John Bolton - November 01, 2025


The Voices of Independence - I Am Alberta Rally (Oct 25th, 2025)

Topics
independence movement independence for alberta independence in Alberta independence movement
Hosted by
John Bolton
Mentioned
Madison Jeevan Mangat Bruce Stevens Doug Robinson Suzanne Lauren Kerry Mitch Riker John Brian Mulroney Stephen Harper Tommy Robertson David Eby I. Tell
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Episode Stats


Length

10 minutes

Words per minute

202.25

Word count

2,159

Sentence count

261


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

On October 25th, 2025, I was the MC at the huge I Am Alberta Rally for Independence in Edmonton on the steps of the Alberta legislature. Prior to the event, I had a chance to wander around and talk to some people and some I knew about where they were from and why they want Alberta independence.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Hi, it's John and welcome to the channel. Thank you so much for being here.
00:00:08.400 Saturday, October the 25th, 2025 is a day I will remember forever. I had a chance to be the MC at
00:00:17.080 the huge I Am Alberta Rally for Independence in Edmonton on the steps of the Alberta legislature.
00:00:23.000 It was just remarkable. It really was seeing all those flags waving out in the crowd while the
00:00:28.700 event was happening. But prior to the event, I had a chance to wander around just to check things out
00:00:33.380 and I had a chance to stop and talk to some people and some I knew, others I didn't, about where they
00:00:40.420 were from and why they showed up on the steps of the legislature and why they want Alberta
00:00:45.260 independence. And joining me now, I've got Kerry. Kerry, where are you from? Cold Lake. Cold Lake.
00:00:51.460 How long did it take you to get here from Cold Lake? About three hours. It took three hours. So about
00:00:54.840 same, well, a little bit shorter for me to come from Calgary. And you thought this was that important
00:00:59.360 to come here today, did you? Yeah. Well, yes. It's very important. So you've been part of the
00:01:03.360 independence movement for how long, you figure, Kerry? Since pretty much when Mitch started doing
00:01:07.120 his road show. Mitch lives down the road from me and I'm like, I can get behind this. I know what
00:01:12.320 he's doing. And I was talking to Mitch earlier this week. He told me he bought a new truck at the
00:01:16.820 beginning of the year. He's got more than 60,000 kilometers on it now. Just driving around to towns
00:01:21.880 around this province talking about independence. Amazing. This is the least I can do.
00:01:27.140 Yeah. What do you want out of the independence movement? What do you think Alberta can gain?
00:01:30.700 Yeah. Alberta can gain everything. I've worked my whole career in the heavy oil industry.
00:01:34.660 Yeah. Thermal heavy oil and what the NDP government did to us, you know, 10 years ago and the local
00:01:40.040 governments continued on with. It's just a shame that it's taken away from our, you know, my kids
00:01:44.800 and my grandkids' future. So. I've got Suzanne here and Lauren. That's Suzanne and that's Lauren
00:01:50.960 over there and they're married. They came here from High Prairie today. You drove for four hours
00:01:55.020 to come to the legislature today. Why are you here? What's, what's the main reason for you
00:01:59.800 being here today? Independence. Trying to save this province. How long have you lived in Alberta?
00:02:08.240 All my life. All your life. And do you feel that Alberta has been paying too much into Canada for
00:02:14.080 far too long, Lauren? Far too long. My whole life. Your whole life. I've lost it my whole life.
00:02:19.400 Yeah. And what, what would you like to see happen over the next year or so? Do you think we can find
00:02:23.680 and get independence within the next year or so? I hope so. I, I. Tell me what you think, Lauren.
00:02:31.740 I, I really hope we can. I, I have a lot of faith in the Alberta people. Yep. And I think they should,
00:02:39.460 I mean, it's in front of our face. Why can't we fix it? And Suzanne, do you think it's a growing
00:02:45.000 movement right now? I think so. We're trying to make it a growing movement. Yeah. We talk to people
00:02:51.200 about it all the time and we watch. Can I ask you something? I, I hear a hint of an accent. Are
00:02:57.100 you from Quebec originally? Yes, I am. Oh, really? Were you part of the independence movement in Quebec
00:03:00.800 at one time perhaps? No, I wasn't. I was already. Okay. Okay. Well, thanks very much. You go find a
00:03:06.500 place to sit. I appreciate talking to you. Thanks for coming all the way from High Prairie. I do
00:03:10.160 appreciate it. Thank you. Okay. Bye-bye. Thank you. So we're here. We are at the Alberta legislature once
00:03:16.580 again. Last time I was here was May 3rd, emceeing an event just after the federal election. I'm here
00:03:23.120 with Jeevan Mangat, who's the interim leader of the Wild Rose Independence Party, strong supporter
00:03:27.180 of the Alberta Prosperity Project. Just before three o'clock, people are starting to roll in here,
00:03:31.900 Jeevan. Good to see you again. What do you think? You think we're going to have a big crowd here today?
00:03:35.740 Well, I'm certainly hoping, you know, we get around 10,000 people. We want a nice big crowd. As you
00:03:41.560 remember from May 3rd, we had about 1,500 people, but we only had a couple of weeks to organize it.
00:03:47.060 Yeah. I think it's going to be a big one. What do you think the message is going to be here today?
00:03:50.940 I think we're going to hear things ramped up a little bit when it comes to the province and getting
00:03:55.860 our referendum question on a ballot. Yeah. So today it's really important that everybody understand
00:04:01.680 how important independence is because nothing will change in Canada. Nothing. Unless Alberta achieves
00:04:10.480 independence, you have to remember since 1963, the Liberal Party has been in power except for two
00:04:17.600 long-serving conservative prime ministers, Brian Mulroney and Stephen Harper. As the Liberal Party
00:04:25.440 has been in power, nothing has been advanced in Canada. Alberta had to pay a heavy, heavy price.
00:04:33.620 Listen, since the early 60s, there's numbers that kicked around, like $800 billion that
00:04:40.740 left Alberta to subsidize the rest of Canada. And I would estimate it's close to a trillion
00:04:46.380 because I never trust government figures. Yeah. So what does it mean to have one province
00:04:52.540 productive and the rest of Canada non-productive? It's about time we made changes.
00:04:58.300 Jeevan, thanks so much. Good to see you once again. I'm getting excited. I'm seeing more
00:05:02.320 and more people show up here. And again, we've got more than an hour and I think we're going
00:05:05.840 to see a large crowd here today. And all the best to you. Thanks for talking to me.
00:05:09.140 Nice, John. Great seeing you again. Thank you.
00:05:11.200 So can you tell me your name, please?
00:05:12.720 Yeah, my name is Bruce.
00:05:13.880 Bruce what?
00:05:14.740 Bruce Stevens.
00:05:15.600 Bruce, I think you're going to win the award for the person coming the farthest to this
00:05:19.560 independence rally here in Edmonton today. Where'd you come from?
00:05:22.860 I've come all the way from Victoria, BC to be here because I really believe in Alberta. I'm
00:05:28.640 originally from Alberta. And I really believe that it's time for Alberta to stand up on their
00:05:33.400 own two feet and move on. We've been lied to for way too damn long.
00:05:37.380 If you feel that way, I'm wondering why you live in British Columbia for Christ's sake.
00:05:41.200 Well, that's a bit of a long story. After my marriage ended, I decided to retire and just get
00:05:47.320 away for a while. And now it's hard to come back, right? Because it's going to be cold here really.
00:05:51.360 Yeah, I understand. Yeah, I understand. I wish I could move Alberta about 14 hours south myself.
00:05:56.240 So what do you think we can accomplish with independence here in Alberta if we gain our
00:06:00.340 independence?
00:06:01.240 I think we have an opportunity then to really reach our potential as a province.
00:06:06.380 This province has had so many opportunities over the last several decades. And every time
00:06:11.940 it seems as though we're ready to move forward, we're stymied by the federal government.
00:06:16.000 They're overreaching their negative attitude towards oil and gas. They want our money.
00:06:21.360 But they don't want our oil and gas.
00:06:22.960 Let me ask you this. If we got the independence and things got better, would you make your escape
00:06:27.300 away from David Eby and the NDP in British Columbia if you could?
00:06:30.100 Oh, absolutely. My kids keep asking me to come home and I keep saying it soon. But here right
00:06:34.980 they don't even know I'm here actually right now because I just flew in and I'm going to be gone tomorrow.
00:06:38.980 Well, thanks for coming. Fantastic. All the way from Victoria, BC. Enjoy your day here.
00:06:43.240 Okay, thank you very much.
00:06:44.100 Joining me right now, I've got Ron Robertson, who is the head of the Independence Party here
00:06:48.940 in Alberta. And Ron, it's good to talk to you. I know we've had some correspondence back and forth
00:06:53.500 at times through LinkedIn and things like that. We'll have to have you on my channel real soon.
00:06:57.720 I have a question for you. You're the head of the Independence Party. How does that jibe with
00:07:02.180 the Alberta Prosperity Project? I just spoke with Jeevan Mangat from the Wildrose Independence Party.
00:07:06.740 Are we all compatible here?
00:07:09.100 You know what? We want the same thing. I mean, what we would like to see created is a constitutional republic of Alberta.
00:07:17.100 And the most important thing for our party is freedom for Albertans.
00:07:22.560 And that's from what I see and what I know of the APP. That's exactly what they're promoting.
00:07:28.800 That's why we support them.
00:07:30.160 You know, the first meeting I went to, Ron, was way back in 2019. I've lived in Alberta for about 14 years now.
00:07:35.800 So about nine, you know, about six, seven years ago, I guess it was.
00:07:39.400 And when I came out of the meeting and I started looking into the movement a little bit more,
00:07:43.140 I found that there were a lot of different groups looking for independence.
00:07:46.160 I'm glad to see that everybody seems to be on the same page.
00:07:49.300 I think for the most part, I think everybody is on the same page.
00:07:53.580 Where I've seen any kind of issue at all, just because there was some splintering within different parties.
00:07:59.400 So people went off, formed their own party after leaving the party they were with.
00:08:06.060 You know, that's been one of the things that I think has actually hurt the movement.
00:08:09.980 Yep.
00:08:10.840 Because we all need to come together as one.
00:08:14.000 You know, that's...
00:08:14.920 And we are. We're getting closer to the goal, do you think?
00:08:16.940 I think we're getting closer, I think, by the day.
00:08:20.020 Closest it's ever been.
00:08:21.260 Yes.
00:08:21.840 Ron, thanks so much. Thanks for talking to me. Enjoy the day.
00:08:23.900 Thank you. You too. I look forward to the rest of the afternoon.
00:08:27.720 Okay, so we've got a little bit of a family here and some young people.
00:08:30.500 Could you introduce yourself, please?
00:08:31.760 My name is Doug Robinson. I'm from St. Paul, Alberta.
00:08:33.960 And your name is?
00:08:34.820 My name is Madison.
00:08:35.900 Madison and?
00:08:36.660 I'm Riker.
00:08:37.660 Riker, Madison, and Doug. Great names, by the way.
00:08:40.320 I just wanted to say, Doug, what happened to you? You didn't get a name like this.
00:08:42.840 You gave them good names, did you?
00:08:44.200 Yeah, that's right.
00:08:44.740 You've got your children out, your kids out here today.
00:08:48.480 How'd they get involved in the independence movement? They're getting involved here, are they?
00:08:51.300 Yeah, I guess. I've been involved in the independence movement since the inception, whatever, four or five years ago.
00:08:59.120 I basically started COVID scandemic times too, right?
00:09:02.240 Right.
00:09:02.620 Which kind of catapulted my thoughts and my feelings, woke me up, I might say.
00:09:08.100 Right. And one of the reasons you're here today, you mentioned to me just before I started rolling, was that you're interested in the gun issue.
00:09:15.940 That's something that really concerns you.
00:09:17.420 Huge part.
00:09:18.040 Huge part of it.
00:09:18.700 And you think you'll get more freedom when it comes to a free Alberta and an independent Alberta.
00:09:24.120 The only reason why the government wants their guns is because what they're going to do to you after they get their guns.
00:09:29.560 Right.
00:09:30.380 History just goes through. You can look at all the civilizations through history all around the world and what happens to mass populations after they take their guns away.
00:09:38.480 Right. Madison, so you're here with your dad today, Riker as well. Are you just learning about the independence movement right now?
00:09:44.400 Yeah.
00:09:44.580 Is it something you really want to see happen? Is there a reason why? Can you tell me?
00:09:50.780 Money.
00:09:51.680 Money. Well, you know, that's an absolutely perfect answer, really.
00:09:55.140 I mean, it's got a lot to do with money and how much money Alberta sends out to the rest of the country, right?
00:09:59.460 And we can keep more of it and more of it for us and our families here in Alberta.
00:10:02.680 Well, thanks for being here today. Thanks for chatting with me. Doug, Madison, Riker, enjoy your day and thanks for chatting.
00:10:09.560 I think we need to bring everybody together here. So why don't we do it all together and yell it as loud as possible because we want this. Get your cameras going, folks. We want this to go viral.
00:10:21.160 So, are you ready, guys? One, two, three.
00:10:27.360 I am Alberta!
00:10:30.140 Again!
00:10:31.160 I am Alberta!
00:10:33.760 Again!
00:10:34.500 I am Alberta!
00:10:37.400 One more time.
00:10:38.520 I am Alberta!