🇨🇦What is Alberta?🇨🇦 I was looking at the questions on the referendum ballot, and one of them asks whether Alberta should remain a province of Canada. I found myself asking: were we ever really a province? I say no. We're a territory with a participation ribbon. When did we become a province? Meaning equal to all others. Not just equal in law, but equal in practice. Not in 1905, when Ottawa carved us out of the Northwest Territories without asking the people who lived here. Territorial Premier Frederick Haultain had proposed one large province called Buffalo, covering what became Alberta and Saskatchewan, arguing it would give the West a voice in Ottawa. Wilfrid Laurier rejected it and split the territory into two smaller provinces instead, two that would be easier to control than one that could rival Ontario. Not in 1982, when the Constitution was rewritten and the one chance to fix the imbalance came and went. Lougheed won a few concessions, sure, but the Senate stayed stacked, the Commons stayed tilted, and the amendment formula locked it all in. The amendment formula makes it permanent. Most changes need seven provinces with half the population, but the Senate, the Commons, and the Supreme Court require all ten provinces to agree. Sp the very things that keep Alberta on the outside are the things that can never be fixed without the provinces that benefit from them agreeing to give that up, rendering Alberta's problems in Confederation permanently unfixable. If that's the way it is, then perhaps the way forward for Alberta is "so be it," because we were always on the outside anyways. A couple historical quotes tell the story. "The people of the North West are allowed but a degree more control of their affairs than the serfs of Siberia." Frank Oliver, Edmonton Bulletin, 1885. "We all desire, every patriotic Canadian desires, that the great trade of the prairie shall go to enrich our own people in the east, to build up the factories and the workshops of eastern Canada, and to contribute in every legitimate way to its prosperity." Clifford Sifton, Minister of the Interior, 1904. For those who are unaware or curious, start here: PEI has about 183,000 people and 4 senators, roughly 46,000 people per senator. Alberta has about 5 million people and 6 senators, roughly 850,000 people per senator. A resident of PEI gets about 18 times the senatorial representation of an Albertan. Our vote rarely matters at all, and everything is dictated to us from the East, who doesn't understand us. We were never let in, yet we are told to sit here, close our mouths, and accept our situation in a nation that has never allowed us a full say in our own affairs. Then we are called vicious names and traitors by our own countrymen for simply wanting change and to preserve our future, in a post-national state that refuses to answer to us. And in this post-national state with no core identity, what is it that we're supposed to identify with? It should also be noted that it was two Liberal judges appointed by David Lametti that squashed the separation question and turned it into a referendum on a referendum. You see, it's not all about pipelines. Alberta's historical grievances go back more than a hundred and forty years. It didn't all start in 1905. Some things never change, I suppose... until you change them. Vote option 2 on October 19th. #AlbertaIndependence 🤠

🇨🇦The Only Light I See🇨🇦 I'm writing this column through an Alberta lens, because that's how I see the world. Everywhere I look, our institutions seem to despise their own citizens. The federal government and too many provinces treat us like obstacles to their grand plans, not the people they were elected to serve. The rot, the debt, the institutional decay, and the ideological capture in Canada are so deep as to render it unsavable, in my opinion. I watch it all unravel and see the same disturbing patterns repeat. Everything feels inverted, upside down, and deliberately so. A certain group cheers for whatever is destructive, chaotic, or vile. It doesn't matter how wrong it is, that's the side they take. This isn't how the world was before 2015. The left took power across the Western world and flipped everything on its head, and along with that, basic human decency has largely vanished. The most bizarre, self destructive nonsense now flows from our institutions, and the change is undeniable. We are under attack. Its called asymmetric warfare. Its not kinetic, it's a war of the mind, and both can destroy a nation or a society. That's why I look at Alberta and see something different. We still have the people, definitely the resources, the land, and something even more valuable: retrospect. We can see exactly where the West went wrong. We can build something new, learn from the past, and not repeat those mistakes. An independent Alberta could hold politicians truly accountable. No more Prime Ministers enacting massive policies by decree, and bypassing parliament entirely. That isn't governance, that's tyranny. In a free Alberta, that kind of betrayal would end your career and your welcome in the country. We also need a modernized, updated meaning of the word treason, and the penalties for committing the act. We have a unique opportunity... RIGHT NOW. No other place on Earth sits in quite this position, with our wealth, our anger at the status quo, and the clear lessons of what happens when nations lose their way. We could build something better, something that says no to the madness consuming the West. The desire to escape this broken system grows stronger every day. Alberta could be that shining example the world desperately needs, proof that a people can still choose sanity, accountability, and self determination. We already have the resources and the wealth. Wealth is a dirty word to some, but wealth equals health, including mentally, physically, economically, and even environmentally. Wealthy nations will lead the world toward a greener future. Canada however is on the path of virtue signaling itself into poverty, which will send our brain trust to the United States, where they will build the future, much to the dismay of those who claim to hate them. But Alberta wants to, and can play a part. We can displace dirty energy with our oil and gas, while simultaneously becoming fabulously wealthy. What we must recognize is that we can't simply plant a flag and declare ourselves a new republic. Change starts from the foundation up, and that foundation is the education of our youth, because a future republic can only survive through the education, knowledge, and decency of its citizens. The aforementioned wealth could also be used to provide tax incentives and rewards for the people of this new nation to have children, thus strengthening our foundations. It all seems quite simple and circular to me. We begin there. In twenty-five years, after raising a generation taught love, self-respect, respect for others, patriotism, civics, personal responsibility, critical thinking, work ethic, self-reliance, financial literacy, respect for the rule of law, and the courage to speak truth even when it's unpopular, we won't just be a new country... We'll be an entirely new world. We could lead with sanity. We could set the example and Pied Piper the Western world right out of this mess. Lets not miss this chance Alberta. #AlbertaIndependence 🤠