Treaty 6, Treaty 7, and Treaty 8 cover virtually all of Alberta. These are agreements with the Crown of Canada, not with the Province of Alberta.
Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognizes and affirms aboriginal and treaty rights. These cannot be extinguished without consent.
The Constitution has no secession clause. The Supreme Court's 1998 Reference re Secession of Quebec established key principles.
Parliament determines whether the question and majority are clear. Federal government won't negotiate unless both conditions are met.
Under the Constitution, provinces have jurisdiction over natural resources. Yet federal powers over trade, taxation, and environment create overlapping authority.
The 1980 National Energy Program remains a defining grievance. It set Canadian oil prices below world rates and increased federal taxation. Estimated lost revenue: $50-100 billion.
The West Wants In was a rallying cry decades ago. The feeling that Alberta is structurally marginalized fuels separatist sentiment.
Alberta has 37 of 338 House seats (10.9%) with 11.7% of the population. All Western provinces combined have 24 Senate seats - the same as Ontario alone.
Federal elections are often called before Alberta polls close. This is psychologically demoralizing even if mathematically the same seats are at stake.
Equalization payments represent one of the most frequently cited grievances in discussions of Albertan independence. Alberta has not received equalization payments since 1965.
Equalization is a federal program enshrined in Section 36(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982. Payments come from federal general revenues, not direct transfers between provinces.
Alberta has contributed billions more to Confederation than it has received back. Albertans voted 62% against the current formula in 2021, yet nothing changed.
This forum section is dedicated to thoughtful, evidence-based discussion of Albertan independence. Whether you support separation, oppose it, or remain undecided, you will find resources here to inform your thinking.
CanuckDUCK does not advocate for or against independence. Our role is to facilitate informed civic discourse by presenting facts, multiple perspectives, and the strongest arguments from all sides.
Mount Rushmore is many things simultaneously:
The same weather systems sweep across Saskatchewan and the Dakotas. The same droughts parch the land. The same floods overwhelm the same watersheds. Climate change is already affecting the northern plains, and its impacts don't stop at the 49th parallel.
Temperature:
The northern Great Plains sit atop remarkable resource wealth:
Saskatchewan:
North Dakota:
Integrating the Dakotas with Saskatchewan would require more than changing flags. It would mean transitioning from one governance system to another—from American federalism to Canadian federalism, from state government to provincial government, from one set of rights and responsibilities to another.
Saskatchewan: