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Alberta separation was in the spotlight at a Monday night independence rally in Calgary’s Stampede Park, where thousands packed the Big Four Roadhouse to hear from separatist speakers.
Security officials said more than 3,000 people were in attendance, along with more than 1,000 watching a livestream of the event on YouTube.
Addressing the packed venue, Alberta Prosperity Project CEO Mitch Sylvestre pointed to his many grievances with the federal government — a lengthy list including equalization payments, gun bans and Canada’s immigration rate in the last decade.
“If you were in a business arrangement with a group of people that didn’t respect you, and continued to abuse you, would you stay in that business arrangement?”
Mitch Sylvestre, CEO of the Alberta Prosperity Project, speaks to a crowd of thousands at an Alberta independence rally on Jan. 26. (Amir Said/CBC)Separation supporters, opponents show up
Ahead of the rally, long lineups formed outside the Big Four Roadhouse as people waited to sign a petition on Alberta independence.
That petition, brought forward by Sylvestre, is calling for a referendum on whether Alberta should seek to separate from Canada.
WATCH | Separatist group collects petition signatures in Calgary:
Separatist group collects petition signatures in Calgary
The independence group Stay Free Alberta was collecting signatures at the Big Four Roadhouse on Monday. The petition is calling for a referendum on separating from Canada. The group has about four months to gather close to 178,000 signatures.
“I love Canada, don’t get me wrong,” independence supporter Alex Clarke told CBC News. “But I’m an Albertan. I love Alberta.”
Clarke said his hope would be that an independent Alberta government offers better benefits and support for the elderly, like his mother.
“I just feel like with us having the freedom, we can live under Alberta rule and just take care of ourselves,” he said, adding that Alberta being a “huge landmass” would allow it to be self-sufficient.
“We could take care of ourselves. We have everything here,” he said.
Supporters of the Alberta independence movement gathered at the Big Four Roadhouse on Jan. 26 for a separation petition signing followed by a rally. From left: Alex Clarke, Dan Rollings and Georagette Tan. (Nate Luit/CBC, composite by Amir Said)
Dan Rollings, another supporter of the movement, said he as a fourth-generation Canadian was “very disappointed in Canada.”
“Canada is not my father’s Canada,” he said. “Canada has changed for the worse.”
Rollings said signing the independence petition was a step toward a “purge” of what he considers political corruption and over-taxation.
“If Canada returned to before Justin Trudeau days, I would stay in Canada,” Rollings said. “But after Justin Trudeau and his mismanagement of the government, or Mark Carney and the games he’s playing right now, that really doesn’t encourage me to stay in Canada.”
Georagette Tan, who’s been in Alberta for a little over a decade, said she feels the movement has allowed people to voice their concerns with the country.
“Many people may not agree for what we are doing right now, but we just need our voices to be heard,” she said. “We’ve been trying to knock on the door, but nobody’s opening, so, well, I guess it’s about time.”
But not all in attendance were in favour of Alberta independence.
“I’d like to be part of Canada. I don’t want to have that taken away from me,” said Michael Hartley, draped in the nation’s flag.
“And so I’m here letting people know it’s okay to choose to stay,” he said.
Michael Hartley was among a few people who were vocally opposed to Alberta separation at the Jan. 26 event. (Nate Luit/CBC)
The “Forever Canadian” petition, launched last year in a bid to make staying in Canada official policy for Alberta, was verified as successful by Elections Alberta after receiving more than 400,000 signatures.
Separation petition signing events have been held across the province over the last few weeks, with more planned in the coming days. That includes multiple upcoming events in Calgary, as well as many in the province’s smaller communities.
The separation petition needs close to 178,000 signatures by May 2 to succeed.