A pro-separatist lawyer and former supporter of the pandemic convoy protest has launched a new campaign to make Alberta an independent nation, ahead of a fall referendum.
Campaign Launch in Calgary
Keith Wilson, a constitutional lawyer based in St. Albert, made his pitch to a room of 23 people gathered at Hotel Arts in Calgary on Friday. He was joined by Tanya Clemens, a southern Alberta farmer and former math and science teacher, who serves as co-chair of the campaign titled Alberta's Done Waiting.
“The way the electoral structure is, and the constitutional structure of Canada, Alberta never gets a voice. We can’t have a voice, because decisions are always made in Ottawa, as determined by the wishes of the voters in Quebec and Ontario,” Wilson said.
Third-Party Advertising Strategy
The campaign has registered itself as a third-party advertiser. Clemens explained that running independently of other separatist groups allows them to maximize spending. “We could all come together underneath one banner, and all fight as one unit going forward for independence and advocate for that, but then that limits us at a $607,000 spending limit for that organization by having multiple third-party organizations,” she said.
“We each have that ability to have that spending limit, and we’re up against federal governments, our provincial governments campaigning against us, and a lot of people with a lot of money behind them.”
Clemens emphasized that her campaign is not colluding with others, which would violate Alberta’s Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act. Instead, they are shaping their efforts by filling gaps left by other separatist groups. “Cory Morgan has all these signs going all over the province, and Jason Levine has them in Edmonton, so you can see that readily what people are doing,” she said. “So, probably the sign campaign is not going to be a big part of our campaign, because other organizations are already taking care of that.”
From Federalist to Separatist
Clemens noted that she used to be a federalist, but her views shifted after hearing about Ottawa’s restrictive, anti-pipeline laws. “We’ve had the anti-pipelines, the tanker bans, increased taxation, more of our money going in equalization and not coming back to Alberta,” she said.
Ottawa has made significant concessions for Alberta, including removing its emissions cap, allowing the province to oversee regulatory approvals, delaying industry carbon targets, and signing a proposal for a new West Coast pipeline. These policies have been praised by Premier Danielle Smith, who uses them to justify remaining in Canada.
The federal government has also reduced its lowest tax rate from 15 per cent to 14 per cent and scrapped the consumer carbon tax, although it has raised payroll contributions to the Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance by roughly $262 per year, or $22 per month, for an average worker.
The launch of Alberta's Done Waiting adds to the growing separatist movement in the province, with multiple groups advocating for independence ahead of the upcoming referendum.
