PJ The Belt - July 10, 2026


Alberta Separation SURGES!! — The Federalists are PANICKING


Episode Stats


Length

9 minutes

Words per minute

160.34

Word count

1,449

Sentence count

104

Harmful content

Misogyny

3

sentences flagged


Summary

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

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
00:00:00.000 We're up against that. We're up against the two highest fundraising organizations are both separatists,
00:00:05.340 and they're out raising my organization more than 10 to 1.
00:00:08.780 It says to me that the level of discontent with Alberta's treatment within Confederation is strong.
00:00:16.040 Who do these people think they are? Well, they are an angry people, and they have every reason to be angry.
00:00:21.940 From the time the provinces were founded, when Alberta and Saskatchewan were not given the natural resources powers that other provinces had,
00:00:29.140 our burdens have been put upon by a central Canadian elite that looks at them as something
00:00:34.840 of a colony. And you can say, well, there's very little chance that the referendum has hanging.
00:00:38.960 People thought that about the Brexit referendum too. And look what that led to for the future
00:00:44.700 of the United Kingdom. And then you have the growing independence movement in Saskatchewan,
00:00:49.060 where the people are also sick and tired of what Canada has become after 11 years of liberal
00:00:55.120 governments. Some in Saskatchewan are speaking out over their desire for separatism with one
00:01:00.160 organization already leading town halls across the province. The Saskatchewan Prosperity Project
00:01:04.840 is heading the initiative to talk Saskatchewan independence. A lot of people in Saskatchewan
00:01:10.360 never asked themselves the honest question what would it look like if we were our own country. I
00:01:13.780 know I hadn't. William says the group has delivered more than 40 presentations and is working in
00:01:19.260 coordination with a similar pro-independence organization in Alberta. And we hope someday
00:01:24.320 we could join them and actu
00:01:26.360 united because I think Al
00:01:28.460 would be a powerhouse. Al
00:01:30.900 is seemingly growing in S
00:01:32.820 Alberta's movement. There
00:01:34.900 along the way. While some
00:01:37.040 leaders have previously s
00:01:38.660 the idea of Alberta's sep
00:01:42.200 says it's been in communi
00:01:44.340 leaders in Saskatchewan. We
00:01:46.880 do want to talk to the fir
00:01:48.840 involved. The future of th
00:01:50.940 in Saskatchewan remains un
00:01:53.980 provincial autonomy continues to be debated in western Canada. The Choose Alberta lawn and
00:01:59.080 highway signs have been appearing all over rural Alberta as third-party advertiser Corey Morgan
00:02:04.320 spends the tens of thousands of dollars his group has raised. We started just at the end of May,
00:02:10.200 right at the beginning of June. Honestly, I really only expected to raise a few thousand dollars and
00:02:14.640 make a few hundred signs. Since then, we're over a hundred thousand dollars and have put out, well,
00:02:19.940 We've got 12,000 signs that have been made.
00:02:21.740 According to numbers posted by Elections Alberta,
00:02:24.240 most of the over $400,000 raised so far by third-party advertisers
00:02:28.980 is for groups supporting separation.
00:02:31.620 As of July 2nd, Let Alberta Decide has raised over $200,000.
00:02:36.360 Pathway to independence, over $82,000.
00:02:39.280 That's compared to the leading federalist group, Alberta's Voice,
00:02:42.200 with just $26,000 raised so far.
00:02:44.880 We're up against that.
00:02:45.780 We're up against the two highest fundraising organizations
00:02:48.820 are both separatists and they're out raising my organization more than 10 to 1.
00:02:53.580 Elections Alberta requires all third-party advertisers submit contribution reports weekly
00:02:58.520 and only Alberta residents are allowed to donate up to a maximum of $5,000 each.
00:03:04.160 These are not large donations. These are smaller donations from over 1,000 Albertans
00:03:09.020 and it says to me that the level of discontent with Alberta's treatment within Confederation is strong.
00:03:16.460 The Prime Minister of Canada has a huge Alberta problem right now.
00:03:20.880 You can see it on his face.
00:03:22.640 Because Alberta separation is not slowing down.
00:03:26.100 It's getting bigger.
00:03:27.520 And I think Ottawa is starting to realize they may have made a massive mistake.
00:03:32.700 Because after a judge stepped in and tried to shut down the independence petition,
00:03:37.700 Albertans didn't back down.
00:03:39.380 They got angrier, more determined.
00:03:42.160 They tried to stop this movement.
00:03:43.680 And somehow, it only made it stronger.
00:03:46.460 That's the part these people don't understand.
00:03:49.220 Every media attack, every threat, every court decision
00:03:53.420 just convinces more Albertans that something is seriously broken in this country.
00:03:59.320 And now Mark Carney is being forced to answer questions
00:04:02.300 about Alberta separation everywhere he goes.
00:04:05.480 Morning news, press conferences, political panels.
00:04:09.620 This is becoming a national issue now, and he hates it.
00:04:13.460 Last June, the Alberta Prosperity Project published a document outlining a fiscal plan
00:04:19.020 for an independent Alberta. It suggests with more Alberta control and no federal taxes or
00:04:24.440 equalization, we could see a $45 billion surplus. The plan expects oil and gas production would
00:04:30.740 increase. Direct revenue would jump by as much as 132% by 2045. GST would disappear,
00:04:38.340 but a 5% sales tax would be created, as would new land taxes.
00:04:42.900 Personal income tax could be eliminated.
00:04:45.860 I think it's very realistic.
00:04:47.740 I don't think that there's any question that it can be.
00:04:50.540 There's nations that, you know, basically have, like Saudi Arabia, for example.
00:04:55.100 Why are Albertans upset?
00:04:57.180 This is the Texas of Canada.
00:04:59.300 Equalization payments, this is where they take tax dollars
00:05:02.220 and they give them to the provinces who are more liberal
00:05:06.380 and the provinces that do better are the ones that have to take their excess dollars
00:05:11.920 and get given to everybody else.
00:05:13.680 Will you please look at the Canadian provinces and the bar chart that says AB.
00:05:19.060 You see that, Pat?
00:05:20.300 That's Alberta. 1.00
00:05:22.120 Look how high it sticks up. 0.99
00:05:24.280 Alberta makes tax dollars. 0.99
00:05:26.940 Look who gets the tax dollars.
00:05:29.600 Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba.
00:05:34.480 Look at that.
00:05:35.080 this is why the people of alberta are upset they're the equalization payments are going to
00:05:40.540 the other provinces in other words the ones they can't carry their own weight with liberal policies
00:05:44.920 and look at that it sticks up it's just shocking you find that shocking jeff it's crazy i mean
00:05:51.940 why do you think they want to secede so look this is where we're at right now they try to
00:05:56.620 slow this thing down they try to put a wall in front of it and it didn't work it did the exact
00:06:02.280 opposite. More people are paying attention, more people are getting involved and the momentum is
00:06:07.940 clearly building. Canada has been our home for all of our lives and we have loved it dearly and we
00:06:12.900 still do. We just don't see another choice, another option for the future of our children.
00:06:19.360 Their frustration with what they call dangerous federal policies and financial inequality
00:06:24.860 has been building for years. For them, the movement offers a reset and renewed hope.
00:06:31.580 Even if it doesn't work out, it's not a waste of time.
00:06:35.520 We are sending a clear message to Ottawa.
00:06:37.920 According to an Angus Reid poll from last week,
00:06:40.920 35% of respondents said they would vote for the province
00:06:44.280 to hold a binding referendum on separation.
00:06:47.620 60% said they want to remain part of Canada.
00:06:51.440 Independence leaders say they want to stop federal equalization payments,
00:06:55.900 reduce income taxes, and give Alberta full control over natural resources.
00:07:02.160 Those arguments resonate.
00:07:04.320 An extra 50 bucks, 100 bucks, 200 bucks on their paychecks.
00:07:08.040 That's really meaningful stuff.
00:07:10.120 It's that platform that sold Linda Stevens.
00:07:13.540 The Airdrie realtor who moved from Ontario never thought she'd support separation.
00:07:19.640 But at 56, she says she's fallen further behind than she was a decade ago.
00:07:25.320 We've lost that hope. We've lost that optimism that used to be there.
00:07:29.180 That spark. People are just nodding in silence and yep, just getting by, just getting by.
00:07:34.180 Albertans are saying we're done. It's not good enough anymore.
00:07:36.660 But their collective pursuit for change has made them a target of personal attacks.
00:07:41.700 We've had people call us traitors. We've had people yell in our face.
00:07:46.940 We've had people give us ID just to rip it out of our hands.
00:07:51.220 While the criticism hurts, they say it won't change their minds.
00:07:56.020 I have to know at the end of this that I did everything that I could to make this happen because I believe in it so much.
00:08:02.920 Now we get to the part that probably has Mark Carney sweating behind closed doors tonight.
00:08:08.000 A new poll showing 46% support for Alberta independence among First Nation respondents.
00:08:14.820 Think about that for a second.
00:08:16.080 Because Canadians have been told for years that this movement is supposedly isolated, that absolutely nobody outside of a small group of angry Albertans supports it, let alone First Nations.
00:08:29.200 And that narrative is cracking now, whether they like it or not.
00:08:33.560 Alberta independence is becoming a national conversation, not just in Alberta, the entire country.
00:08:40.340 And that's why Carney suddenly looks so uncomfortable, inconvenienced every time this topic is brought up, because deep down, I think Ottawa understands something very dangerous right now.
00:08:53.300 This movement is surviving all of the media attacks. It's surviving pressure and it's surviving every court decision. And it's only getting bigger.