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It wouldn't make any sense. If Alberta were to secede it would likely join the US rather than be independent or else it would find itself surrounded by two giant countries with which it would need to deal with. It's too isolated and lacks the manpower to be a viable independent country, unlike Quebec that at least has the luxury of not being landlocked.
Independence for purely economic reasons rarely (if ever) goes anywhere.
If the idea is to keep their oil wealth to themselves, which it's got to be (what else?) then if you think about it for a second, why would Fort Mac want to keep unproductive leeches like Edmonton and Calgary around? Makes no sense.
The Independent Republic of Wood Buffalo would soon have a sovereign fund per capita that would make Norway's look like pocket change
It wouldn't make any sense. If Alberta were to secede it would likely join the US rather than be independent or else it would find itself surrounded by two giant countries with which it would need to deal with. It's too isolated and lacks the manpower to be a viable independent country, unlike Quebec that at least has the luxury of not being landlocked.
Good point, exception is that British Columbia and Saskethawan also have lots of popularity. What if they form a Western bloc? Then they have access to both the Pacific ocean and Hudson Bay.
Good point, exception is that British Columbia and Saskethawan also have lots of popularity. What if they form a Western bloc? Then they have access to both the Pacific ocean and Hudson Bay.
What would be the point of joining Alberta specifically? Would Alberta be able to provide better fortunes for them if it were to secede from Canada?
The way I see it, is that only Quebec could be a truly independent country. The rest would more than likely seek their fortunes elsewhere by joining the US.
It seems to me that the only people who are concerned about Albertan independence are non-Albertans.
Here in Alberta, it's a non-issue. We don't spend our days complaining about how we're hard done by, and the only thing that can save us is independence. Well, maybe except for that old guy at the end of the bar who's had a few too many and is mumbling, "F---ing Trudeau," to anybody who will listen, and most won't. But even he stops short of drunkenly mumbling "Alberta independence." If anything, though, he is illustrative of Alberta's mood: Albertans (in general) hate Trudeau. Not because he's a Liberal, but because he's a Trudeau. I'd suggest that had the Liberals run anybody else as leader in the most recent election, then they would have picked up at least a few seats in Alberta.
Sure, Alberta has gripes with and about Ottawa's decisions and policies, but they don't rise to the level of seriously discussing separation or independence, or of joining the United States. Mostly, among ourselves, we discuss such things as sports, the weather, kids, the price of groceries, our golf game, or Buddy's new set of wheels, among other such mundane topics. Out of the hundreds, if not thousands, of Albertans I know and have known in this province, exactly one advocated Albertan independence, and that was fifteen years ago.
So, to answer the OP's question, "Is Alberta independence a legitimate movement?" the answer is No. I say that as an Albertan, on the ground in Alberta, with plenty of Albertan friends and acquaintances. Yes, we Albertans do have a few cranks and crackpots among us who advocate such, but perhaps they get more publicity than they deserve from the eastern Canadian media. They don't get much, if any, media coverage here; certainly no more than the religious nutters who are predicting the Rapture. Which is to say, pretty much none.
Once again, the only people who are interested in, or concerned with, Albertan independence are non-Albertans.
Good point, exception is that British Columbia and Saskethawan also have lots of popularity. What if they form a Western bloc? Then they have access to both the Pacific ocean and Hudson Bay.
Well, for starters, they don't want to form a Western bloc, and their popularity (popular with who? - each other? - the States?) is irrelevant to their economy. Also, you need to look at a map of Canada because Alberta and Saskatchewan are nowhere near Hudson's Bay. They are both completely land-locked surrounded on all sides by other provinces/states.
I'm sure I wrote this elsewhere before, but you cannot just "secede" from a country that easily in the modern day. When's the last time this was accepted in the world? It just wouldn't happen and it belongs with the rest of the fringe theories. Quebec was the closest, in the 90s. Barring another World War level political-geographical catastrophe I cannot see any province going out and becoming their own country. The US has a better chance of seeing State secession (infinitesimally above zero) than Canada.
It seems to me that the only people who are concerned about Albertan independence are non-Albertans.
Here in Alberta, it's a non-issue. We don't spend our days complaining about how we're hard done by, and the only thing that can save us is independence. Well, maybe except for that old guy at the end of the bar who's had a few too many and is mumbling, "F---ing Trudeau," to anybody who will listen, and most won't. But even he stops short of drunkenly mumbling "Alberta independence." If anything, though, he is illustrative of Alberta's mood: Albertans (in general) hate Trudeau. Not because he's a Liberal, but because he's a Trudeau. I'd suggest that had the Liberals run anybody else as leader in the most recent election, then they would have picked up at least a few seats in Alberta.
Sure, Alberta has gripes with and about Ottawa's decisions and policies, but they don't rise to the level of seriously discussing separation or independence, or of joining the United States. Mostly, among ourselves, we discuss such things as sports, the weather, kids, the price of groceries, our golf game, or Buddy's new set of wheels, among other such mundane topics. Out of the hundreds, if not thousands, of Albertans I know and have known in this province, exactly one advocated Albertan independence, and that was fifteen years ago.
So, to answer the OP's question, "Is Alberta independence a legitimate movement?" the answer is No. I say that as an Albertan, on the ground in Alberta, with plenty of Albertan friends and acquaintances. Yes, we Albertans do have a few cranks and crackpots among us who advocate such, but perhaps they get more publicity than they deserve from the eastern Canadian media. They don't get much, if any, media coverage here; certainly no more than the religious nutters who are predicting the Rapture. Which is to say, pretty much none.
Once again, the only people who are interested in, or concerned with, Albertan independence are non-Albertans.
I am in Manitoba and see lots of people who would welcome this, but I don't think independence is something that you walk up to someone and just start talking about. Living in Quebec during the secession crisis it was rare even then for someone to voice their support for an independent Quebec unless they got into a deep political conversation. I didn't know many people back then who wanted independence for Quebec, but that doesn't mean that nearly half of the province wouldn't go on to for it, with nearly 2/3rds of French-speakers voting for it. That is what the polls told us then, as the polls are telling us now about Alberta, over and over again.
I also think it runs deeper than just Trudeau. It has to do with a constant lack of attention paid to the western provinces, regardless of the leader. Alberta especially gets screwed really badly. They would be much richer with a different government or as a US state.
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(popular with who? - each other? - the States?) is irrelevant to their economy. Also, you need to look at a map of Canada because Alberta and Saskatchewan are nowhere near Hudson's Bay. They are both completely land-locked surrounded on all sides by other provinces/states.
