The idea of Alberta separatism is closer to mainstream than ever before

Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in his office in Ottawa on May 8, 2026. Photo by HYUNGCHEOL PARK/Postmedia

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In his timely new book The Republic of Alberta: An Idea That Won’t Go Away (out now with Sutherland House), journalist Tyler Dawson examines the long history and renewed force of Alberta separatism, and traces how a province that remains overwhelmingly Canadian has nonetheless developed a deep and durable sense of alienation from Ottawa, and the rest of the country. In this exclusive excerpt, Dawson reveals the political tensions that followed the 2025 federal election and explores why, for many Albertans, the question is not simply whether Alberta should leave Canada, but whether Canada has ever truly understood what Alberta contributes — and what it expects in return.

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In the weeks before the April 2025 federal election, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith took to the stage at the Strong and Free Network conference in Ottawa. After giving a speech, she sat down for a discussion with Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilley and remarked that she recently had a new pedicure.

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“I’m Team Canada right down to my toes,” said Smith. She slipped off her shoe, pointed her foot, and showed her red nails to the audience.

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The day was April 10. At the time, angst was circulating in Canada about the forthcoming federal election. What would it mean for the West, which had been frustrated for years under a Liberal government, if the same party were returned to power? Alberta has voted overwhelmingly Conservative for as long as anyone can remember, and it was set to do so again.There were murmurings of increased support for secession in the province should the Liberals prevail. But with Canadian nationalism experiencing a resurgence thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump’s annexation threats, Smith clearly staked her position: she stood for Canada.

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A little over two weeks later, Canadians re-elected a Liberal federal government. This version was led by Prime Minister Mark Carney — an Alberta boy who grew up in Edmonton — and not Justin Trudeau, the much-reviled son of Pierre Trudeau, who, 26 years after his death, probably still edges his son for the title of most hated man in the western province.

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The re-election of the Liberals re-ignited a generations-old conversation about Alberta, the province’s place within Canada, and whether, in the face of yet another Liberal government widely perceived here to be hostile to Alberta’s interests, the province should bother sticking with Canada at all. Smith found herself caught up in the debate. While still professing to support a united Canada, she has hardly been as full-throated in her defence of federalism as her predecessor, Jason Kenney.

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Her critics have accused her of pandering to the separatists with her bullish anti-Ottawa talk and amendments to legislation in 2025 that made it easier for separatists to push for a referendum on secession.

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“(Smith’s) entire political career has been focused on grievance politics with Canada, and now the chickens have come home to roost. As much as she’d like to blame the federal government for this, it is she who has been pandering to separatists,” NDP leader Naheed Nenshi said in the Alberta legislature in early December 2025.

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Alberta independence — and its cousin, alienation — are not new ideas. They’re not even recent ones. Writers in the 19th and early 20th centuries railed against their rulers out east. Sir Frederick Haultain, who was the first and last leader of the North-West Territories from 1897 to 1905, led the fight for responsible government on the Prairies and was constantly at odds with Ottawa over spending issues.