PJ The Belt - May 13, 2025


Alberta Says LAST GOODBYE To Canada？ - Official Referendum Question Presented! - Update


Episode Stats

Length

8 minutes

Words per Minute

146.30296

Word Count

1,205

Sentence Count

67

Misogynist Sentences

1


Summary

The Alberta Separation Project is a group that is trying to force a referendum on Alberta's separation from Canada. The group says it already has more than the 177,000 signatures required by the province for a referendum, and they plan to push the premier to fast-track the vote for later this year, instead of next year.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Do you agree that the province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a
00:00:08.000 province of Canada? Yes or no? Organizers say more than 1,000 supporters attended a
00:00:17.520 hall in Calgary last night. It's one of 50 events planned as part of their province-wide
00:00:23.480 campaign to push for Alberta sovereignty. The group says it already has more supporters than
00:00:28.360 the 177,000 required by the province to force a referendum. They plan to push the
00:00:33.940 premier to fast-track the vote for later this year instead of next year. She
00:00:38.680 understands now that over 65% of the UCP base are on side with what we're
00:00:45.600 offering Albertans. There's nothing that Mark Carney can offer Alberta. He's
00:00:49.900 certainly not going to offer us freedom from federal regulation. The Alberta
00:00:54.740 Prosperity Project says once it's ready to officially collect signatures, plans to hit
00:01:00.020 all 87 Alberta ridings. Hey everybody, PJ here. Last night in Calgary, the Alberta
00:01:07.680 Prosperity Project had a major event where over 1,000 Albertans showed up with hundreds
00:01:14.260 more outside, which is pretty significant considering that the event was competing
00:01:19.300 with an Oilers playoff game last night. All these people came out to hear one
00:01:23.980 thing. The official referendum question on Alberta independence. Yes, the actual
00:01:30.680 question that could be on a ballot soon. And they're not interested in dragging this
00:01:35.240 out until 2026, as proposed by the government of Alberta. Nope. They're pushing hard for a
00:01:42.300 vote this year, 2025. They said they'll be holding town halls and other events
00:01:47.560 throughout the province beginning this summer, including a door knocking campaign.
00:01:52.240 So I am very proud to announce that we have an official referendum questions for the
00:01:58.440 referendum petition campaign that we would like to introduce today. So gentlemen, if you
00:02:02.840 could excuse me for a minute, I'll try to do this without pulling down the signboard. That
00:02:11.160 is the question that will be on the ballot for the Alberta referendum. It states quite
00:02:17.360 simply, do you agree that the province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and
00:02:23.860 cease to be a province of Canada? Yes or no?
00:02:30.240 The Alberta separatism movement front and center in Calgary Monday night, with supporters packing
00:02:36.040 a banquet hall to discuss why they think their province should leave Canada. And CTV's Scott
00:02:42.380 Hurst joins us now with the latest on that development. Scott, good to see you. Could a
00:02:45.880 separation referendum in Alberta actually become a reality?
00:02:49.560 It's really looking to take the reins and get the issue of Western alienation, Western separation,
00:02:57.560 actually to a referendum vote. Now this group, the Alberta Prosperity Project on Monday says it has gathered and
00:03:05.700 collected online support of some 240,000 Albertans for independence. Of course, online support then
00:03:12.740 needs to translate for this group into signatures on a petition in order to get it to a referendum. But
00:03:18.580 this group has also proposed the exact question it wants on a ballot. And it reads, do you agree that the
00:03:24.820 province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province of Canada? That's what the group
00:03:31.060 says it wants the question to read. Now, the group on its website also has a stated goal of empowering
00:03:36.580 Alberta to pursue prosperity, self-determination and sovereignty and going on to say that Alberta
00:03:43.220 risks remaining, quote, perpetually subservient to the interests of Eastern Canada. So this is the group
00:03:48.900 that is looking to take the reins and get this issue of Western alienation and ultimately Western
00:03:53.860 separation, Akshay, to a referendum for the people of Alberta to ultimately decide.
00:03:59.380 How much of this, we've seen a lot of criticism actually, you know, target the Premier herself
00:04:04.980 on the manner in which they are saying she has stoked separatism. So has the Alberta government
00:04:09.780 made it easier to call a provincial referendum? Actually, we've heard from the Alberta Premier
00:04:14.420 multiple times and she says she does not ultimately support the initiative but says she will respect any
00:04:20.740 outcome of a referendum vote. Now we have seen recent polling that suggests that there is some public
00:04:26.180 support for Western separation, separation in Alberta, but it does fall at this time, according
00:04:31.940 to polling, far short of a majority. Now, despite her pushback against Ottawa, specifically the previous
00:04:38.500 Liberal government, and now Danielle Smith stating her priorities for the Kearney Liberal government,
00:04:44.180 Smith has said she's focused on getting a better deal ultimately for Albertans. The Premier,
00:04:50.100 however, has introduced a bill, if passed, would make it easier for Albertans to launch referendums
00:04:54.420 on various topics. This legislation would both significantly reduce the number of signatures
00:04:59.140 required and extend the time period for signatures to be collected. Now, Smith, as I mentioned,
00:05:04.340 has repeatedly said she doesn't want to separate but says she needs to respect the voices of Albertans.
00:05:10.340 Now, as this groundswell of Western separation, Alberta separation has gained some steam. We've also
00:05:15.620 heard from First Nations group and they've ramped up their talk by saying First Nations groups condemn
00:05:21.460 any talk of separating Akshay. As I reported in a previous video, the Premier of Alberta,
00:05:28.020 Daniel Smith, lower the number of signatures needed to trigger a referendum from 600,000 down to only
00:05:34.820 177,000. That's a game-changer, obviously. The Alberta Prosperity Project has more than 240,000
00:05:43.540 people in their website currently. To be clear, the Premier says she's not in favor of separating from
00:05:49.940 Canada, but she's also said that she'll respect whatever Albertans decide. Imagine that. A politician
00:05:57.380 actually willing to follow the will of the people. No wonder Eastern Canada hates her.
00:06:02.980 Then there's the whole talk about how Alberta separation violates Indigenous treaty rights,
00:06:08.100 which is still false, by the way, as I've said several times in this channel. But expect those
00:06:13.940 against the Alberta independence movement to come up with a multitude of reasons why we couldn't
00:06:18.900 or shouldn't separate. At the end of the day, Albertans will have their choice.
00:06:24.020 In the heart of the North, where the Rockies stand unyielding and the Prairies stretch boundless,
00:06:47.860 there is a land forged by grit, fire, and freedom. This is Alberta, a beacon of strength,
00:06:55.540 a crucible of dreams, a people unbroken. For generations, we've tamed the wild,
00:07:03.620 carved prosperity from the earth, and built a legacy with our hands. Alberta is more than a place,
00:07:09.860 it's a spirit. It's a spirit, resilient, defiant, unbowed by storms, bureaucracy, or doubt. Our
00:07:17.700 roots run deep, anchored in the soil of self-reliance and the iron of resolve. Our strength is not one
00:07:24.740 node, but a symphony. Alberta's economy thrives on diversity. The world craves Alberta oil and gas,
00:07:33.460 while our fields feed nations. Yet beyond these giants, we innovate and soar. From cutting-edge
00:07:40.420 technology and urban hubs to renewable energy lighting the future, from vibrant tourism in
00:07:45.700 our mountains to manufacturing and forestry that build tomorrow, Alberta is a mosaic of enterprise.
00:07:51.940 A land where every industry fuels our independence, and every worker shapes our wealth.
00:07:58.340 All right, thanks for watching. Thank you for subscribing. Special thanks to those of you who
00:08:02.740 have donated to this project. It is much appreciated and it helps me continue making videos. See you on the
00:08:08.660 next one. Peace.