{"id":733304,"date":"2026-06-13T02:45:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T02:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/733304\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T02:45:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T02:45:20","slug":"bell-alberta-separatists-clobbered-in-calgary-in-the-latest-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/733304\/","title":{"rendered":"Bell: Alberta separatists clobbered in Calgary in the latest numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not even close.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not even close to being close.<\/p>\n

We wait for them to make a move, do something, try to win the hearts and minds of the undecided, answer the actual questions on people\u2019s minds.<\/p>\n

Heaven knows the separatists have the attention of Canada now.<\/p>\n

Newshounds can tell you how every single day story-hungry editors want the latest on Alberta independence.<\/p>\n

But right now we hear little from the loudest voices for Alberta independence.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just some dudes talking away on social media every night to other dudes talking away every night on social media while most Albertans are not talking away any night on social media, at least not on the political slime pit of X.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve got better things to do.<\/p>\n

So poll after poll confirms those wanting the Alberta government to go for a Yes\/No vote on Alberta independence are not gaining ground. They are far behind those willing to remain in Canada.<\/p>\n

The latest math comes across your scribbler\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s from a Leger poll conducted just days ago. The freshest bread in the bakery.<\/p>\n

The poll just talks to Calgarians.<\/p>\n

Yes, Calgary. Battleground Calgary<\/a>. The separatists have to start picking up support in Calgary.<\/p>\n

Those Calgarians wanting to remain in Canada. 74 per cent. Three out of four.<\/p>\n

Those wanting the Alberta government to do what it takes to get to a Yes\/No vote on Alberta independence.<\/p>\n

19 per cent. One in five.<\/p>\n

The rest are unsure.<\/p>\n

Those of us thought there would be more of a fight by now, especially after a campaign where Albertans lined up in the cold to sign a petition wanting a vote on leaving Canada.<\/p>\n

It was national, no, international news.<\/p>\n

So we wait. There are many more rounds in this bout.<\/p>\n

For the curious, in this poll the highest support for the remain in Canada side is 81 per cent in southeast Calgary.<\/p>\n

There is another question in the poll on Calgary and Alberta separatism.<\/p>\n

Recently, Mayor Jeromy Farkas has spoken out against Alberta separatism. The mayor fears political uncertainty will drive investment away and hurt the city.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas, speaks on April 20, 2026.<\/p>\n

I remember one individual challenging Farkas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your loyalty is to Canada, move out of Alberta to prove it, Jeromy. Stop campaigning against the best interests of Calgarians and Albertans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those polled are asked if they approve or disapprove of Farkas speaking out on this issue.<\/p>\n

Strongly or somewhat approve. 71 per cent. Seven out of ten.<\/p>\n

Somewhat or strongly disapprove \u2026. Hold on to your hats. 13 per cent.<\/p>\n

The rest are unsure.<\/p>\n

On Friday, we get the latest episode in the Battle of Alberta and it comes from the government of Premier Danielle Smith.<\/p>\n

Smith has been talking up remaining in Canada<\/a> more strongly in the past couple or three weeks.<\/p>\n

Premier Danielle Smith told the UCP faithful at a recent Calgary dinner how Alberta is winning, the tide is turning, Canadians are coming to Alberta\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

Smith admitted some \u201cget a little bit queasy\u201d when she praises the efforts of a Liberal prime minister but she goes ahead and has many kind words to say of Prime Minister Mark Carney and tells the UCP crowd this progress with Carney must not be risked.<\/p>\n

Now, as expected, the Smith government has appointed a panel to oversee a report<\/a> on how much it will cost if Alberta leaves Canada.<\/p>\n

As you\u2019ve read in this column, Smith dropped a bomb on Alberta separatism<\/a> saying the price tag would be around $400 billion.<\/p>\n

Billion with a B.<\/p>\n

The guy leading the group is Jack Mintz, a well-known Alberta deep thinker.<\/p>\n

And even better known to many of us is someone else in the group.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Dr. Ted Morton speaks at the Economic Value of Alberta in Calgary on January 18, 2020.<\/p>\n

Ted Morton. He ran to become premier. He stood up for Alberta against Ottawa. He was an unapologetic conservative voice in the halls of higher learning and was a budget boss who didn\u2019t believe in blowing through the public treasury.<\/p>\n

No supporter of Alberta independence could accuse Morton of being a secret agent for the Laurentian elite.<\/p>\n

Many years ago, back in 2018, I interviewed Morton and the man spoke frankly of Alberta independence.<\/p>\n

We were all living in Justin Trudeau\u2019s world.<\/p>\n

The column was entitled: Separatism, deal with Alberta or support will rise.<\/p>\n

A little over a year later there was another column. Separatist talk in Calgary and it\u2019s nowhere near nuts.<\/p>\n

Exactly a year ago, Morton writes of a Yes\/No referendum on Alberta leaving Canada.<\/p>\n

Remember Morton is not a cheerleader for Liberal Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cA referendum framed like this will be a waste of time.\u201d Ouch!<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would simply tell us what we already know. About 20 per cent of Albertans are ready to leave now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morton asks about the majority of Albertans.<\/p>\n

What of those who are not separatists but who do not like the way things are now in Canada, who do not like the status quo?<\/p>\n

We wait for the next round in the Battle of Alberta.<\/p>\n

rbell@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Bookmark this website and support our journalism: Subscribe now so you don\u2019t miss the Calgary news you need to know and sign up for our free newsletters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s not even close. It\u2019s not even close to being close. We wait for them to make a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":733305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[26353,35933,197781,49,221938,2798,48,109504,49470],"class_list":["post-733304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-alberta-government","tag-alberta-prosperity-project","tag-albertans","tag-ca","tag-calgarians","tag-calgary","tag-canada","tag-jeromy-farkas","tag-premier-danielle-smith"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=733304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/733305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=733304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=733304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=733304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}