00:01:33.300ladies and gentlemen amazing news today the alberta independence movement just hit a massive
00:01:58.900milestone. Alberta Patriots did it. They actually did it. Canvassers, volunteers, every single
00:02:06.460person who showed up, signed, and pushed this forward, you made this happen. The signature
00:02:13.200goal has officially been reached, and not just reached, shattered way ahead of schedule too.
00:02:20.460The deadline is actually May the 2nd, and according to leadership, we're already well
00:02:25.580past that target let that sink in for a moment and you better believe Ottawa's watching this
00:02:30.980very very closely right now and they're probably panicking. Good afternoon organizers of a petition
00:02:39.120supporting Alberta independence say they have collected the required amount of signatures to
00:02:43.600trigger a province-wide vote. About 10 percent of eligible voters or roughly 177,000 signatures are
00:02:51.100needed under the province's citizen initiative rules. Hitting it could open the door to a
00:02:56.700referendum as soon as October 19th. But first, every signature still needs to be verified by
00:03:02.840Elections Alberta. The head of the Alberta Prosperity Project says he's confident the
00:03:08.340petition has everything it needs and expects it will end up exceeding the requirements.
00:03:13.900We've got the statutory number, a good buffer, and then we've got another
00:03:20.66029 or 30 boxes of completed signature sheets on their way to be delivered and counted.
00:03:27.160The Alberta independence petition has until May 2nd to keep gathering signatures.
00:03:32.900Okay, so what do we do now? Well, we keep going. We act like we're not even close to done because
00:03:40.180this isn't about hitting a number anymore. This is about making a statement, a statement to the
00:03:46.540federal government a statement to eastern canada a reminder that albertans are done with the current
00:03:53.080situation and we just want to form our own country at this point so if you haven't signed go sign
00:03:59.080if you know people who haven't signed bring them and most importantly keep talking about alberta
00:04:06.100independence because momentum like this this is how movements turn into reality
00:04:11.580Some of the major voices behind a separation movement in Alberta say it was never in doubt
00:04:18.500but they say they have reached the required number of signatures to send their question to a provincial vote.
00:04:24.680Organizers of Stay Free Alberta began canvassing earlier this year
00:04:28.260aiming for nearly 178,000 signatures on their petition
00:04:32.060asking to add a question regarding provincial independence on an upcoming referendum.
00:04:36.980They had until May 2nd to do so but more than a month before that deadline
00:04:41.240they say they've reached the number, which represents 10% of voters in the past provincial
00:04:46.120election. We want everybody to keep working like we're 100,000 signatures behind. The more
00:04:51.560signatures we get, the more it legitimizes our movement. The group hosted rallies and signing
00:04:57.540events across the province earlier this winter, and Rath says the turnouts to those often frigid
00:05:02.900events gave them confidence they'd get over the finish line. The province is hosting a referendum
00:05:07.820on several questions on october 19th october is coming fast and you better believe the federal
00:05:14.300liberals are paying very close attention to what's happening in alberta right now i've said this
00:05:20.060before and i'll say it again they're not gonna let go of the golden goose that is alberta without a
00:05:25.820fight so expect things to get more intense summer fall that's when things are gonna heat up and
00:05:32.620that's exactly why right now we double down we push harder than ever because this isn't just
00:05:39.660politics this might be one of the most important moments in alberta's history and if you're
00:05:44.780starting to see more attacks on this movement that's a good thing because that means one thing
00:05:51.500they're worried i i think look um the real problem here is if the trump administration
00:05:58.300has been willing to meet with Canadian separatists in secret, which is a clear intervention
00:06:06.920in our domestic politics. We get quite rightly exercised when we see this happening,
00:06:13.300this kind of interference in our domestic politics from the People's Republic of China.
00:06:17.200We should be equally concerned when we see it coming from the United States.
00:06:20.540The comments of Secretary Besant demonstrate mischief is at play here,
00:06:25.520And I would not be, given the way that Donald Trump conducts himself, the least bit surprised if he weighs in heavily on this prospective referendum.
00:06:36.420I think the government of Canada should be sending very clear signals that that would be a bridge too far to step into an effort to tear apart our country.
00:06:46.840we could not tolerate that. There would have to be sanctions and an effort to create an alliance
00:06:52.740like Denmark did very effectively against Trump's threats to invade and annex Greenland.
00:06:57.640You know, there is very little that brings me more satisfaction than seeing the political elites
00:07:03.040eat crow. Seeing the government-funded talking heads from the shamelessly prostituted Canadian
00:07:08.780mainstream media is a close second, though, I must admit. Alberta independence is the underdog,
00:07:14.940a movement that has had very few friends in the Canadian establishment.
00:07:20.080Zero attempts have been made to try to sincerely understand what's driving this effort,
00:07:25.800particularly from our so-called political leaders in the federal government.
00:07:30.920By contrast, many of you will remember that when Quebec was campaigning for its second referendum to exit Canada,
00:07:38.300the entire country found itself on its knees, begging the French-speaking province to stay,
00:07:43.980messages like we love you and we appreciate you please don't leave us we're commonplace
00:07:50.460on the other side of the argument for Albertans no such luck insults sabotage and shame dominate
00:07:59.320the discourse of those who oppose Albertan self-determination but Albertans are a tough
00:08:05.140people and we like it that way it makes the divorce that much easier Alberta has been treated
00:08:11.720unfairly for decades long before that. We've built roads, rail, power, jobs, and prosperity
00:08:17.300for this country. Yet we've been told to keep quiet and be grateful while sending $20 billion
00:08:22.860a year more to Ottawa than when received back in funding each year. In fact, since 1980,
00:08:28.660Alberta has contributed $653 billion more to federal taxes than we received back. That means
00:08:35.580well over half a trillion dollars went directly from Alberta to fund other provinces, mostly with
00:08:41.440economies larger than ours through programs, transfers, and equalization. And despite this,
00:08:46.880we have continued to be the economic engine and job-creating juggernaut of this country and have
00:08:52.000opened our province to those from every corner of Canada looking for work and opportunity. And when
00:08:57.200we point out these facts, how do Ottawa politicians and eastern elites respond? Our concerns are