Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks during a news conference in Calgary, May 22. Smith’s United Conservative Party has been hijacked by separatists, and as a sop to them she has construed a separation referendum that she did not campaign on, writes Mason.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
With just a few weeks to go before Alberta’s referendum on separation, fresh polls indicate growing support for those wanting no part of ripping the country apart.
One by Ipsos shows 70 per cent of Albertans want to remain in Canada, while 20 per cent are in favour of holding a binding referendum on separation. However, if Alberta was to hold such a vote, only 14 per cent said they’d choose to leave.
Meantime, a new survey conducted by Janet Brown Opinion Research for CBC News ([url]https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-separatists-react-janet-brown-poll-9.7359346[/url]) showed 72 per cent of Albertans in favour of remaining in Canada, versus 23 per cent in favour of starting the legal process to hold a binding referendum on the question. That’s down from 27 per cent in April.
None of these numbers come as a shock.
There has never been any widespread desire among Albertans to cut ties with their country. Certainly, there has been some separatist sentiment that has taken root in rural parts of the province, especially among older males. But there has never been a groundswell of rage that has translated into a majority of Albertans wanting to leave – despite the best efforts of a succession of provincial leaders (especially conservatives) to demonize the policies of any Liberal prime minister who has ever held office.
Recently, Premier Danielle Smith, speaking at an online forum with former Reform party leader Preston Manning, was overcome with emotion talking about how hurt and angry Albertans are over the horrible, ghastly manner in which they have been treated by Ottawa over the years. It prompted her to wonder at times: “Does this country actually want us?”
Yet, a person intent on destroying the province’s oil and gas industry couldn’t have done a lousier job if they tried than former Liberal PM Justin Trudeau.
The province’s oil output has doubled since 2007, and between 2013 and 2025 – including the decade in which Mr. Trudeau allegedly tried to kill Alberta’s golden goose, according to the provincial narrative – Canada’s crude oil production rose roughly 41 per cent, according to the Canada Energy Regulator.
Alberta continued to set new records for oil production in 2025 – adding 182,000 ([url]https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/market-snapshots/2026/market-snapshot-canada-sets-new-record-in-crude-oil-production-in-2025.html[/url]) barrels of oil a day. Of course, that production has been assisted greatly by the new oil pipeline to the West Coast that the notorious Mr. Trudeau got built.
For decades, Alberta has been the richest province in the country, by a wide margin in some cases. And yet, all provincial conservative governments have done is whine about how Ottawa steals all their money.
Everything about this referendum on separation and the other nine questions on the ballot – among other things they attempt to scapegoat immigrants for many of the province’s problems – is contemptible. It’s a phony, illegitimate exercise Ms. Smith has lent credibility to in order to save her job.
Ms. Smith’s United Conservative Party has been hijacked by separatists, and as a sop to them she has construed a separation referendum that she did not campaign on. It really has zero, and I mean zero, credibility. Many Albertans I talked to on a recent week-long trip to the province were furious their government was wasting time and money on a poorly organized fishing expedition almost exclusively designed to help the Premier avoid the same fate as her predecessor, Jason Kenney, who lost his job after running afoul of the same UCP types who are pulling the strings behind this ridiculous referendum.
Most “normal” Albertans want no part of this clown show. They live in a stunningly beautiful and prosperous province that is an integral part of a country that is the envy of the world – one led by a Prime Minister who has emerged as one of the pre-eminent leaders of the free world. Most Albertans have far more respect and admiration for Mark Carney than they do their own provincial leaders – a fact borne out by recent polling ([url]https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/albertans-view-mark-carney-most-favourably-among-political-voices-alberta[/url]).
There is a reckoning coming for Ms. Smith. When this attempt to get the secession ball rolling goes up in flames, which it will, the Premier will have to deal with a party membership angry over the results. Many will agitate for a change at the top, wanting to punish their leader for her (milquetoast) support of the status quo. There will surely be a push to replace Ms. Smith with someone who is a stronger advocate for breaking away from Canada.
That’s when we’ll see what Ms. Smith is made of. Will she attempt to give the braying mob what they want, or will she finally take a principled stand and expose these desperate and delusional people for who they are?
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