I kind of stopped paying attention to the Alberta independence bid after @grayruby bid the poor little @Team_Predyx contract into oblivion. (I guess our gray friend knows something I don't?).

The polls, says my cursory 20-second googling, are also heavily against.

Still, it's romantic and beautiful and just obvious that all these province/state/region-level independence movements should succeed... but probably never will. (Scotland, Catalunya, Quebec, Skåne!! #1585380).

And for all sorts of reasons I like personally (oil independence, stick it to the liberal elites, rural/honest landscape work vs urban/fakey finance bullshit), I would have loved it to work out.

In the lead-up to the historic vote, Carney — an Albertan himself — made a tour of the province promoting the federalist cause, telling packed rallies that only a decisive result would settle the issue.

At least the cronies feared it enough to pay attention.

Monday’s ballot contains 10 questions concerning the strengthening of Alberta’s provincial powers, in particular around immigration, constitutional reform and whether to launch the legal process towards a binding referendum on separation from Canada. Since Alberta joined Canada’s federation in 1905, separatist sentiments have ebbed and flowed in the western province that is the largest foreign supplier of oil to the US and which accounts for roughly a fifth of the country’s agricultural exports.

Yeah, Trudeau, that was a great idea.... thank god ESG was a low-interest rate phenomenon and the green demon is basically done for.

Under Justin Trudeau, Carney’s Liberal predecessor, Ottawa also sought to impose strict carbon pollution restrictions that Alberta’s oil industry felt unfairly targeted their industry and stifled economic growth.

I guess we're making some progress on that front??

But Canada’s oil production is at record levels, as are company profits. Since coming to office, Carney has torn up numerous environmental regulations, wants to build a pipeline carrying 1mn barrels of oil a day and plans to triple LNG production.

Seems NOBODY really wants to leave??

Boardrooms across Alberta do not want to leave Canada. Numerous oil and gas executives, as well as conservative leaders such as the current opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, are against separating. First Nations leaders in Alberta are also overwhelmingly against the separation vote, arguing that constitutionally protected treaties between Indigenous nations and the Crown prevent any potential secession plan.

The urban-rural divide on this topic is obvious as you leave Alberta’s cities and centres, with the highways lined with separatist signs, posters and flags. One of the key separatist proponents is Mitch Sylvestre, an Alberta Prosperity Party leader and sports shop owner, whose political origin story comes from the “trucker’s convoy” protests over Ottawa’s handling of Covid.

"“The government in Ottawa is actually sabotaging Alberta. Basically, it’s a one-way flow of money from us to them.”"

Yes, of course; that's in the nature of a liberal elite and a government establishment in the first place. duh.

archive: https://archive.md/ZxBtx