The Critical Compass Podcast - The Alberta Independence Movement NEEDS Professional Messaging ｜ Keith Wilson & Eva Chipiuk

00:00:00.000 I noted before that even if we have, let's say, very strong economic arguments, very strong

00:00:06.320 arguments for self-determination, that we're up a well-funded and professional political class,

00:00:12.060 and even you might say the establishment conservatives in Canada. And we have basically

00:00:18.200 an army of volunteers, many of them here, who do this as a labor of love or a passion project.

00:00:23.760 And I just wonder how, do we want to continue that way, being an army of volunteers and keeping

00:00:28.720 it's somewhat pure grassroots or somewhat more professionalizing this operation well if we want

00:00:37.700 to win we've got a transition we won't win just by doing it with the um as much as it's admirable

00:00:47.200 and i've been involved in a number of grassroots initiatives over my career uh we're not going to

00:00:53.980 win it by being the little engine that could. We're going to have to match the level of

00:01:00.100 sophistication of the campaigns that the government and the unions, that the Forever

00:01:07.480 Canada, the Vote to Stay group that Jason Kenney and the Solbergs and Mr. Taze and

00:01:16.440 Jen Gerson have recently announced last week if we don't transition from an undirected

00:01:25.840 unstrategic campaign there's a certain result and it's failure so I think we absolutely have

00:01:34.180 to transition we can't fool ourselves it's not enthusiasm's terrific essential helpful but we

00:01:43.320 We don't need to convince ourselves we're right.

00:01:47.840 We need to convince those who are very busy with their lives.

00:01:51.580 We need to convince those who don't engage with politics.

00:01:54.980 We need to convince those who get their information from legacy media.

00:01:59.760 So we need to take advantage of the opportunity to create third-party advertiser groups.

00:02:05.880 and one of the things that I'll be announcing later this week is the creation of a new group

00:02:13.620 that is going to be called Alberta's Next Step so breaking news a new group will be forming

00:02:22.460 to develop sophisticated campaigns that will take advantage of traditional media as well as social

00:02:28.800 media that will have a strategy that will have tools that the volunteers can use to be effective

00:02:35.480 that will have information and tactics and strategies to help us be successful.

00:02:49.460 Well, the question is basically how do we make this transition from being pure grassroots,

00:02:53.580 basically a volunteer army, to being more of a professional operation?

00:02:56.920 I understand the question. I just don't know if I want to answer.

00:02:59.600 Yeah.

00:03:05.480 And what bothers me with this is a lot of the other side is using our taxpayer money to fund some of these campaigns, it seems.

00:03:17.760 It's like when you're fighting in court against the government and it's taxpayer money funding it.

00:03:23.320 So it's very strategic.

00:03:26.140 They know what they're doing.

00:03:27.020 They've done this time and time again.

00:03:29.480 I'm a girl that if there's a problem, I'm ready to help solve it.

00:03:33.440 But I'll leave that one for, I'll leave Keith's sounds.

00:03:37.100 It's a tough issue because even though they have public unions funding them and the like,

00:03:42.440 they will accuse us of profiteering or, you know, throw pejoratives at us, which I think are unfair.

00:03:47.900 And the fact is, I agree with Keith that I love the volunteer army.

00:03:52.140 I mean, I just, the energy is amazing, but we need, we're taking on a formidable opponent

00:03:57.800 and we're going to have to up our game.

00:04:00.180 We have already a decentralized campaign.

00:04:02.840 I mean, obviously, Alberta independence is decentralization, so it fits with our personalities

00:04:06.900 that we have a movement that is decentralized.

00:04:09.500 Are there particular gaps or vacuums in that mosaic where we really need to create new

00:04:16.100 organizations or produce more content that you just think of being overlooked?

00:04:19.980 I mean, right now, for example, obviously, the First Nations leadership challenge is

00:04:25.580 one where I personally am not so well versed, but it seems like that's an area that could

00:04:29.640 do with more interest.

00:04:30.520 So maybe you want to talk about the other one, Eva?

00:04:31.760 Yeah, sure.

00:04:32.840 um that is one and there's so much misinformation and confusion on that one that makes my head spin

00:04:40.120 the amount of misinformation on that one but apart from the first nations i definitely think

00:04:45.560 that the urban areas and vote need to be really targeted and youth women's movement is doing very

00:04:54.040 well i think you need to have different messaging and different outlets of speaking to people with

00:05:00.520 the different types of demographics like the alberta women's independence movement and i never

00:05:06.480 get that whole name correct sorry angela who i know is in the room network anyway and when and so

00:05:17.040 they they have a different way of approaching women at the kitchen table and i think it's a more

00:05:21.440 gentle approach for women students going to campuses and i actually just volunteered myself

00:05:27.060 to go with John, who wears the flag, and talks to people on the street, but I want to go to the

00:05:33.620 university because I want to hear what they're saying. So those are two areas. And of course,

00:05:39.020 urban, like I mentioned, First Nations, of course, that's a discussion that it just needs to happen

00:05:45.800 because it's become so confused with the court decisions, unnecessarily so. It appears people

00:05:53.520 believe and even the courts at this point think that there's a veto for first nations and that's

00:05:58.720 totally incorrect um so engaging in that conversation of course is very important

00:06:05.520 i would just add that um you know one of the things i'd suggested in a

00:06:11.040 podcast i did or a youtube video was that those who are motivated self-organize into functional

00:06:18.480 groups so for example veterans for independence and farmers for independence and and first nations

00:06:25.200 for independence there is a lot of support in the first nations community as every one of you in

00:06:29.840 this room knows some of the most active canvassers were for our first nations so that's the way what

00:06:36.880 you need to understand is the third party the election finance laws in alberta are you know

00:06:45.040 if I'm trying to find something simple to compare it to, I start reading the Income Tax Act.

00:06:50.540 It is so complicated. So just to give you a quick, not a detailed brief, but just so you have an

00:06:57.620 awareness. If you're going to advocate for a result in the upcoming referendum, and you're

00:07:03.860 going to spend money, and you're going to receive money, you have to register as a third-party

00:07:09.300 advertiser, okay? The maximum amount anybody can donate as an Albertan or an Alberta company

00:07:16.940 throughout the entirety of the campaign is $5,000. So if there's some rich guy, he cannot give $5,000

00:07:24.060 to one group and $5,000, he can give $1,000 to five groups, $5,000 total. The most that a group

00:07:29.700 can receive and spend is $600,000. Why is it that Jason Kenney and this new group that the Soul

00:07:36.780 just started didn't just help forever canada because they want to be able to spend 1.2 million

00:07:42.720 that's why right so they're going to have five or six or eight or ten different groups

00:07:47.800 so that they can focus their energies and advance on the battlefield and the independent side needs

00:07:53.920 to do the same thing this is not something that's capable of one super group because

00:07:59.960 of the election finance laws

00:08:06.780 Thank you.

The Critical Compass Podcast - May 27, 2026

The Alberta Independence Movement NEEDS Professional Messaging ｜ Keith Wilson & Eva Chipiuk

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