{"id":774868,"date":"2026-07-02T06:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T06:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/774868\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T06:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T06:05:09","slug":"alberta-separatists-trade-red-for-blue-on-canada-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/774868\/","title":{"rendered":"Alberta separatists trade red for blue on Canada Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Whistle Stop Cafe, known for remaining open in defiance of Alberta’s public health restrictions during COVID-19, hosted an Albertans’ Day Rally on Wednesday.Sarah B. Groot\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Four years ago, as the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was winding down, Chris Scott raised a massive Canadian flag attached to a pick-up truck beside his cafe in Mirror, Alta.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hoisted that sucker 110 feet in the air. <\/p>\n

\u201cI flew that, and you could see it for miles. You could see it just about from Bashaw,\u201d Mr. Scott said, referring to the nearby town. <\/p>\n

A year later, Mr. Scott replaced the Maple Leaf with the Alberta flag, flying it high above the cafe, which rose to infamy when he was arrested and charged with breaking pandemic-era public health restrictions. <\/p>\n

He was later acquitted, but he said it marked a turning point in his feelings toward the country.<\/p>\n

And so, on Wednesday \u2013 as Canada marked its 159th birthday \u2013 it was the blue flag with the Alberta coat of arms that dominated. It was on people\u2019s hoodies, T-shirts and ballcaps. There was not a red Maple Leaf to be seen. <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t Canada Day in Mirror, Mr. Scott told a crowd of several-hundred gathered in lawn chairs before a stage. This was Albertans\u2019 day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m grateful that I live in Canada, and that Canada has afforded me, as an Albertan, the opportunity to decide whether or not I want to continue that relationship,\u201d Mr. Scott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you see what I\u2019m saying? I don\u2019t see Albertans\u2019 day as a slight to Canada or an insult. I see it as an acknowledgement that the country we live in has afforded us the opportunity to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gathering occurred at a fraught time for national unity, less than four months before the question of Alberta\u2019s future in Canada will be put to the province\u2019s voters in a referendum question asking residents to choose between remaining in the country or beginning the legal process to hold a second, binding secession vote.<\/p>\n

Canadians cite U.S. influence, separatist sentiment in Alberta as threats to unity, poll finds<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the separatist Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois \u2013 which has promised an independence referendum by 2030 if it forms government \u2013 is leading in the polls ahead of Quebec\u2019s Oct. 5 provincial election.<\/p>\n

Though separatist sentiment has long held purchase with a small segment of Albertans, the discussion has burst into the mainstream over the past year, largely in response to changes by Premier Danielle Smith\u2019s government that made it easier for citizens to petition for referendum questions to reach a provincewide vote. <\/p>\n

Now, gearing up for Alberta\u2019s Oct. 19 referendum, the independence movement is trying to build momentum.<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s gathering was a homecoming of sorts for the hundreds who drove to Mirror, a hamlet of roughly 480 people that sits about 65 kilometres northeast of Red Deer, Alta.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

The gathering occurred at a fraught time for national unity, less than four months before the question of Alberta\u2019s future in Canada will be put to the province\u2019s voters in a referendum question.Sarah B. Groot\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Outside the cafe, dozens wove through a clump of vendors selling fruit, lotion, honey, embroidery and pro-independence merchandise. At one booth, Patti Vold, Sandy Duguay and Laveryne Green were selling lawn signs for Mr. Scott\u2019s group, Let\u2019s Talk Alberta, which is hosting pro-independence town halls across the province.<\/p>\n

Ms. Green described the Whistle Stop Caf\u00e9 as \u201ca place you could come\u201d during the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very symbolic,\u201d Ms. Vold added.<\/p>\n

The event included a number of prominent faces in the independence movement. Later in the afternoon, Tamara Lich, a key organizer of the 2022 trucker convoy, was scheduled to perform a live concert.<\/p>\n

Ben Crane, a country musician who performed, said he believes an independent Alberta and Canada can work better together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we can be way better friends with the rest of Canada and just take out the overreach,\u201d Mr. Crane said.<\/p>\n

And while support for separation continues to poll around 20 to 25 per cent, the movement is flush with cash compared to the federalist cause.<\/p>\n

Last week, Let Alberta Decide, a pro-independence outfit led by lawyer Keith Wilson, reported receiving more than $119,000 in contributions during its first week as a registered third-party advertiser, according to Elections Alberta records.<\/p>\n

Opinion: Alberta separatists are mad at Danielle Smith and her dodges. Or are they?<\/a><\/p>\n

Another outfit, Pathway to Independence \u2013 a group run by Western Standard columnist Cory Morgan that\u2019s distributing lawn signs across the province \u2013 has raked in $70,000 since early June.<\/p>\n

Federalists\u2019 success has been paltry by comparison. Alberta\u2019s Voice, a group encouraging voters to reject separatism and nine other forthcoming referendum questions on immigration and constitutional issues, has received roughly $18,000 in donations. It was started by Stephen Carter, a prominent political strategist.<\/p>\n

Forever Canadian, the group that last summer collected 404,000 signatures in support of remaining in Canada, hasn\u2019t received any donations, according to Elections Alberta. However, it is distributing lawn signs across the province.<\/p>\n

Ms. Smith, who has said she\u2019ll vote in the fall for Alberta to remain in Canada, said in a Wednesday statement that she believes in a \u201cstrong Alberta and a strong Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is expected to announce an initial proposal for a new oil pipeline to the West Coast on Thursday, which the province is due to submit to Ottawa\u2019s Major Projects Office this week. The hope is for fast-tracked federal consideration.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney was scheduled to speak in Edmonton on Wednesday night, but stormy weather prevented his plane from leaving Ottawa. In a speech earlier in the day, Mr. Carney focused on national unity, while touching on the importance of big national projects. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Whistle Stop Cafe, known for remaining open in defiance of Alberta’s public health…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":774869,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,44,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-774868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-news","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774868","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=774868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/774869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=774868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=774868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=774868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}