Being back in Alberta for the past three weeks has been so surreal because like, everyone is talking about the separatists. It comes up in conversation every day with everyone you meet, the news is blaring on about it constantly. But when you look at the actual percentages, only 18% of Albertans would vote to leave Canada. And that's a 10-point drop from January, which pretty much screams 'typical Albertan conservative bluster that doesn't hold up to a whiff of reality.'
Don't get me wrong, 18% is still alarmingly high in terms of public sentiment. But also...there's really no legal mechanism for Alberta to leave Canada. First Nations are overwhelmingly opposed and Confederacy of Treaty No. 6 First Nations has, in solidarity with other First Nations in Alberta, stated that Alberta separation would be "unconstitutional, illegal, and a threat to the treaties." Parliament itself holds the decision on whether negotiations can even begin. And, perhaps most damningly, any legal discussion of separatism has to be preceded by a province-wide referendum posing a clear question about secession. The UCP cannot write clear referendum questions, much less organize a secession in any legally coherent or remotely beneficial way. If you think about what a slow, shambling, incomplete, half-assed mess Brexit has been, and then extrapolate to how the UCP is somehow even less efficient and capable than the UK Parliament...
The coverage in other parts of Canada seems to be like, "a fifth of Albertans are bug fuck insane, water is wet, more at 10" whereas people here are so whipped up by the news cycle that it seems like an existential threat. And now that I've been immersed in it, it kind of does make sense. Not an existential threat in the sense of "this could actually happen" but just one of those moments where you're so bluntly confronted with the reality of the people you share a province with, and the reality of who's currently running said province.
I truly do not think Alberta will separate but my god has this been a stressful few months. It's well known that a lot of people my age don't vote, even though this issue of separating would effect us the most. It's a prominent fear of mine that the sentiment would be driven by the older population, one who would have the means to survive the uncertainty that might follow. I DO NOT have the means to move away if I need too, and neither to many others.
This is all a very long winded way to encourage young people to vote in October. Whatever you opinion is on this issue, your voice deserves to be heard! After all, our generation will be the ones experiencing the lasting effects, whether positive or negative.
