Last Thursday the UCP passed Bil 54, a controversial piece of electoral reform legislation. The bill makes it easier for separatists to trigger a referendum on the issue.
Inside the legislature, the provincial government patted itself on the back. House leader Joseph Schow said the bill was about “strengthening democracy.”
Outside the legislature, however, hundreds of Treaty 6, 7, and 8 First Nations gathered to send a different message to Premier Danielle Smith and her colleagues.
Grand Chief Greg Desjarlais of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations accused Premier Smith of treating First Nations like they “are in the way.”
He told protesters on the steps of the legislature that treaties are between First Nations and Canada and no Alberta referendum can undo those agreements.
“We’re tired of seeing the government pass these bills where you don’t see two sentences of Indigenous inclusion, and that has to stop,” Grand Chief Greg Desjarlais told CBC News at the demonstration.
Lawsuit Back on the Table
In 2022, Onion Lake Cree Nation filed a lawsuit against the Premier and province over the Sovereignty Act. The Sovereignty Act gave the Alberta government the power to reject federal laws as it saw fit. First Nations groups claimed they had not been consulted on the act, and that it was unconstitutional.
Now Bill 54 has put wind in the sales of separatists.
Alberta’s First Nations said they’ve had enough. Onion Creek First Nation’s lawsuit was on hold, but not anymore.
“Our message to Premier Smith is that these are treaty lands. They are not yours to take, and we’re prepared to go to court to defend our constitutionally protected rights under treaty,” said Onion Lake Cree Nation Chief Henry Lewis at an Edmonton news conference. “Our decision to advance our litigation on the Alberta Sovereignty Act is in direct response to the ongoing separatist talks happening.”
First Nations may be the strongest voice to counter the distraction of a small group of Alberta separatists. It’s highly possible that Bill 54 and the Sovereignty Act could die on the courthouse floor if First Nations pursue the lawsuit.
Separatism Hurts Economy
First Nations are not the only Albertans concerned about the separatist drift. Some influential business leaders said it’s already having a chilling effect on the economy.
At a recent Atco Ltd. shareholder meeting, chief executive officer Nancy Southern said Asian partners in a large hydrogen project have pumped the brakes on investment because of uncertainty around the Albertan independence question.
“I think the separatist discussion is very unhelpful and not constructive to Alberta,” Southern said in an interview after the meeting.
Southern fears separation chatter could poison the relationship with Canada and cost Albertans in jobs and investment.
She pointed to a recent contract that the federal government awarded Atco Frontec, Atco’s defense arm in Calgary. Worth nearly $50 million, the contract is a two year project to build and install long-distance radar defense in the Arctic.
“The opportunities in Canada are really quite astounding, especially as Canada moves to modernize the Norad system and strengthen our northern defence,” Southern said.
No Certainty for Investments
Adam Legge, president of the Business Council of Alberta, said the separatism issue is adding uncertainty to a market already struggling to react and adjust to Trump’s tariff and trade war.
Any investor looking to make a play in Alberta won’t invest if they don’t know whether or not the province is going to be a part of Canada moving forward, Legge said.
“Business thrives and requires certainty and confidence,” he told CBC News.
As TheRockies.Life previously reported, Alberta can learn a lot from the United Kingdom and Quebec.
Investors and many businesses headed for the exit during England’s Brexit vote that took the country out of the European Union in 2016.
Quebec’s two failed sovereignty referendums – in 1980 and 1995 – had similar impacts on the province’s economy.
