“We’ve had enough”: Alberta separatists rally, calling independence the only way forward

An energetic crowd, the largest of its kind for the cause, gathered in front of Alberta’s Legislature yesterday, declaring October 25 as Alberta Independence Day.

"My grandparents fought for Canada, and they'd be proud of what I'm standing for now, because it's not Canada anymore — it's not the same country we grew up in," one man told me when asked why he believes separation is the only way forward.

"The more educated people get on what's going on — that we are not a bunch of rednecks trying to break up the country, that this is a very sophisticated, nuanced issue — the more converts we'll get," attested men running a Charlie Kirk–style ‘change our minds’ initiative to debate why independence is best for all Albertans.

His friend assessed that the issue is "woven into the confederation" and not just tied to the Liberal Party ruling Ottawa. "Even if Conservatives get in, some of these policies, like equalization, didn't get any better under Stephen Harper — a Conservative government doesn't always address Alberta's interests on a federal level," he said.

"Just what Ottawa has done to this country and how it treats its citizens like subjects — the government is supposed to be employed by us, but they've turned as if they're lords and tyrants over us, expecting our undying allegiance," one demonstrator argued.

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