Alberta’s separatist movement is no joke |
At some point, Danielle Smith is going to have to pick a side. For months now, Alberta’s premier has been catering to the separatists who dominate the membership of her United Conservative Party while insisting she doesn’t explicitly support their cause. But their appetite just keeps growing, and with Smith’s government clearing the way for a referendum on Alberta independence, the bill may be about to come due.
Jeff Rath, the separatist lawyer and public figurehead of the Alberta Prosperity Project, seems determined to ensure that vote happens. At the recent UCP convention — the same one where Smith’s tepid defence of Canada was greeted by booing and heckling — Rath was met with boisterous applause after he asked the assembled audience if they supported independence. “We did that to send a message to Danielle Smith and to this cabinet that their party is an independence party,” he told CityTV’s James Dunn. “Their party wants a free and independent Alberta and they better start leading like we’re going to become that country.”
He’s the captain now, in other words. Rath isn’t waiting around for the referendum, either. “On my way to Washington DC for another of APP’s ongoing meetings with the US administration,” he said on social media earlier this week. “Reflecting on the joint benefits to Alberta and the USA when we finally free Alberta........