Juno News - May 11, 2025


First Nations can’t veto Alberta separation vote

Topics
First Nations veto power Alberta Sovereignty movement
Mentioned
Separatist Smith Keith Ellison Danielle Smith Francois Legault Isaac Lamoureux Nahid Nenshi Mark Carney Bill C-63 David Eby Alberta Separatism Must Succeed Paul St-Pierre Plamondon Alberta Secession Y Brooks Arkan Paul G. Van Manget Alberta Separatism Elections Alberta David Williams Freedom Convoy Tamara Leach David Parker and 4 more
Candice RIPS the CBC for pushing absolute nonsense about Premier Smith Preston Manning： Mark Carney will be Canada’s LAST Prime Minister

Episode Stats


Length

16 minutes

Words per minute

143.03

Word count

2,385

Sentence count

115

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Summary

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

In response to calls for Alberta to separate from Canada, Premier Danielle Smith responds to outrage from treaty chiefs and defends her government s approach, stating that Indigenous rights will be respected but democratic processes will continue. Smith also tells Ontario Premier Doug Ford to butt out of Alberta s affairs after he criticized Western separatism. Meanwhile, a campaign accuses Smith of promoting separation with similar pushback from her Western counterpart.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
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 Legal experts told True North that First Nations do not have the power to block a citizen-led Alberta separation referendum, even if treaty rights are involved.
00:00:19.940 Premier Danielle Smith responds to outrage from treaty chiefs and defends her government's approach, stating that Indigenous rights will be respected, but democratic processes will continue.
00:00:31.180 Smith also told Ontario Premier Doug Ford to butt out of Alberta's affairs after he criticized Western separatism.
00:00:38.860 Meanwhile, NDP leader Nahid Nenshi launched a campaign accusing Smith of promoting separation, with similar pushback from Smith's Western colleague.
00:00:47.520 However, Quebec's Sovereignist praised her for standing up to Ottawa.
00:00:52.040 Plus, True North has compiled a list of the key players organizing the push for independence, from grassroots groups to political parties.
00:01:00.600 My name's Isaac Lamoureux, your host of the Alberta Roundup. We'll cover all of these stories and more today.
00:01:06.260 Let's hop into that first exclusive now.
00:01:08.340 Despite fierce criticism from Indigenous leaders and the Alberta NDP, legal experts say Indigenous leaders and communities cannot block a province-wide vote on separation.
00:01:18.480 Canadian Constitution Foundation lawyer Josh DeHaas told True North there's nothing in the law that would give First Nations veto power over a referendum or the negotiations that would follow.
00:01:28.740 He said, quote,
00:01:30.200 There is nothing I'm aware of that would suggest that First Nations people could prevent those discussions from taking place.
00:01:36.920 Even where treaties exist within Canada, the law is clear.
00:01:40.000 That it is the crown that is sovereign and holds the underlying title to all of the land.
00:01:44.260 DeHaas cited the Supreme Court of Canada's 1998 Quebec secession reference, noting that a successful referendum on a clear question
00:01:52.520 would trigger a constitutional obligation for Ottawa and the provinces to negotiate the terms of separation.
00:01:59.080 The legal clarification followed an emergency meeting of Treaty 6, 7, and 8 chiefs on Tuesday.
00:02:05.920 During the meeting, Indigenous leaders denounced Smith and Bill 54, the legislation that lowers the bar for citizen-initiated referenda,
00:02:14.360 and lays the groundwork for a potential 2026 vote on Alberta's independence.
00:02:18.540 However, Smith said her government is still many steps away from any potential vote and would not support any referendum question that infringes on treaty rights.
00:02:28.940 At a Tuesday press conference, Smith said, quote,
00:02:32.260 You can't vote away treaty rights. You can't vote away Indigenous rights.
00:02:36.140 You can't have a referendum on things that are enshrined in our various constitutional conventions and laws and court decisions.
00:02:43.280 While Smith made it clear that her government would not put forward an independence vote,
00:02:47.040 Quote, she said she would respect a citizen-led initiative if it met the 177,000 signature threshold under the new legislation.
00:02:55.520 Constitutional lawyer Keith Wilson has also been outspoken about the impact of First Nations groups if a referendum vote were to occur.
00:03:03.180 He said, quote,
00:03:04.320 Respectfully, the chiefs would benefit from legal advice. They don't have a veto on whether Alberta separates.
00:03:10.380 Wilson noted that Indigenous communities could choose whether to maintain their current treaty arrangements with Ottawa,
00:03:16.400 transition to new treaties with the sovereign Alberta,
00:03:19.060 or negotiate an entirely new framework but only if separation occurs.
00:03:23.840 He clearly outlined the legal separation process in several of his posts to X.
00:03:28.480 Firstly, any eligible voter would be able to vote in an independence referendum with no person or group receiving special treatment.
00:03:36.360 Upon a successful vote, the province of Alberta, First Nations from Alberta, the other provinces,
00:03:42.180 and the federal government are all legally required to engage in good-faith negotiations to establish terms.
00:03:48.560 Therefore, the First Nations would be able to remain with Canada and maintain the status quo, 0.88
00:03:53.540 request that the new independent Alberta take them with the existing treaties,
00:03:57.000 or negotiate new treaties with Alberta.
00:03:59.780 The First Nations would make this decision for themselves.
00:04:03.300 Wilson added that thanks to the 1930 Natural Resource Transfer Agreement,
00:04:07.920 the government of Alberta owns almost all of the land and oil and gas in Alberta.
00:04:12.480 A spokesperson for Smith told True North that she has stated unequivocally
00:04:16.380 that she would commit to protecting, upholding, and honoring the rights of First Nations, MĂ©tis, and Inuit people.
00:04:22.720 Smith said, quote,
00:04:24.040 Any citizen-initiated referendum question must not violate the constitutional rights of First Nations, MĂ©tis, and Inuit peoples
00:04:31.620 and must uphold and honor treaties 6, 7, and 8 should any referendum question ever pass.
00:04:38.580 This is non-negotiable.
00:04:40.360 For our next story, we'll cover Smith's defense from Eastern backlash over separation talks.
00:04:45.780 Now, you might think this was from Ottawa, but it was actually Ontario Premier Doug Ford who was coming at Smith.
00:04:52.240 She told him to mind his own business.
00:04:54.920 Smith said, quote,
00:04:56.160 I don't tell him how he should run his province, and I would hope that he doesn't tell me how I should run mine.
00:05:01.580 But we have a very respectful relationship, and I hope that continues.
00:05:05.580 Smith threw a subtle shot right back at Ford. 0.96
00:05:07.960 She said, quote,
00:05:09.540 In fact, I think we supported different people in the last federal election,
00:05:14.080 suggesting that Ford, despite being a conservative premier, might have voted for Mark Carney.
00:05:19.480 Smith's response came after Ford targeted the independence movement.
00:05:23.580 He said, quote,
00:05:24.420 This is a time to unite the country, not people saying, oh, I'm leaving the country.
00:05:28.940 As of right now, Smith predicted that just over 30% of Albertans would support a separation referendum.
00:05:35.720 While it was initially expected that a separation referendum could occur at Alberta's next municipal elections in October 2025,
00:05:43.020 Smith revealed this was unlikely given the new 120-day collection period up from the previous 90.
00:05:49.400 She pledged that Albertans would see a referendum in 2026 if the legal threshold was met.
00:05:54.580 Independent of that, Smith announced she would appoint a special negotiating team to represent Alberta in meeting with Ottawa.
00:06:02.160 The group's goal would be to create a binding agreement called the Alberta Accord.
00:06:07.000 The plan also includes Smith chairing the Alberta Next panel,
00:06:10.860 which will consist of leaders in the judicial, academic, and economic spheres.
00:06:15.680 The panel will conduct various online and in-person town halls to discuss Alberta's future in Canada and propose a referenda.
00:06:23.760 Despite not putting her government support behind separation, Smith defended the Albertans backing the movement.
00:06:30.800 She said, quote,
00:06:32.140 The vast majority of these individuals are not fringe voices to be marginalized or vilified.
00:06:37.880 They are loyal Albertans.
00:06:39.140 They are, quite literally, our friends and neighbors who've just had enough of having their livelihoods and prosperity attacked by a hostile federal government.
00:06:47.160 Smith's negotiating team will make various demands of the federal government, including guaranteed access to tidewater ports for Alberta's resources,
00:06:56.060 Ottawa repealing federal legislation that hinders Alberta's energy sector,
00:07:00.540 protection against federal export taxes without Alberta's consent,
00:07:04.860 and equitable per capita federal transfers and equalization payments.
00:07:09.080 The specific policy Smith demanded the federal government repeal included Bill C-69,
00:07:15.120 aka the No More Pipelines Act,
00:07:16.900 the oil tanker ban,
00:07:18.540 the net-zero electricity regulations,
00:07:20.740 the oil and gas emissions cap,
00:07:22.520 the net-zero vehicle mandate,
00:07:24.200 and any other federal law regulating carbon emissions,
00:07:27.500 plastics,
00:07:28.260 or infringing on the free speech of energy companies.
00:07:31.280 Alberta beat the Feds in court on both Bill C-69
00:07:34.160 and Ottawa's attempt to regulate plastics.
00:07:37.020 Despite this, the Liberals have ignored the court decisions, according to Smith.
00:07:41.620 Alberta also recently launched a new court challenge on net-zero regulations,
00:07:45.620 and the provincial government is preparing to challenge the energy production cap.
00:07:49.720 While Smith was announcing the new teams on Monday,
00:07:52.100 she explained that strong and free is more than just Alberta's motto.
00:07:56.380 She said,
00:07:57.060 quote,
00:07:57.380 For our next story,
00:08:15.460 we'll take a look at an intra-provincial feud taking place in Alberta.
00:08:19.740 So despite Smith clearly distancing herself from the separatist movement,
00:08:24.340 putting it in the citizens' hands,
00:08:26.520 Alberta NDP leader Nahid Nenshi has launched a campaign accusing Smith of pushing separatism.
00:08:32.620 The campaign website,
00:08:34.300 Separatist Smith,
00:08:35.500 claims that Smith wants Alberta to leave Canada
00:08:37.800 and is aggressively pushing a radical separatist agenda.
00:08:41.460 It also urges Albertans to tell Danielle Smith to shove her separatism
00:08:45.480 back in the closet where it belongs.
00:08:47.900 Nenshi's push came after Smith clarified her non-involvement.
00:08:51.680 She said,
00:08:52.400 quote,
00:08:52.580 I specifically said we would not be bringing forward as a government
00:08:56.420 a question on the issue of independence.
00:08:58.640 So it would be up to individuals to draft that question
00:09:01.440 and go through a process with lawyers that they might consult.
00:09:04.260 Nenshi and the Alberta NDP have insisted the premier support for Bill 54
00:09:08.880 is equivalent to promoting separatism.
00:09:12.020 However,
00:09:12.480 Smith has also stated that she wants support for separation to go down,
00:09:16.320 not up,
00:09:17.060 and that she is focused on negotiating a stronger deal within Canada.
00:09:21.700 NDP MLA Brooks Arkan Paul
00:09:24.000 claimed that Smith was already impacting Indigenous treaty rights
00:09:27.100 simply by allowing a referendum framework to exist.
00:09:31.380 Nenshi further alleged that while Smith unequivocally
00:09:34.040 said no referendum would be allowed to infringe on treaty rights,
00:09:37.400 every referendum question will infringe on treaty rights,
00:09:40.460 according to him.
00:09:41.840 While Smith is not advocating for any petition from her government,
00:09:45.240 Nenshi has called on Albertans to sign his own petition
00:09:47.740 on his new website.
00:09:49.940 Constitutional lawyer Keith Wilson said,
00:09:52.120 quote,
00:09:52.420 While Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has hinted that he too would support citizens making their own decisions on separation,
00:10:11.940 BC Premier David Eby went the other direction.
00:10:15.220 Like Smith,
00:10:16.800 Moe said he'd rather strengthen the province within Canada,
00:10:19.800 but he also noted how many Saskatchewanians did not support the Liberals in the federal election,
00:10:25.740 and that a citizen-initiated referendum in Saskatchewan would be honored.
00:10:30.160 However,
00:10:30.800 BC Premier David Eby suggested that the two premiers,
00:10:34.460 Smith and Moe,
00:10:35.580 should instead rule with an iron fist,
00:10:37.860 pushing back strongly against any kind of separatist sentiment in their provinces.
00:10:42.280 Eby said any idea of BC separating was a non-starter.
00:10:47.360 He said,
00:10:48.520 But I certainly encourage them all,
00:10:49.940 Premier Smith,
00:10:50.600 Premier Moe,
00:10:51.600 and I believe that they're on board for this,
00:10:54.600 to work together for the good of the country,
00:10:56.860 to hold the country together,
00:10:58.480 and to push back strongly on any kind of separatist sentiment.
00:11:02.500 Eby also took aim at conservative MLA David Williams,
00:11:06.060 who he said made a dumb move by sharing a Western separatist map.
00:11:10.320 Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Leach criticized Eby for sounding a little dictatorial
00:11:16.880 and calling on the premiers to crush the Western independence movement
00:11:20.280 rather than sit with them to understand their concerns.
00:11:24.540 She said,
00:11:25.200 Believe it or not,
00:11:43.880 Smith also got the support of an Eastern Provincial Party.
00:11:47.980 Smith gained support from the Parti Québécois,
00:11:50.400 the Provincial Quebec Separatist Party,
00:11:52.460 not to be confused with the federal Bloc Québécois.
00:11:56.040 Party leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said,
00:11:59.340 Plamondon praised Smith's threat of a referendum to attain leverage over the federal government.
00:12:19.660 The Parti Québécois launched referendums on Quebec sovereignty twice,
00:12:24.540 in 1980 and 1995,
00:12:26.620 both of which failed.
00:12:28.500 However, St-Pierre Plamondon vows Quebec will see a third referendum by 2030
00:12:33.620 should his party form government after next year's provincial election.
00:12:37.660 He also took shots at Quebec Premier François Legault through Smith.
00:12:41.500 Plamondon said,
00:12:42.280 What a striking gesture to see Danielle Smith do more in terms of autonomy and defense of her own province
00:12:48.360 than François Legault has done over his entire mandate.
00:12:52.640 For our last story today, we'll do a quick overview of a list that True North compiled
00:12:56.700 on the key players behind Alberta's separation movement,
00:12:59.940 from grassroots groups to political parties and influential online organizers.
00:13:05.100 First up, the Alberta Prosperity Project is one of the largest educational organizations
00:13:09.900 pushing for a referendum, and had just under 150,000 Albertans registered by Thursday.
00:13:16.260 The project isn't a political party, but plans to begin the official 120-day signature collection process
00:13:22.760 once it gathers enough pre-signatures and Elections Alberta gives approval of the petition.
00:13:28.620 The project is advocating for Alberta to hold a referendum that would give the provincial government
00:13:33.380 a mandate to negotiate its place within or outside of the Confederation.
00:13:38.220 The group also advocates for the creation of an Alberta pension plan, Alberta police force,
00:13:43.940 and provincial control over resource development, taxation, immigration, and employment insurance.
00:13:49.780 Another petition, the Alberta Separation-slash-Western Alliance petition,
00:13:54.360 has been circulating on Change.org for several years, and it recently found renewed attention.
00:13:59.280 With over 225,000 signatures, the petition calls for Alberta and other Western provinces,
00:14:05.920 like BC, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, to enter survival mode and begin polling public support
00:14:11.940 for separation from the rest of Canada.
00:14:14.540 Although this petition holds no legal weight and isn't recognized under Alberta's referendum laws,
00:14:20.120 the petition continues to generate significant online attention and speaks to a broader sentiment
00:14:25.060 of Western alienation.
00:14:26.980 Then we have the Republican Party of Alberta, which is a registered political party led by Cameron Davies.
00:14:32.700 It supports joining the United States and was formerly known as the Buffalo Party.
00:14:37.840 Davies has a colorful political history and has rebranded the movement with bold claims
00:14:42.360 about Alberta's economic future under U.S. alignment.
00:14:45.980 There's also the Wild Rose Independence Party, which was formed through the merger of Wexit Alberta
00:14:50.820 and the Freedom Conservative Party in 2020.
00:14:54.200 The new party is led by G. Van Mangat and supports a sovereign Alberta within a democratic framework.
00:14:59.560 It recently co-hosted a sovereignty rally at the legislature in collaboration with the Independence Party of Alberta.
00:15:05.760 The Independence Party of Alberta was founded in 2000 and re-registered in 2019, and it goes a step further.
00:15:12.220 It wants to draft a provincial constitution and build Alberta's own military, justice system, and currency framework.
00:15:18.600 Next is Take Back Alberta, the group that once reshaped the UCP from the inside.
00:15:24.780 Founder David Parker recently wrote a piece titled,
00:15:28.220 Alberta Separatism Must Succeed, laying out why the province needs to exit what he calls a nation in terminal decline.
00:15:36.180 Parker said, quote,
00:15:37.360 He added that Prime Minister Mark Carney is the greatest threat Alberta has ever faced.
00:16:03.600 Online, several ex-accounts are helping build momentum for the movement, such as Alberta Secession Y, Alberta Separation, and Rise of Alberta.
00:16:13.060 These accounts share legal resources, organized support, and combat misinformation, especially around Indigenous veto claims.
00:16:21.420 From registered parties to digital campaigns, the Alberta sovereignty movement is no longer fringe.
00:16:26.700 It's organized, well-funded, and quickly approaching the threshold needed to trigger a historic vote.
00:16:33.180 That wraps up this week's show.
00:16:35.040 My name's Isaac Lamoureux, your host of the Alberta Roundup.
00:16:38.140 Have a great weekend, thank you, and God bless.