Alberta's integration into the framework of Canada is far too robust and Albertans are loyal Canadians.

There has always been a fringe movement in Alberta that wants to separate but those are just the ancestors of the KKK that moved there from Michigan after the KKK was banished in America.

The article I posted explores Alberta's moves regarding separation and it seems that there are in fact no plans to do so whatsoever. I would say that this is really just right wing media hype making stuff up and talking like it's real, the way Trump does. There are no town hall meetings in Alberta touting separation or dinner table convo talking new currencies.

As one commentator put it, the day I see Edmonton Oiler fans booing the national anthem is the day I'll consider Alberta separating more seriously.

I haven't touched on the indigenous issue here either, as they own their lands in Alberta and are also part of the wide ranging integration of peoples in our nation.

So far Danielle Smith's moves towards a separate health care plan, for example, have fallen flat on their face twice, and just became costly wastes for their tax payers. I would say travelling down that road would see her out of office. There simply is not the political will within the province to leave Canada. And there's definitely no talk amongst other western provinces to join the US or sever. There's simply too much to lose. And Canadians are far too loyal to their nation.

 

[Tyger]

The article I posted explores Alberta's moves regarding separation and it seems that there are in fact no plans to do so whatsoever. I would say that this is really just right wing media hype making stuff up and talking like it's real, the way Trump does. There are no town hall meetings in Alberta touting separation or dinner table convo talking new currencies.

Yet the Edmonton Journal states there have been town hall meetings in Alberta where attendees expressed support for separation from Canada and discussed proposals for greater provincial autonomy. These meetings have included discussions about the Alberta government’s strategies to gain more control from the federal government and calls for a referendum on independence.

My sense is there is great discontent regarding how Alberta's wealth is being divided up. One headline states that separatism is not a fringe issue anymore. "Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the desire among Albertans to leave Canada has reached an unprecedented level, following a surprise result in a recent provincial byelection that saw a separatist candidate claim nearly 18 percent of the vote."

" .... talking like it's real, the way Trump does." I haven't heard Trump say anything about Canadian provinces becoming states except his - perhaps unfortunate - joke regarding Trudeau early on in his administration. For sure he would be alert to the economics since apparently Alberta does close to 99% of its business south of the border. I think that's the grumbling point - Alberta is landlocked, unable/not allowed to build pipelines to access ports either west or east. In general the US government (Trump) has been completely silent on this issue.

Thank you for being willing to wade in and give your thoughts. From my perspective - reading the headlines and articles on the internet - it does seem to be a hot potato, growing hotter. How you are characterizing the situation and what I am reading diverge. I was around for the Quebec separatist movement gaining significant momentum in the 1960s - since I lived just over the line in New England at the time. The 1995 referendum proposing Quebec's sovereignty was narrowly defeated by a margin of just over 54,000 votes, so separatism remains a 'living idea' in Canada - as far as I can see.

"Speaking at a press conference in Calgary Smith said the growing support for separation is 'a signal of deep frustration and anger' in the province, particularly over federal laws that she claims are restricting Alberta’s energy sector. 'This is not a fringe issue anymore,' Smith said. 'I take that frustration seriously, and I hope Prime Minister Mark Carney does too.' The premier's remarks come just weeks after Alberta passed legislation making it easier for citizens to trigger a provincial referendum on separation. Under Bill 54, passed on May 15, a petition signed by just 10 percent of voters (around 177,000 people) would be enough to force a non-binding vote on whether Alberta should pursue independence from Canada. Though Smith insists she is not personally advocating for secession, she argues that the federal government must act to calm the growing discontent. Polls suggest support for Alberta independence remains a minority view, hovering around 30–35 percent. But the growing visibility of separatist candidates and rhetoric has caught national attention and stirred concerns of a new unity crisis in Canada."

"There has always been a fringe movement in Alberta that wants to separate but those are just the ancestors of the KKK that moved there from Michigan after the KKK was banished in America." Unusual conflation of two separate political movements seems to me.
Side-Note: I did some digging since I found your KKK mention odd, particularly since the KKK has never been banished in America. Extremely unpopular but banished, no. Free speech is too strong in the US. In my search I found no evidence that 'the ancestors of the KKK specifically' moved to Alberta from Michigan 'after the KKK was banished in America'. What I found was the Canadian branch of the KKK was established in the 1920s, with its first registered chapter in Toronto, and it operated independently of the U.S. Klan's activities.

 

[Randall]

I live in Calgary Alberta and for the record, voted Conservative, so my opinion doesn't in any way represent that of the political opposition in the province.

The separatist rhetoric we hear in the west typically plays on how much of our economic wealth is siphoned off to eastern provinces, as if that wealth belongs to each and every westerner, implying that if that wealth were kept here, everyone out here in the West would suddenly see their personal bank accounts fill-up with all that money — but that's a delusion.

All that would happen if Alberta separated is that all the wealth currently shared with the rest of Canada, would go into the bank accounts of the corporations and elites running the show here — many of which aren't even based in Alberta. At the same time, more power would be concentrated in the local politicians who would be beholden to those elites — and everyday citizens would be put on the hook for cleaning-up their giant industrial mess, while at the same time being ostracized from the rest of the nation.

So IMO, separation is a really bad idea promoted mainly by greedy elites and those seeking more political power who have played on the sentiments of less savvy westerners who see themselves as victims of other corrupt elites in power in Ottawa. So it's not that western separatists haven't got legitimate concerns, it's that they haven't really thought the whole process through. We need a better solution.

Ideally, I'd like to see a unified North America managed by a whole new unified system that effectively and holistically represents the best interest of the people all the way down to the individual — but that ain't likely to happen anytime soon.

 

[Tyger]

@Randall Thanks for the synopsis of how you see it from Alberta itself. Valuable perpective. Whatever I've read it does seem to be mainly about money flowing east and Albertans not benefitting from their own wealth (as seen by some). Plus there seems to be an issue about being blocked from a port access. For some reason I have been getting a lot about this in my YouTube feed. What is never talked about is how complex a process it is to become a US state. If this were ever to happen it would take years, unless some sort of fast track was created - still, so very complicated on so many levels.

 

[Burnt State]

There certainly is a oro separatist faction that dominates the UCP but the will amongst the people is not there and that's why Smith keeps juggling the issue. Her own party wants to make big radical moves but the people of Alberta don't want that.

Unlike the Quebec separatist movement that really was about a real cultural divide and the associated inequities, Alberta is still culturally more aligned with the rest of Canada than any other entity.

Yes, they believe strongly in guns, small govt, no taxation, less immigrants and that kids shouldn't be trans, but that's just a regional bias stemming from historical hard line, Big C conservatism. Canada is constructed out of a collection of diverse regions defined by geography. What holds us together is pluralism and a real belief in multiculturalism. We also believe we are stronger together, and that's why Quebec is still here, along with our indigenous brothers and sisters and why Alberta hasn't filed for a referendum on separating.

 

[Tyger]

Yes, they believe strongly in guns, small govt, no taxation, less immigrants and that kids shouldn't be trans, but that's just a regional bias stemming from historical hard line, Big C conservatism.

Oooh, my kinda folks.

 

[Richard Hawkins]

Oooh, my kinda folks.

Best wishes to Alberta sounds like a great place. Maybe I'll grab my Texan wife and move there.

 

[Tyger]

Best wishes to Alberta sounds like a great place. Maybe I'll grab my Texan wife and move there.

Yep, with all this going on it struck me that there appears to be a strong cultural divide between the west and east of Canada (minus B.C.). Alberta appears to have a significant (American) Republican flavor - the individualism and self-reliance of the wide open plains, a la Texas in the olden days. I'd move there, but not under the current Canadian government.

If it secedes they are saying Manioba and Saskatchewan would follow. They could align with the US as a territory - becoming a territory has been the first step to statehood in the past. I've read articles that say the First Nations are open to this. Twill see, It's all talk though it looks to be gaining momentum. Lots of trips to D.C. to discuss 'possibilities'. They really are upset - or a certain faction are upset with what they see as they being squashed by Ottawa.