I Asked, You Responded (Your Emails Analyzed) - We Need A Plan
Episode Stats
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169.3255
Summary
In this episode, I discuss my thoughts on Alberta's independence from Canada, and the overwhelming majority of the people who responded were in favour of it. However, there were still a few people who were against it, and those who were fence sitters. I did a basic analysis using AI to analyze the mail sent in, and found that the majority of people who are for independence are actually against it.
Transcript
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Hi, it's John and welcome to the channel. It is Friday, May the 15th. I hope you're having
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a great start to your Friday. No doubt looking forward to the weekend. I appreciate you being
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here. I've been looking forward to doing this video for a couple of days, but I was rather
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concerned because of the overwhelming response to the video I put up the other day, which
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had this thumbnail. Audience participation needed. Contact me. I need your help. Inside
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or outside Alberta, for or against independence. I want your opinion. And boy, did you give me
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your opinion. This is just a small little bit of the different email I got with my thoughts
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on independence. And this goes on for page after page after page. As a matter of fact,
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I got about 300 email in. So thanks once again. So for those people who didn't put my thoughts
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on independence in the subject, which I asked you to do in the video I put up the other day,
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you're not included in the analysis of the email today. Okay, I'm sorry, but that's just the way
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it is. I had to use AI to go through this. I did not respond to any of your email. I plan on reading
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some of them, but there's 300. It's a little bit too many for me to go through. Maybe I'll use some
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of your thoughts on an upcoming video. But I did use AI to do this, and I think some of the results
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I got are pretty remarkable. Now, who was I talking to? You might remember there were people
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who were completely for independence, completely against it, fence sitters, and people outside
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the province. The sample of the people outside the province and probably people who are dead set
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against independence would be small, but I think some of the results are pretty remarkable. It's
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the fence sitters that we need to focus on. And I think that information could be very useful.
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So I hope you can read this. I'm going to bring this up on the screen.
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This is from my notes in my MacBook, but this is just making it easier for me to read. Let me see
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if I can bring the thing up just a little bit more. There we go. So we can read the top there.
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So this is my thoughts on independence. This is basic analysis. And this is what I did
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in AI to analyze this. Gmail analyzed the mail that has the subject, my thoughts on independence,
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and give me a general idea of what people are saying about it. Now, just for your information,
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this will bring in, and this is the majority of the people who responded, and a majority of these
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people are for independence. So this is going to answer a lot of questions for you. So let's go
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back and read a little bit of this. And there's going to be some reading here, but stay tuned.
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the fence sitters are the real interesting ones coming up. The feedback in your inbox regarding
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the my thoughts on independence emails reflects a strong sentiment in favor of Alberta's independence
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with several recurring themes and concerns. Key arguments for independence, economic control and
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fairness. Many respondents emphasize the need for Alberta to manage its own economy without
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interference from Ottawa. A major point of contention is the equalization payment system,
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which several people view as economic exploitation political representation there's a widespread
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feeling that alberta lacks fair representation within the current federal structure some suggest
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that independent status would ensure their votes actually count smaller government and personal
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freedom several emails express a desire for less government control and more individual freedom
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concerns were raised about a perceived shift towards a globalist and socialist order and
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increase state surveillance. Elimination of federal governance. Some see independence as a
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way to remove a level of governance and its associated costs and regulations. Now, here are
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some of the concerns. While the sentiment is largely positive, some respondents raised practical
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questions about how independence would function. Currency and social security. Questions were asked
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regarding what currency an independent Alberta would use and who would be responsible for paying
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old age security. Safety and security, there are concerns about the future of police and military
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forces, specifically with whether the RCMP would remain and how Alberta would handle its own
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defense. Essential services, one respondent mentioned the importance of maintaining timely
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health care and palliative care services outside of federal systems. The general sentiment is this,
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support. The majority of the emails explicitly state they are 100% for independence or use
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slogans like independence or bust. I haven't heard that, but thank you for that. Motivation.
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Many frame their support as a necessity for the future of our children or to save the ship from
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a perceived coming economic collapse and community. Several centers identify as longtime
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followers of your YouTube channel, thanking you for being a voice for everyday people. Well,
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thank you very much for saying that. I do appreciate it. So that's the people generally
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who are all for Alberta independence, and it gave reasons why they wanted that. But what about people
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who are against independence? And are these people a lost cause? We've been told not to
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really focus on these people because we're wasting our time. Matthew Rowley from Renew Alberta
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stated on the channel here that he's going to try to get some of these people. I think that's
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worthwhile, but I don't think we should be spending a lot of time facing people who are dead
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set against independence. So what did they have to say? So here's what I asked. Gmail, analyze the
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mail that has the subject, my thoughts and independence, and tell me about people who are
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dead set against Alberta independence and their top reasons why. The correspondence shows that
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those who are firmly opposed to the movement are primarily concerned with the potential
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for long-term instability, their opposition is rarely about the validity of Alberta's grievances,
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but rather the belief that the costs of separation far outweigh the benefits.
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So, top reasons for opposition. National unity and identity. A core segment of respondents
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expresses a deep-rooted pride in being Canadian. For them, the movement represents a loss of
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national identity that is not worth the trade-off regardless of political or economic frustrations.
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Economic risk and market access. Opponents frequently cite the landlocked nature of the
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province as a fatal flaw. They argue that without federal protection, Alberta would lose its leverage
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in international trade and face even greater barriers to get resources to global markets.
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Complexity of divestment. There's a strong belief that unscrambling the egg of the Canadian
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Federation is practically impossible. They point to the immense difficulty of dividing
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the national debt, establishing new federal-level institutions like a central bank or military,
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and renegotiating international treaties. Social and legal divisions some voice concerns that the
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process would lead to decades of social unrest and legal battles, particularly regarding treaty
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rights and indigenous land claims, which they believe would stall the economy more than any
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current federal policy. General rationale, stronger together. The overriding sentiment
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among this group is the belief that federalism is a series of compromises. While they may agree
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that the current system is flawed, they argue that it is better to reform the system from within
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rather than risk total economic and social upheaval of starting a new country from scratch.
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They view the movement as a risky gamble with too many unknown variables. You know, it's funny when
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I read that again, I do see some hope in bringing some of these people over, don't you? Because there
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are some of the things here that we can address with these people, you know, being landlocked,
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for instance, that's something that we have answered many, many times. Most of us who have
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been talking about independence have answered that question a thousand times. And maybe we can
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bring some of these people over. There may be some hope with the people who are dead set against it.
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Now let's look at the people who are on the fence.
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And I've included a couple of different searches in here,
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which I'm going to get to for you in just a moment.
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So these are people who are on the fence, and this is what I asked.
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Gmail, analyze the mail that has the subject, my thoughts on independence,
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and tell me about people who haven't yet made up their mind about Alberta independence.
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And I also asked, analyze the mail that has the subject, my thoughts on independence,
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and tell me what would change the minds of people
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who aren't sure about independence to be for independence.
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Their hesitation generally isn't about a lack of interest,
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Based on the feedback, here are the primary reasons
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why some people remain undecided. Economic stability in currency. Major point of uncertainty
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involves the financial transition. People are asking the currency question. Would an independent
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Alberta continue using the Canadian dollar or would it need to establish its own currency?
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Trade relations. There is concern about the complexity of renegotiating trade agreements
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like KUSMA, the USMCA, and how that might impact the energy sector in the short term.
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Since Alberta is landlocked, again, landlocked comes up.
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Undecided individuals are wary of how the province would guarantee access to tidewater for its exports.
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They are looking for a clear strategy on how an independent state would navigate international laws
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and transit rights through neighboring jurisdictions.
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There is a significant anxiety among older demographics regarding CPP and OAS,
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concerns about the portability of the Canada Pension Plan and how a provincial alternative
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would be funded and managed, travel, and identity. Practical questions about passports,
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border crossings, and dual citizenship are common hurdles for those who feel culturally tied to
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Canada but are economically frustrated. Legal and Indigenous Rights. Many are waiting to see
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a more detailed legal framework that addresses treaty obligations. There is uncertainty regarding
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how independence would affect existing treaties with indigenous nations and what a new nation-to-nation
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relationship would be like and the constitution skeptics are unsure if the legal path to secession
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is clearly defined enough to avoid years of paralyzing litigation now this is rather
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interesting the general sentiment at the bottom we need to learn from this the undecided group
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largely consists of people who agree with the movement's grievances but are risk-averse.
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They are looking for a business plan for independence rather than just a list of reasons
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to leave. Their support seems contingent on seeing a viable, low-friction roadmap for the transition.
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All right? Now, I'm going to go over to people who live outside Alberta just quickly.
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Generally, I'm just going to tell you what this says. There are a lot of people in Ontario,
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Saskatchewan, British Columbia, we've got people from the United States who are rooting for us,
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and here they say engagement from the U.S. has also been significant. These contributors often
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view the movement through a historical lens, drawing parallels between the current Alberta
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Initiative and American historical precedents for independence. Overall, the sentiment from
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these external observers is largely positive, focusing on the broader principles of self-determination
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they're less risk averse or we eliminate that completely.
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We need a plan. We need a strategy. We need a transition plan. And we need credible people
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to tell us about the transition and how it's going to work. I mean, it's very fascinating
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to hear some of the things. Talking about citizenship, traveling across borders, things
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like this are very important. Economic stability and currency. People are always asking what kind
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of money we're going to use. We need to convey this message. And the things that we're always
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talking about cpp oas being landlocked things like this that i know all about and i know aren't an
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issue and indigenous as well that aren't an issue most of the people aren't getting the message
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it's evident to me that we need a plan and you're going to be a big part of spreading that message
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so i hope this was helpful i know some of you were screaming why don't you ask it this why
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don't you ask it that i wanted to get a general overview i didn't want this video to go on forever
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but i learned a lot from reading this and i think some of the people in the independence movement
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can learn a lot from this as well now this is not a scientific poll or anything like that
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but i think it gives you a general idea of what people are thinking in all the categories
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that i talked about i plan on going through this a bit more i might do some more videos on this
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analyzing it with ai i do plan on reading some of your email i apologize for not reading them all
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there's just far too many but you did help in a big way and i appreciate that so thank you very
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