{"id":835113,"date":"2026-09-03T12:04:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T12:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/835113\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T12:04:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T12:04:11","slug":"51st-state-of-mind-as-alberta-votes-on-independence-will-trump-back-separation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/835113\/","title":{"rendered":"51st state of mind: As Alberta votes on independence, will Trump back separation?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a few weeks, Albertans will be asked in a referendum<\/a> whether they want the province to remain in Canada or move toward a second referendum on independence. <\/p>\n

An independent Alberta would not only have to meet the requirements of statehood<\/a> \u2014 people, territory, an effective government and the capacity to deal with states \u2014 but it would also have to be recognized by other countries, most importantly the United States. Without recognition, an aspiring state has no international standing. It could not engage in diplomacy, enter into international agreements or join international organizations.<\/p>\n

Read more:
\n Danielle Smith\u2019s dangerous referendum rhetoric threatens Canada\u2019s Constitution and Indigenous treaty rights<\/a><\/p>\n

The Alberta referendum will be Canada\u2019s third, after those in Qu\u00e9bec in 1980<\/a> and 1995<\/a>. Given the deep ties between Canada and the United States, it\u2019s not surprising that, in both earlier cases, American governments under presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton supported a united Canada. <\/p>\n

But President Donald Trump, who has frequently threatened to make Canada a 51st state, has not openly declared his support of a united Canada in the run-up to the Alberta vote, and some around him have spoken positively about the prospect of an independent Alberta<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more:
\n As Alberta separatists court the U.S., prosperity is fuelling a sovereigntist turn<\/a><\/p>\n

The 1980 Qu\u00e9bec referendum<\/p>\n

Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois Premier Ren\u00e9 L\u00e9vesque came to power in November 1976, pledging a referendum on Qu\u00e9bec independence. The possibility of a divided Canada and an independent Qu\u00e9bec on his country\u2019s northern border concerned Carter, who said Canada\u2019s stability \u201cis of crucial importance to us,\u201d while noting it was for Canadians to decide. <\/p>\n

He declined to say whether his government would recognize an independent Qu\u00e9bec<\/a>. <\/p>\n

In a speech to Congress in February 1977, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau assured Americans that \u201cCanada\u2019s unity will not be fractured<\/a>.\u201d Carter expressed confidence in the outcome. Vice President Walter Mondale reiterated the administration\u2019s support during a visit to Ottawa the following year.<\/p>\n

L\u00e9vesque told Americans that an independent Qu\u00e9bec would remain a reliable economic and security partner<\/a>. But the Carter administration did not change its stand. <\/p>\n

The issue became moot in May 1980 when the province\u2019s voters rejected by 60-40 per cent the government\u2019s sovereignty-association referendum. Had it been successful, Qu\u00e9bec would have become politically independent while maintaining economic ties to Canada.<\/p>\n

\"Rene<\/p>\n

Qu\u00e9bec Premier Rene Levesque, right, shrugs his shoulders and walks away from Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau after a chat prior to the beginning of the second day of the Constitution Conference in September 1980.
\n THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Drew Gagg<\/p>\n

Qu\u00e9bec referendum of 1995<\/p>\n

The independence issue remained on the back burner until September 1995, when another Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois premier, Jacques Parizeau, announced a referendum vote would be held the following month<\/a> on a vague plan to create a sovereign Qu\u00e9bec after proposing new political and economic arrangements with Canada.<\/p>\n

The campaign began with the No side in a healthy lead. But it tightened dramatically after Lucien Bouchard, a charismatic federal politician, took over leadership of the pro-independence forces<\/a>. <\/p>\n

With alarm bells ringing in Ottawa and Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, though observing that the referendum was an internal matter, emphasized \u201cthe high value that we place on the relationships that we have with a strong and united Canada\u201d<\/a> and that an independent Qu\u00e9bec should not expect to have the same connections.<\/p>\n

That was a pointed reference to Parizeau\u2019s claim that it would automatically join the North American Free Trade Agreement. After President Jacques Chirac said France would recognize an independent Qu\u00e9bec, Clinton spoke out, declaring<\/a>: \u201cA strong and united Canada has been a wonderful partner for the United States and an incredibly important and constructive citizen throughout the entire world.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Clinton administration did not intend to recognize an independent Qu\u00e9bec<\/a> in the wake of a successful vote. The federal side won a slim victory (50.6-49.4 per cent), putting the matter to rest, although a resurgent Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois has promised another independence referendum if it wins this fall\u2019s election.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Jacques Parizeau gestures during his speech to Yes supporters in Montr\u00e9al after losing the referendum in October 1995.
\n THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Ryan Remiorz<\/p>\n

Supportive Americans<\/p>\n

In May, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Albertans will go to the polls on Oct. 19<\/a> in a referendum to decide whether the province should stay in Canada or initiate a legal process leading to a second binding referendum on separation. <\/p>\n

This followed rival citizen petitions circulating in the province both for and against independence. After appearing to hedge her bets, Smith said she will vote to remain<\/a>, citing the responsiveness of Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s government to Alberta\u2019s concerns. <\/p>\n

Trump has yet to weigh in publicly, although he has repeatedly mused about making Canada the 51st state and U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra has said<\/a> that would be \u201ca great discussion for the president and the prime minister to have.\u201d <\/p>\n

The province, with its rich energy resources and Smith\u2019s MAGA-friendly policies, would be an attractive target. It has been largely spared the effects of Trump\u2019s tariff assaults on Canada because Canadian oil and gas exports are exempt. <\/p>\n

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calls Alberta a \u201cnatural partner for the U.S. \u2026 People want sovereignty. They want what the U.S. has got.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Utah Sen. Mike Lee has said: \u201cIt might be like our own little frozen Texas of the North. They may even want to join us.\u201d <\/p>\n

Alberta\u2019s Trump relationship<\/p>\n

A recent Angus Reid poll found that only 23 per cent of Albertans view Trump favourably, but many separatists see his administration as a crucial ally<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Alberta Prosperity Project leaders have met three times with U.S. government officials<\/a> who, they claim, have a direct line to the White House, to discuss separation. <\/p>\n

Hoekstra, after initially denying the meetings had taken place, brushed them aside as routine contacts and said no commitments had been made. He has \u201cclear direction\u201d not to intervene in the referendum debate<\/a> but it\u2019s \u201cthe president\u2019s call.\u201d<\/a> Both Carney and Smith have said they expect the administration to respect Canada\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n

Polls show the \u201cremain in Canada side\u201d with a large lead<\/a>, which assuming it holds, will ensure a significant win in the referendum.<\/p>\n

Whatever happens, neither past precedents nor Canadian admonitions are likely to sway Trump, who calls Canada \u201ca country that should be a state.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a few weeks, Albertans will be asked in a referendum whether they want the province to remain…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":835114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-835113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/835114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}