OTTAWA and MIRROR, Alta. — A fractured movement, a premier in the hot seat and a cowboy-hat-toting separatist kicked out of her party.
Such is the aftermath of Alberta’s referendum.
As Premier Danielle Smith looks to turn the page on the vote that has unleashed a torrent of anger toward her in a province set to go to the polls next year, the most entrenched of the independence leaders want a second referendum — this time on her leadership.
The party’s president shut down that prospect in a missive to members this week, saying a majority of its ridings had passed motions supporting the premier, as compared to the handful asking to hold a leadership review.
Meanwhile in Ottawa, Prime Minister Mark Carney is also looking ahead.
Morgan Breitkreutz, the staffer brought into Carney’s office to offer special advice around the referendum, marked his final day in that role on Friday, a position that was always meant to be temporary — something those across the federal Liberal government also hope to be the case for the separation push coming from Alberta.
But as Carney vows further collaboration with Smith, including on immigration — an area where the premier left the referendum armed with a narrow win in her efforts to take more control over the system — Smith also prepares to face her grassroots.
It will be in Calgary in late November where members of her United Conservative Party are expected to vote on a resolution as to whether they want her government to “oppose federally imposed net-zero mandates” as well as “review provincial carbon-pricing and (carbon capture, utilization and storage) policies” to “ensure they protect Alberta’s economy and autonomy,” citing concerns over costs to taxpayers and sector competitiveness.
Carbon capture and storage is the emissions-reducing technology that is set for a massive expansion under the Ottawa-Alberta energy pact that is tied to plans to fast-track a new oil pipeline to the West Coast. More agreements with the companies behind that project, known as Pathways, are expected to be signed by Nov. 15.
So although Alberta and Ottawa are trying to put the referendum behind them, more tests of their relationship — from her base this time — potentially lie ahead.
When asked about that upcoming party vote and Smith’s commitment to the “grand bargain” struck with Carney, a spokesman said the premier remains committed to the deal, “including the Pathways Project.”
Ryan Fournier said the party welcomes internal debates “on a wide range of issues and diverse perspectives.”
“Members can bring forward ideas they believe the government should consider, some will pass, and others won’t. We’re proud of that democratic process and the honest debate it allows,” he wrote.
Since Smith entered into that energy deal last year, Jeffrey Rath, the lawyer and outspoken separation supporter has been calling for her removal.
On Friday, he learned he had been kicked out of the party — a move Smith explained was due to “multiple” breaches to its members’ code of conduct and his declared intention of attending November’s gathering to push the party towards independence.
Speaking to the Star, Rath, a leader affiliated with the Alberta Prosperity Project, the most prominent of the independence groups, accused Smith of wanting to quell dissent and suggested her move would only “inflame” the party’s independence supporters, of which he says there are many.
“It’s going to increase the resolve and people are going to become even more determined to fight for the heart and soul of our party.”
Smith has indeed sought to bring down the hammer, as Rath and others this week circulated an image of a form those looking to join the party’s board would be asked to sign, vowing to honour the referendum results that showed nearly 75 per cent of Albertans voted to remain in Canada, against the 25 per cent who wanted to see a binding vote held on separation.
Chris Scott, an independence advocate whose group, Let’s Talk Alberta, staged events across the province leading up to the Oct.19 vote, is among those looking to run.
Seated in his cafe in Mirror, Alta., last week, with the defeat of the referendum less than 48 hours old, he describes his role as one of wanting to “repair the rift between the federalists and the separatists” within the party, “or at least try.”
“The goal for me is not independence. The goal has always been sovereignty. I just see independence as the only clear path to the sovereignty we need. But I can be convinced.”
For years now, his Whistle Stop Cafe, which Scott bought back in 2019, has served as a hub for those who champion standing up to government, first over COVID-19 mandates — as Scott did when he defied provincial orders to close — and then later for independence.
His highway-side cafe, which also serves as a gas station and convenience store, pays homage to both. Inside, framed prints from scenes of the 2022 “Freedom Convoy” decorate the walls. By one window, a sticker reads, “I stand with Chris + Tamara,” referring to protest’s leaders found guilty of mischief.
Signs that read “Quebec Got to Vote, Why Can’t We,” and a “Our Future Our Choice” are placed just outside. Near the highway, a row of Alberta flags stand planted, as do large signs telling passersby to “Send Ottawa Your Message” by voting “Yes” on Oct. 19, but the signs lie tipped over, toppled much like the push for independence itself.
But while independence leaders have all vowed to keep up their fight, Scott doesn’t mince words about the campaign they mounted.
“It was a complete disaster,” he says from his cafe seat. “Like an absolute steaming pile of s—t. There was no campaign.”
He points to the actions taken by Rath and Mitch Sylvestre, another prominent independence leader whose title as CEO of the Alberta Prosperity Project has since been disputed by Scott and another member of its larger board, who say the pair had been previously removed from their positions.
Both Rath and Sylvestre have rejected that claim, with Sylvestre saying in a statement and also in a recent online call held with project members that the dispute was nothing more than internal drama spilling into public view. Scott and Sylvestre have since met to discuss their issues.
It was also on that call that Sylvestre, a major fundraiser within the United Conservative Party who presides over one of the constituency associations calling for a review of Smith’s leadership, delivered the message to supporters that the fight ahead needed to be a political one.
“Let me be clear about this: If you’re buying a UCP membership, you are not buying it to support the UCP,” he said in the Oct. 22 call.
“You are buying it to support our cause for independence. And if you’re going to the (annual general meeting in Calgary), you’re going to support our cause for independence. There’s no other reason for us to go there.”
