The Trump administration and MAGA circles are closely watching the conservative, oil-rich province, particularly as a separatist movement has launched a campaign to organize an independence referendum.

Did someone say oil freedom?

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[–] 11 points 9 months ago (2 children)

it's wild to see the united states use the same playbook they used to regime change so many other places.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    No one here wants this. It’s an incredibly small minority of morons and nothing will ever come of it. It’s just a bunch of noise because our premier is a piece of dog shit.

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  • 64 comments in c/canada@lemmy.ca view that post
    [+] 64 points 9 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 17 points 9 months ago

    It’s just the continuation of CambridgeAnalytica. The Robert Mercer funded russian op that brought us Brexit and Trump among other less successful fuckeries such as Calexit and Texit (plus some Europe shenanigans). Alberta is ripe!

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  • [–] 17 points 9 months ago* (5 children)

    The Forever Canadian citizens' initiative to call a referendum on the question "Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?" collected over 400,000 signatures and was approved and sent to the Speaker of the Legislature by Elections Alberta. The UCP government must call either a vote in the Legislature or a referendum on the question by law. The only way they can avoid this is by calling a general election. Albertans can and will stop this separation nonsense.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    And the really funny part is that its now been taken up by the silly separatists (or what ever they are calling them self's this week) just like the Forever Canadian group assumed they would as by law they can not have 2 referendums at the same time on the same issue. Its gold since the one that has been signed and approved does not say if Alberta leaves, so even if somehow (though dirty deeds no doubt) the referendum comes back with a "No" result that does not mean separation and there is a cool down time so hopefully this can be done and dusted.

    Great play by the Forever Canadian people.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (1 child)

    They aren't silly, they are stupid. Press them on any point, their arguments are nonsense and crumble against the slightest logic and a handful of facts.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    These are the same people that tell me the government is putting chemicals into legal weed to track people when they later unlegalise cannabis. The point is that this is not a large movement, but a fringe loud group that gets way more attention then they warrant. Don't let me stop you from calling these people out though, they do deserve the criticism but not so much the coverage.

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  • [–] 17 points 9 months ago (7 children)

    This has been obvious for some time. They use the exact same talking points and try to drive a wedge between different communities. The problem is Canada has a different national identity than the US does, so we have different view on the world. We recognize and cherish that we are a nation built by immigration. Yes, there will always be some racism, and it is being amplified by bad actors with an agenda, but we are also the most educated nation so we can mostly see through the rhetoric. I hope.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (6 children)

    The rural conservatives of alberta are ignorant pig people ready to do violence against their city dwelling countrymen.

    The seperation referendum will fail because of Calgary and Edmonton and when that happens the people who live in those cities better watch out.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    That's constructive. Have the day you deserve!

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (2 children)

    ? the only really stanch separatists I know are just as much from Calgary as areas around it. They are generally considered really, really dumb in rural Alberta. These are the same people who did anti UN parades and what not.

    I don't know why people have to assume that outside of a city people become wild uncivilized traitors.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago* (1 child)

    ? the only really stanch separatists I know are just as much from Calgary as areas around it.

    The last election was about CDN sovereignty and 92% of Alberta ridings went to a party who has twice had a US citizen as leader.

    Alberta is difficult to underestimate, and the cowboy cosplay goes far. Nice purse.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    Oh I also don't get the UCP love in Alberta, they are terrible and only seem to push "NDP bad, Fed bad with a side of corruption". But its still a jump to full blown treason for most of Alberta.

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  • [–] 30 points 9 months ago (20 children)

    From the outside looking in, conservatives in Canada seem to follow along with MAGA on a lot of culture war issues. However, I would think the separation would make it easier to see what's going on in the US and give at least some of them pause. You'd have to be a special kind of person to see what's happening and think "that is exactly what I want for my country".

    So Canadians of Lemmy, what do you think? Are conservative Albertans that far gone?

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  • [–] 30 points 9 months ago (6 children)

    Stupidity is not contained solely to Alberta.

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  • [–] 9 points 9 months ago

    Tell me about it. Here we’ve got the Separatist party spouting on about how the United States would treat the culture more fairly. Having only a few months ago having the US trying to water down the language laws for trade.

    Opportunistic cunts is what they are.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    No, but this article is, so I'm not sure what your point is

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    That there are plenty of 51st state, Trump loving conservatives across this country, that we were only a few hundred votes here and there away from having a Trump-loving wannabe as prime minister, and that pointing the finger at one province just because their leader is a Nazi-loving fascist piece of shit is ignoring the larger problem in this country.

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  • [–] 20 points 9 months ago* (3 children)

    I've lived most of my life in Alberta, in both rural and urban centers.

    It's actually a pretty long story, politically, to understand how we went from Klien to Smith.

    The short version is that the old conservatives stalled in direction after achieving the goal of eliminating all provincial debt.

    They (the party) finally found a purpose, independently (and predating) Trump, of simply using Ottawa as a foil. For everything.

    I genuinely believe Smith's US podcasts likening PP to Trump were designed to HURT PP. A Conservative federal government would be a political disaster provincially. They have no plan. They have no playbook. They ONLY have the "stand up to liberal Ottawa" drum to bang, and they lose that if the liberals aren't in power anymore.

    It isn't HARD to find Albertans that say they want to separate. But, they're not anywhere NEAR common enough that a referendum could ever actually find a majority in favour. It's not anywhere near as popular of an idea as Quebec separation in the 90s.

    And OF the Albertans that want to separate, they're envisioning a country of our own, not becoming a US state. And, as foolish as a notion that it is, I think a good number of supporters recognize the reality that they could end up getting annexed by the US.

    Trump's behaviour on the world stage overall hurts the proposition of Albertan separation. There is a reason pro-separation organizers are trying to distance themselves from Trump. It's a liability to thier goals. If there was no other measure than that to evaluate what separatist Albertans about Trump statistically (always will be individuals otherwise), that should be enough to answer that.

    Are conservative Albertans that far gone? Considering Albertan conservatives as a contiguous block is nonsense to start with.

    The vast majority of Albertans would self identify as "conservative" (small "c"), and yet 1000 flipped votes in the last election would have put (ANOTHER) NDP government in place. A great number of Albertan small "c" conservatives don't vote conservative provincially because they just refuse to acknowledge the overton window shift. Smith (or Kenny) isn't offering anything but "blame Ottawa". It's BARELY enough to get a slim majority. It's not meaningfully compelling on the grand scale.

    Speaking of Overton window shifts, Carney and Harper from a policy perspective are pretty damned similar.

    Will Alberta separate? No. Simply, no. Regardless of what interference Trump brings.

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Thank you for the detailed response. I appreciate your contribution to the discussion.

    I think our experiences of politics in our respective countries are pretty similar. I live in the only US state that borders Alberta. Our state politics are much less MAGA like than the national politics, there's a certain amount of disdain for DC here no matter who is in charge there, but discourse has still been dominated by conservatives of late. They do have trouble getting all of the national party's talking points to fully take root with many here though.

    I don't mean to pivot to discussing the US. I just brought it up as a way to say that I think I understand your description of the situation in Alberta. I hope you guys continue to have better luck keeping the crazy at bay than we have. I watched Carney's speech in Davos and I thought he laid out a solid vision of a path forward for Canada. Do you think it was well received in Alberta?

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago

    It was well received, by AB standards. The provincial government didn't bash it (and considering it's thier ONLY tool, they understood it was well recieved and it was off-limits). A few old conservatives came out of the woodwork to say "put down your personal political views for a minute and watch the speech", which was essentially an endorsement.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    The west is bound to begrudge the east because of lack of representation/voice. East coast politics rule both our countries even though we are both coast to coast. Population density factors in to it certainly but nearness to the body politic has a role there too.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    Conservatism lost a lot of steam in Canada when Trump was elected and his promises started taking shape. They realized it wasn't just rhetoric , they were looking to break down democracy. Even our poor people get a decent education and understand that is a dark road to travel. I don't think they'll cede their sovereignty but who knows? Their premier is bought and paid for by the same people as Trump, but their constituents are Canadian and proud of it. They'll fight a propaganda war, but I don't think they'll win many victories.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    A percentage of them certainly are.

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    It’s worth noting that separatist conservative Albertans are a vocal minority in Alberta.

    The only thing giving these individuals any credence right now is the fact that the current premier supports them… which has likely left her unelectable, so she’s trying to force a secession vote before she’s forced to call an election.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    How many people with educational degrees vote conservative?

    That might mean something.

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    you'd be surprised. I know a lot of highly educated people who have sunk into the "FUCK YOU I GOT MINE" mindset and support the cons because AXE THE TAX etc.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Fuck.....the number of people who just eat that pathetically low IQ verb the noun thing up....

    I really wish I could just verb them in the noun.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    But if it rhymes it must be true!

    Whoever smelt it dealt it.

    Whoever said the rhyme did the crime.

    These stood up to scrutiny in kindergarten so it must also apply to serious political policies in adulthood, no?

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  • [–] 10 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Could have told you that during the freedumb kkklownvoy days. All of it funded by the USA.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    How about the last election with the "republican party of alberta"?

    You know the one that had less then $1000 in donations before the name change and trump getting in office that somehow ran a whole ass call center (they called me 2 to 3 times a fucking day)? The one that reported $191,194.50 from nothing somehow?

    The reported amounts they got January 1, 2025 to September 30, 2025 vs What they got for all of 2024

    Note they did not even make the deadline for the 2025 final Likely due to how much they got stomped in the one by-election they ran in. (even in Olds where they where claiming victory before the polling stations even closed).

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  • [–] 17 points 9 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 21 points 9 months ago* (10 children)

    Excuse me Canada I’d like to suggest Washington, California, Oregon and Hawaii for your consideration. We are very left, we have decent economies and we love democracy and to be honest we’re being held hostage right now

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  • [–] 9 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    I’d like to suggest Washington, California, Oregon and Hawaii for your consideration.

    Y'know that 35-40 percent of your state's population that voted for Trump every time they could?

    Figure out how to leave them behind, then re-submit your request.

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    Hawai’i needs to be independent from colonial countries. Should be its own country. Fuck the US invaders. As much as I love Hawai’i as a Canadian. It should be independent.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Agreed but it will need military backing and an alliance at least if we Balkanize

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (1 child)

    I’d be really curious to see what would have to happen in Canada procedurally if another territory (like Minnesota or Hawai’i) asked to join us. The last territory to join us was Newfoundland and Labrador in 1949. Nunavut in 1999 doesn’t count because we just rededicated areas of the NWT that had already been part of Canada.

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    Pretty sure the Trump regime had its heart set on Greenland, but I think some rigorous campaigning on the part of Alberta separatists and Smith over the holiday break was able to convince them there was a softer target.

    That and the EU saying “don’t come here or we’ll shoot.” After all these are bullies, they feed on attacking those who they think can’t or won’t fight back.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (7 children)
  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    Trump has promised to destroy Canada and/or annex it. This is a way for the USA to undermine Canada as a country. I imagine they'll also be supporting Quebec separatists in secret, not because they have any real common cause but because they want to see Canada weakened and desperate.

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago

    dont you mean russia uses krasnov to destabalize canada, after the failed attempt at using PP.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    Hah! Joke's on them, we don't ever listen to what Alberta has to say (and it's their fault for always bitching at everything non-stop without ever making a point).

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  • 10 comments in c/world view that post
    [+] 39 points 9 months ago (5 children)
  • [–] 20 points 9 months ago* (4 children)

    Just give me a fair warning so I can move to one of those places.

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    You should move there; just because.

    Also, I'm sure if they floated the idea, Canada would love to have them and their wonderful people.

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  • I'm originally from one of the places mentioned and trust me it's just as bullshit as the places not listed.

    I left because it was weird psychologically. I forget the term but it was like reality wasn't the way everyone acted. They had their reality in talk and voting but in action it was different. Cognitive dissonance?

    ...but maybe things would be better under Canada.

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago

    fucking traitors

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    And Alberta is more than willing to be used.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago

    I live in the US but know with about Alberta to know this scans.

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