Despite meetings, Trump administration largely quiet on Albertapublished at 20:21 BST
20:21 BST
Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter
Image source, EPA
President Trump is no fan of Canada’s government, or of Prime Minister Mark Carney.
At a rally just this weekend in Kentucky that I attended, Trump again took aim at his northern neighbour, claiming – without any evidence – that the US is losing $90bn each year for the “priviledge” of allowing Canada to have its own healthcare system, suggesting that US economic policies are bankrolling Canadian programmes.
He has not, however, publicly weighed in on Alberta’s independence movement, although he has not come out to support a united Canada either.
The closest we have to a statement from a senior administration official came from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in January, when he told conservative news outlet Real America’s Voice that Alberta would be a “natural partner” for the US.
“They have great resources. The Albertans are very independent people,” Bessent said, adding that “people want sovereignty. They want what the US has got”.
In late January, an administration official also confirmed to the BBC that officials met from the Alberta Prosperity Project.
“Administration officials meet with a number of civil society groups. No such support, or any other commitments, was conveyed,” the official said.
All of this falls well short of an endorsement or official policy position from the US government.
But depending on how things play out in Alberta, we may see President Trump comment on this over the next few days, whether at one of his many campaign rallies, in the Oval Office or on Truth Social.