British Columbia’s premier made scathing comments about Alberta’s separatist movement ahead of Thursday’s election. Prime Ministers meeting in Ottawa.
David Eby said meetings between separatist leaders and US Treasury officials to discuss separation amounted to “betrayal”.
“I understand the desire to have a referendum, to talk about the issues that we want to talk about in Canada. We have freedom of speech, so that’s important. But to go to a foreign country and ask for help to break up Canada. There’s an old-fashioned word for that, and that word is treason,” said Eby, who was among the prime ministers who spoke to the media before their meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Eby is at odds with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith over her desire to build a new pipeline between Alberta and British Columbia’s north coast.
A Financial Times article, citing sources close to the negotiations, reports that leaders of the Alberta Prosperity Project, the group leading the separatist movement, have already met three times with U.S. State Department officials in Washington since April.
And one of the movement’s leaders, Jeffrey Rath, recently said on social media that he looked forward to “meeting with U.S. Treasury officials next month to discuss our feasibility study for a $500 billion line of credit to support the transition to a free and independent Alberta.”
Jefffrey Rath, one of the leaders of the Alberta separatist movement, recently posted on social media his plans to meet with U.S. Treasury officials.
X/@JeffreyRWRath
US President Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire to see Canada become the 51st state. Last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also appeared to lend support to Alberta’s separatist movement when he said the province’s vast oil reserves made it “a natural partner for the United States.”
“Albertons are very independent people,” Bessent said. “People are talking. People want sovereignty. They want what the United States has,” Bessent added.
“I think we need to put a stop to people seeking help from foreign countries to destroy our beautiful land that our ancestors, our forefathers, our parents and our grandparents fought for,” Eby said. “You know, there’s a line.”
Asked if he would raise the issue with Smith at the prime minister’s meeting, Eby said: “I think all of us, myself, Prime Minister Smith, every prime minister have a role to play in saying that this is unacceptable conduct.”
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The issue also drew the ire of Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who called reported meetings between Alberta separatists and U.S. officials “unacceptable” and “unethical.”
“Going behind Canada’s back and negotiating is unacceptable. We are one country and we should all stand together,” Ford said. “We all know where President Trump stands. He wants Canada, and that’s not going to happen.”
Ford also called on his Alberta counterpart to denounce meetings between separatists and Americans.
“This is an opportunity for Premier Smith to stand up and say enough is enough,” Ford said. “You’re either with Canada or you’re not with Canada. I’m with Canada on every level.”
“We must be united, one Canada united. I have always said: united we stand, divided we fall,” added Ford.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford speaks to reporters ahead of the first ministers’ meeting in Ottawa, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Smith, who has been accused by her opponents of courting separatists, has so far not publicly denounced the movement, instead saying she would prefer to see a strong, sovereign Alberta within a united Canada, to which Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi responded by calling it “word salad.”
Following the premiers’ meeting in Ottawa on Thursday, Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney were asked for their reaction to Eby’s comments.
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Smith responded by saying: “When you look at the polls, they suggest that up to 30 percent of Albertans have given up hope. That’s about a million people. I’m not going to demonize or marginalize a million of my fellow citizens when they have legitimate grievances. We need to give Albertans hope. We need to show them, not just tell them – not just words, but with actions – that Canada can work.”
As for reports that supporters of the Alberta sovereignty movement have met with U.S. officials, Smith said, “I would expect the U.S. administration to respect Canadian sovereignty and limit its discussions of Alberta’s democratic process to Albertans and Canadians.”
“I will talk about it with my delegate in Washington so he can talk about it with members of the administration and I will talk about it with my delegate in Ottawa so he can talk about it with the American ambassador,” Smith added.
Although Carney said he has not discussed the idea of separating Alberta or Quebec with President Trump, he said, “I expect the U.S. administration to respect Canadian sovereignty.” »
Despite reports of meetings between Alberta separatists and U.S. officials, leaders of the Alberta Prosperity Project have said so far they don’t believe anyone in the movement wants to join the United States.
The group held meetings across the province to collect signatures on a petition demanding that the Smith government hold a referendum on separation.
In an interview with Global News, the group’s lawyer, Jeffrey Rath, admitted that they met with U.S. officials to discuss, among other things, the idea of a “$500 billion credit swap or bond issue – to help a free and independent Alberta,” but he insists that nothing they are doing is a betrayal.
“We are a group of individuals trying to educate our fellow Albertans on the value of Alberta independence. We are talking with members of the U.S. administration to try to gauge the level of support that the U.S. administration would provide,” Rath said.
“I think people are very upset that Scott Bessent stated the obvious, which is that the United States views Albertans as like-minded people who would be friends, neighbors and allies as an independent country. People are upset by that and they are trying to find ways to criminalize what we do when nothing could be further from the truth,” Rath added.
He also had a message for the premier of Alberta, who, among other issues at Thursday’s first ministers’ meeting, wanted to discuss building a new oil pipeline to British Columbia’s west coast.
“So why are you flying to Ottawa to grovel, to Carney, Eby and all these other idiots to have a pipeline to Canada when the United States is holding the door open for you to have a pipeline from Alberta to the United States? » said Rath.
“None of this makes sense to me, except that apparently they are all globalists, so they hate what we do and know we win.”
Despite Rath’s bluster, an Ipsos poll released earlier this week indicates that about 29 per cent of Albertans would vote in favor of separating from Canada.but only half that number would favor separation in the face of the costs and consequences of such a separation.
— with files from The Canadian Press
