Western Standard - June 20, 2026


Keith Wilson and Tanya Clemens launches 'Alberta's Done Waiting' campaign [FULL ANNOUNCEMENT]

Mentioned
Lawyer Keith Wilson Alberta Decide Jason Kenney Justin Trudeau Tanya Clemens Dennis Kalma Mulroney Harper John
Keith Wilson and Tanya Clemens launch ＂Let Alberta Decide＂ campaign Let's hear it for Canada's dads

Episode Stats


Length

19 minutes

Words per minute

149.99

Word count

2,851

Sentence count

66


Summary

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

Let Alberta Decide is a new organization formed in response to the federal government's attempt to force a referendum on Alberta's independence from Canada. In this episode, I introduce Keith Wilson and Tanya Ward, the co-leads of Let Alberta DECIDE, to talk about their vision for the future of the organization and why they believe a referendum should be held on the Alberta independence question.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 good morning everyone how are we today fantastic so nice to see so many friendly faces here
00:00:06.560 nice to have the media here we appreciate you coming out today we really do we will have you
00:00:10.640 out of here quickly this won't be a long presentation today you'll have lots of time
00:00:14.880 to get back to your offices to write glowing reviews about what we're talking about here
00:00:20.480 today but thank you so much for coming out today uh before i introduce um uh tanya and um keith
00:00:27.200 today I want to just give you some of the ground rules we'll be doing they'll
00:00:29.660 be talking to you for a few minutes here today and afterwards we will have the
00:00:33.440 20 to 25 minute Q&A and apparently they will be doing some scrums if you'd like
00:00:38.000 to ask them some questions afterwards now we did send out a media advisory to
00:00:42.500 many of you if we missed you well done you got here today we appreciate that
00:00:48.560 but I do have some media advisories with background information here that you can
00:00:52.080 use and contact information for Keith I know I've spoken to Keith and Tanya
00:00:56.820 today about being available to you anytime you want to talk to them they're
00:01:01.780 available to chat with you so be sure to get in touch with them and they would
00:01:05.820 appreciate that I do appreciate you coming out here and hearing our side of
00:01:09.780 the story there's always two sides of the story I was in broadcasting for 35
00:01:13.580 years I know there's both sides we appreciate you telling our side of the
00:01:17.940 story today by the way there's also some media backgrounders in the back page on
00:01:22.560 the back of the room if you'd like to pick those up with information about
00:01:26.100 what's happening here today what will be discussed and a little bit about uh our speakers here today
00:01:31.700 you know it's been an interesting year i think a lot of you will agree very interesting going
00:01:36.020 back into 2025 i look back until january of this year on the second of january when we started a
00:01:43.060 petition campaign in the province and i saw a lot of friends and great people thousands of them
00:01:47.700 standing out in the snow for months collecting signatures on petitions i admire those people
00:01:53.380 greatly. We know what's happened since then, but we do have a question coming up, and I don't know
00:01:58.020 whether any of you have checked your phones recently, but four months from today is the
00:02:04.660 referendum. It's hard to believe, and the time will come quickly. It'll go by about as fast as
00:02:10.940 summer will, because you know pretty damn soon it's going to be Labor Day, and this is going to be
00:02:15.140 over quickly. We'll all be planning our Halloween costumes pretty soon. It won't be very long,
00:02:18.960 right so we've got a lot to do there's a lot of third-party advertisers aboard
00:02:23.680 that we're very proud of here this one we're very excited about today and it's
00:02:28.980 going to be amazing to see what happens over the next four months so again thank
00:02:32.920 you for coming here today we do appreciate it so what I'd like to do now
00:02:36.840 is introduce the co-leads and what we're doing today with let Alberta decide in
00:02:42.300 an amazing campaign they've got coming up over the next four months so like to
00:02:46.140 start off by introducing a man that a lot of you know already. He's becoming one
00:02:50.440 or become one of the the main voices in the Alberta independence movement. He's
00:02:55.140 really stepped up over the last little while and we appreciate that very much.
00:02:59.100 You've probably seen him on media across Canada and the United States as well. So
00:03:03.960 I'd like to introduce one of the co-leads of Let Alberta Decide, Lawyer Keith Wilson.
00:03:10.940 Thank you everyone for coming out today. As John's noted, we're four months away from
00:03:22.220 a historic opportunity for Alberta to chart a new course towards independence. And what's
00:03:30.020 really important is that as Albertans reflect on their options over the next four months,
00:03:37.700 that they have accurate, clear, authoritative information on the reasons why I believe and
00:03:47.560 Tanya believe that Albertans should vote for option two on October 19th, which is to trigger
00:03:54.080 the formal process for an independence referendum.
00:03:57.740 So to help Albertans make an informed decision, we've started this new group, this new independence
00:04:04.360 organization called let alberta decide and we also have our campaign that alberta's done waiting
00:04:14.280 canada is unique in western democracies in that our supreme court of canada in the 1998
00:04:21.320 reference decision laid out a legal pathway for a province to move towards independence
00:04:28.360 after holding a clear a clear vote on a clear question with a clear majority so why is it that
00:04:36.840 i as an albertan as a lawyer and as a father believe that this is the right course for alberta
00:04:45.240 to move towards independence and i'll say this that we know many albertans know about the
00:04:53.480 unfairness of equalization the federal constitutional program that results in
00:05:00.520 tens and tens of billions of dollars being sent to ottawa that never come back to the benefit of
00:05:07.640 albertas but it's more structural than that the way the electoral structure is in the constitutional
00:05:14.680 structure of canada alberta never gets a voice we won't get a voice we can't have a voice
00:05:20.520 because decisions are always made in ottawa as determined by the wishes of the voters in quebec
00:05:27.400 and ontario so we have a structural problem and we have effectively we're treated as a colony
00:05:37.240 where we send the money and we're told what we can do we're told what we can't do
00:05:42.760 we saw this with the national energy program under trudeau senior
00:05:45.960 basically the net zero and climate policies of of of Justin Trudeau were essentially and have been
00:05:55.100 a national energy program 2.0 and what we're seeking to help Albertans to think about
00:06:04.180 is does Canada still work for Alberta does it make sense for Alberta to continue to be ruled by
00:06:12.980 Ottawa have decisions that affect our lives our communities our economy our
00:06:17.660 children made by Ottawa you know I really do believe that much like those
00:06:25.520 of us who have children and you know when you have a child and they're 10
00:06:31.320 years old it makes sense for them to continue to live at home but when
00:06:36.560 they're 21 or 22 or 24 and they're still in the basement it's time for them to
00:06:42.440 move out. In other words, they can achieve a greater potential by going out on their
00:06:46.780 own, and they don't need you to care for them and to protect them. I really think that that's
00:06:52.160 what's happened with Alberta. It might have made sense for Alberta to be in Canada and
00:06:56.800 supported by Ottawa as occurred from 1905 up to the 1940s, but ever since our economy
00:07:04.060 started to mature, that we developed our oil and gas industry with the third largest reserve
00:07:09.400 of oil in the world we've outgrown our relationship with ottawa and it's time for us to set out on
00:07:16.600 our own independence allows albertans to make decisions that affect albertans so instead of
00:07:25.240 going to ottawa and asking for permission for things we have the opportunity before us depending
00:07:31.880 on how Albertans vote, to elect the politicians here in Alberta that will make the full range
00:07:39.960 of decisions that affect every aspect of our lives and our economy.
00:07:48.920 So our central message is that Alberta has the resources the world needs,
00:07:55.640 the people and the expertise to develop them, a young entrepreneurial workforce,
00:08:01.880 strong agricultural base, deep energy experience, stable institutions, and a long record of
00:08:09.400 competence and contribution. Again, it's my view and Tanya's view, and I think a view of an
00:08:16.720 increasing number of Albertans, that Canada no longer works for Alberta. We've outgrown the
00:08:22.380 relationship, and we have the ability to venture forth and achieve greater things by being
00:08:30.120 unconstrained by ottawa of course our relationship with the rest of canada would not end we would
00:08:36.680 just be in a position of leverage to negotiate a new relationship with auto with ottawa and the
00:08:43.160 rest of canada instead of the situation we have today where we're told what we can and can't do
00:08:49.480 so our our campaign will also address some of the difficult questions this is a serious decision
00:08:54.520 that needs to be made and we will work with other organizations such as the alberta transition
00:09:00.040 Council that I also co-founded with and co-leading with Dennis Kalma, who is in the room today.
00:09:08.360 And we're working on a white paper that will be released at near the end of July.
00:09:12.840 And the purpose of the white paper is to describe the transitional steps,
00:09:17.320 what would be involved in Alberta moving from a province within Canada to an independent
00:09:23.480 country so important work ahead we're going to use a broad range of campaign techniques
00:09:32.840 including reaching out and making ourselves available to the news media as well as using
00:09:39.160 social media meetings digital strategies and information and supporting volunteers
00:09:49.720 as we all work together to get people thinking about their future,
00:09:54.640 the future for their children and their grandchildren,
00:09:57.080 and how, in our view, they would be better off in an independent Alberta.
00:10:04.380 The bottom line is Alberta has tried for decades.
00:10:10.420 We helped elect Mulroney,
00:10:12.520 and we saw that no fundamental change to the Constitution.
00:10:17.480 There were serious attempts. The Meech Lake Accord, the Charlottetown Accord, they all failed.
00:10:23.720 Even our opponent, former Premier Jason Kenney, admitted in my debate with him in May that the Constitution is unamendable.
00:10:33.580 And so I don't know how those who are advocating that Alberta should stay think they're actually going to change things.
00:10:41.860 I've challenged them many times to show us your plan.
00:10:45.140 They don't have one because I don't think it can be changed.
00:10:49.260 Independence and a referendum consistent with what the Supreme Court of Canada said is the only pathway for change.
00:10:58.420 So we also sent, you know, the Reform Party to Ottawa.
00:11:04.360 We helped elect and had a prime minister, Prime Minister Harper from Ottawa.
00:11:08.980 We sent Jason Kenney to Ottawa.
00:11:11.360 nothing changed in 2021 we have a province-wide referendum here in alberta on equalization it
00:11:17.840 passed with over 62 percent support premier kenny wrote a letter to the prime minister requesting
00:11:23.120 a constitutional conference he was denied he wrote a letter to the other premiers requesting
00:11:27.520 a constitutional conference he was denied it ended the matter in other words the only vehicle forward
00:11:34.480 for Alberta to achieve systemic change to address our grievances remove the constraints upon us and
00:11:42.480 allow Alberta to achieve its potential is a vote for independence with that I'd like to introduce
00:11:48.400 Tanya Clemens if you don't know who she is Tanya is a fourth generation southern Alberta farmer
00:11:56.720 she's a former junior high school math and science teacher she's a mother and an Alberta
00:12:02.800 independence advocate she was raised on a family farm with roots in the blackie area dating back to
00:12:09.360 1909 and she holds a degree in science and education and she has come to the conclusion
00:12:20.400 like me that her children and her grandchildren will have a better more prosperous future a
00:12:27.600 a freer future by being in an independent Alberta.
00:12:31.860 And with that, I'd like to invite Tanya
00:12:35.260 to say some words.
00:12:44.880 Good morning, everyone.
00:12:46.220 Before I begin, I'd like to thank everyone
00:12:48.340 who has taken the time to be here today,
00:12:50.420 including members of the media from across Alberta.
00:12:53.080 Whether you agree with us, disagree with us,
00:12:55.620 or are simply here to better understand
00:12:57.480 why this conversation is taking place I appreciate your willingness to listen
00:13:01.860 and to help Albertans engage with the ideas we're discussing today one of the
00:13:06.960 questions I've spent a lot of time thinking about over the last few years
00:13:10.140 is this how many times can Albertans ask for change before we have to admit that
00:13:16.200 the change we're asking for may never come because that's what really brings
00:13:20.940 us here today this isn't about anger resentment or division what brings us
00:13:26.720 here is a growing recognition that alberta has spent generations trying to improve its place
00:13:32.240 within confederation and many of the same concerns remain unresolved that recognition is what led
00:13:39.200 keith wilson and myself to launch let alberta decide we're trying to reach the people who feel
00:13:44.560 something isn't working but aren't convinced about what comes next because that's where i was i had
00:13:51.840 questions, I had concerns, and before I reached any conclusions, I wanted to
00:13:56.640 understand why so many Albertans felt increasingly frustrated with the
00:14:01.020 direction of our country. For most of my life, I believed Alberta's future would
00:14:06.580 be secured within Canada and that meaningful reform was possible. I
00:14:11.160 believed Alberta could achieve a fair and lasting place within Confederation if
00:14:16.740 just elected the right governments, proposed the right reforms, and made the
00:14:21.540 arguments. I wanted very much for that to be true, but over time I found myself
00:14:27.700 looking less at promises and more at outcomes. And when I did, I found myself
00:14:33.780 asking whether Alberta could still achieve meaningful change within Canada.
00:14:39.420 I think the honest place to start answering that question is with Alberta's
00:14:43.820 history, because for decades Albertans have sought reforms aimed at securing a
00:14:50.060 stronger voice within Canada. We have really tried. From the Reform Party to the Firewall
00:14:56.780 Letter, from the Fair Deal Panel to the 2021 Equalization Referendum, Albertans have repeatedly
00:15:03.340 tried to improve their position within Confederation. At some point, Albertans have to ask whether
00:15:09.740 decades of asking for change have produced meaningful results or whether we're being
00:15:15.180 asked to keep faith in a process that never seems to deliver them. In many ways, Alberta
00:15:21.740 arrived at this conversation only after trying everything else. If decades of advocacy, reform
00:15:29.340 efforts, constitutional proposals, and democratic mandates have failed to produce meaningful change,
00:15:35.740 what reason do we have to believe the next attempt will be successful?
00:15:39.340 Albertans have been extraordinarily patient, but at some point we have to evaluate outcomes
00:15:47.620 rather than promises. And Alberta is done waiting. There's another question we have
00:15:53.160 to be willing to ask. What if we do nothing? Because doing nothing often feels like the
00:16:00.140 safer option, but doing nothing also is a choice and one that comes with consequences.
00:16:07.720 future is going to be shaped and changed whether we actively participate in that process or not.
00:16:13.640 The real question is whether Albertans will have enough influence over that future
00:16:17.800 or whether we'll continue adapting to decisions made elsewhere and far away.
00:16:24.040 For me, the certainty of where Canada is headed concerns me far more than any
00:16:29.560 uncertainty of what Albertans could achieve if they were free to choose their own future.
00:16:34.600 every path carries risks but too often we scrutinize the risks of change while barely
00:16:41.180 acknowledging the risks of staying exactly where we are after studying this issue and being deeply
00:16:47.840 involved in this conversation i have reached my own conclusion alberta is capable of governing
00:16:53.780 itself and shaping its own future i reached that conclusion not because i became focused on what
00:16:59.900 Alberta might lose, but because it became increasingly interested in what Alberta might
00:17:04.660 gain, greater control over our economy, our resources, and the decisions that shape our
00:17:11.080 future along with the responsibility that comes with that.
00:17:16.420 Which brings me to the question that I think matters most.
00:17:19.900 What kind of Alberta do we want to leave behind?
00:17:23.720 Because this conversation is ultimately about the people who will inherit the consequences
00:17:27.820 of the decisions that we're making now. I spend a lot of time thinking about the next generation,
00:17:33.500 about my children, my students, about whether young Albertans will enjoy the same opportunities
00:17:39.340 that previous generations have enjoyed. And when I think about that question, I find myself
00:17:44.780 returning to something that farmers understand very well, stewardship. By being Albertans,
00:17:51.900 we have been entrusted with Alberta and our responsibility is to leave it stronger
00:17:57.420 than we found it for the generations that follow if we genuinely believe alberta's future matters
00:18:03.740 then we have a responsibility to examine every option available to secure that future even the
00:18:10.540 ones that make us uncomfortable and even the ones that challenge assumptions we've held for most of
00:18:16.060 our lives and that's why i believe alberta is worth having this conversation not because the
00:18:23.020 future is guaranteed but because the certainty of where canada is headed concerns me far more
00:18:29.740 than the uncertainty of what albertans might achieve if they had the opportunity to choose
00:18:34.300 their own path alberta has always been built by people willing to think differently take
00:18:40.300 responsibility and believe they can leave something better behind than what they inherited
00:18:45.740 i think we owe the next generation that same willingness and that's ultimately why keith and
00:18:50.620 I launched Let Alberta Decide. Because whatever conclusions Albertans ultimately reach, it
00:18:56.520 should be Albertans who decide it. Thank you very much.