When it comes to politics, my experience with those on the left has never been great. Not long ago, many wanted me dead (literally), and said so, simply because of my political beliefs. Others have ‘unfriended’ me because we disagreed on something. Last year, I even went to an NDP event in hopes of coming away with some understanding of their point of view. While trying to find at least a sliver of common ground to build a bridge upon, the person sitting next to me made it clear the bridge was out.  

‘Should we stay or should we go?’ is a very polarizing question that should be non-partizan. In November a gentleman who feels the same invited me to discuss it at a public forum and it was a lot of fun! And I really mean that. He asked if I would consider doing it again and, of course, I said yes. A semi-retired Unitarian minister who helped with the Forever Canada campaign was willing to represent the ‘stay’ side, and the event was booked.  

With no idea how many would attend, it was hard not to think I could be walking into the Lion’s Den. A lot of prayer went into this event and not just mine. As I walked in the door, nervousness was replaced with peace and some friendly familiar faces. It was a quaint gathering of around 25-30 of us at the Ukrainian Centre on 97st. The speakers would each have thirty minutes to state their case, followed by Q&A with the audience, and five minutes for closing remarks.

If the thoughts and ideologies shared by the Unitarian minister reflect all involved in the Forever Canada campaign, I learned a lot about how they perceive us. It quickly became a left verses right issue, peppered with disparaging remarks about our Premier and Conservatives in general. Sadly, not unexpected.

Though my political leanings are well known, I keep my presentation to facts. Taking the audience on a short journey through our history followed by current headlines, the intention is to help people see where we are and how we got here. Within the headline portion we see that our prisons are filling up with non-Canadians, human trafficking is out of control, and cultural uprisings are a real problem. Very unapologetically, I say to every audience before me that those who come to Canada and then hurt us need to go home. A woman sitting in the front row was visibly troubled during this part of the presentation and I wondered why. From what or whose angle was she seeing this? During the question-and-answer portion I found out.

Filled with emotion and angst toward me, “Do you know how MAGA, ultra-right-wing, racist, Nigel Farag-like you sound telling these people to go home??” She was upset and went on for a few minutes more. Then it was my turn to respond.

Me: “Do you lock your doors?”

Her: “Of course.”

Me: “Would you be upset if someone broke in, wrecked your house, stole from you, and hurt your family?”

Her: “Of course, but we invited these people in to become part of our social fabric and have a better life here. We need to welcome them….” and she continued to expand on that thought for another minute or so.

Me: “Okay. If you invite someone into your home, feed them, give them a place to sleep, shelter, etc., and then they ransack it, hurt your kids, and take advantage of you, you would be alright with that?”

She struggled trying to respond and never did truly answer the question. I was as perplexed with her ideology as she was with mine. What, or where, is the disconnect between us? How can it be that two women who both just want to make the world around us a better place, hold such opposing views?

The following day I received a Facebook message from another attendee who also had a problem with the headlines, particularly the one about human trafficking. She questioned what connection it has to Alberta separatism, except as a racist assumption about immigrants. Now there was a theme. Pointing out just a few of the facts regarding how our federal government manages immigration upset these women to the core. But why? The facts are the facts. How can they be denied? Then the a-ha moment came.

This is ‘white guilt’. There are some who believe that calling out the crimes of those who are not white is wrong. Furthermore, wanting justice for those who were hurt by them makes us racist, misogynist, colonialist, and so on. It is an ideology we have all heard and read about. Here I experienced it in real time.

For the record, Alberta Independence has absolutely nothing to do with race, skin color, or any other identifiable human trait. None of us care about any of that. This movement is about correcting the wrongs that have been done toward all Albertans for generations. Most of whom came as immigrants, many of whom really were discriminated against terribly when they arrived. Many of us are descendants of those immigrants. Yours truly is among them whose paternal side came here, narrowly missing the horrors of Holodomor (how apropos that we were at the Ukrainian Centre).

Standing up for generations of political wrongdoing against Albertans gets us accused of all sorts of things we are nowhere near guilty of. I am also constantly reminded that there will always be those for whom our message will never reach. And that’s okay.

Though I walked in to the Ukrainian Centre that night expecting the worst, I walked away pleasantly surprised. Despite this being an emotional topic, everyone was quite polite, most were attentive, and the passive aggressive jabs sent my way were at a much lower key than anticipated. To the gentleman who hosted it, I cannot commend him enough. In politics, opposites do not attract. Ever. Bringing us together in one room took remarkable courage, and for that I am very grateful.

Though no common ground was ever found that evening, the bridge wasn’t completely out. There was a small speck of agreement between the Unitarian minister and I. We both concur that this referendum really is the only way to ensure all of our voices are heard.

Last year, we watched the Forever Canada folks pull off a bit of a miracle by getting the number of signatures needed for their petition. Almost methodically, they travelled from town to town, event to event, location to location, filling bankers’ boxes with pages upon pages of signed petitions. While there are questions as to how exactly they got all those signatures, at the end of the day Elections Alberta accepted them as submitted.

This year is our turn and barely two days in phones are blowing up all over the province with people asking who is doing what? Where are we meeting? How will this work? Who do we call? Where do we go? Where can I sign? In short, it is chaos.

Have you ever wondered why is it that those on the left seem to be so much more organized than those on the right? The answer is very simple. Because they thrive on being told what to do and how to do it. They have no problem waiting for and following instruction. We, on the other hand, do not do well standing around waiting for anyone or anything. It is the ‘get it done’ attitude that built Alberta.

The world is watching, literally, and it is very exciting. It also feels a little messy, which is part of the process and nothing to worry about. Within the coming days, order will displace the chaos. To help make that happen, let’s keep the following five things in mind:

1)      First and foremost, Mitch Sylvester is the proponent for the question that was submitted. He has to follow the Citizen Led Petition for a Referendum legislation under the guidance of Elections Alberta. Let’s thank him by supporting him and doing our best to make this as efficient as possible.

2)      Within the legislation that governs this petition are rules and processes that have to be followed.  If you do not like some or all of the rules and/or processes, suck it up and respect them anyway.

3)      If you have the means to support the drive for signatures, be it financially, with your time, or facilitating a meeting to educate others, please do. To get this across the finish line is truly going to be a team effort.

4)      Those for whom our success is akin to nails on a chalk board are going to come out swinging like never before. Also, mainstream media is not our friend. Expect it and ignore it.

5)      Lastly, and most importantly, everyone involved in gathering signatures and submitting the petition are your fellow Albertans. They are volunteering and doing their best. Be patient, be kind, and make some new friends.

There is a new website that has all the information, along with social media pages to follow. Here is the link Stay Free Alberta: Alberta independence referendum petition and canvasser. Share it far and wide, get to the events, bring a friend, and let’s get the question “Do you agree that Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?” on a referendum ballot later this year.  

Traveling the province means I get to meet the greatest people. Last week I was in a quaint little town called Delburne that has a restaurant called ‘Bistro’ where you can find the best dry ribs I have ever had. Not only was the hospitality at both the restaurant and the meeting top notch, the folks there taught me my greatest lesson to date. We have a problem that can only be solved by bringing generations together.

The crowd was a good size, very friendly, and most seemed to be onboard with Alberta independence. That is nothing unusual for rural Alberta. What was a bit unusual is who was in attendance. When I finished my spiel, the questions started and someone asked ‘where are the youth?’ It is a great question and one that we often wrestle with. That night we were treated to the best answer yet.

“Look behind you!”

There they were. Two young ladies, both around 20, standing at the back. It was glorious and we had questions. You are here, and we are so grateful that you are, now how do we get this message to your friends? Their answer is where my education began.

For years I looked at this issue as ‘for or against’ and did what I could to meet people where they were at. Then, thanks to a very wise friend, I realized women need to hear the independence message in a way that we can internalize and grasp. So, my presentation and conversations were tailored a little more. What I did not fully appreciate until that night in Delburne is that there is a third demographic that demands particular consideration in regards to messaging: our youth.

We know conservatism among the youth is growing. We also know they are warming up to the idea of Alberta independence. Yet, we rarely see our young ones at our meetings. The general consensus is that, for the most part, this generation is found online. However, these ladies taught us that while yes, that is true, most are just scrolling and not really taking information in. Her description sort of reminded me of how we used to scroll through the Sears catalogue.

Exploring it further, I realized there is a gap online that needs filling. Podcasts and short videos about Alberta Independence specific to this generation are not found. I know for a fact that there are some, but obviously they not being seen. This is a problem.

As we continued to listen, we learned about another conundrum, and it is a doozie. While it is no secret post-secondary institutions are very left leaning, we sometimes glaze over how awful it truly is for the scholars in attendance. We heard about a friend of theirs who brought up the idea of Alberta Independence in one of their classes at the UofA. Not only was this student unceremoniously shut down, the class was warned that if anyone brought it up again their marks would be affected. So much for freedom of thought and exploring ideas.

Our current provincial government has been working hard to root out this sort of behavior in all of our schools. Unfortunately, the tentacles are deep, making the battle to return our centers of learning to what they should be quite a challenge. Some progress has been made, thankfully, but obviously there is more to do. We must also remember, our Premier and MLA’s only know what they are told. In light of that, I encouraged these ladies to help their friend write a letter to the Minister of Advanced Education and the Premier. If others in the class are willing to sign it as witnesses, the more the better. It sounded like they were ready to do that, which very much inspired the rest of us.

The younger Millennials, Gen Y’s, and now Z’s are discovering that almost everything they were taught is a lie. Not only was it a lie, they believed it and it got them nowhere. No job. No house. No money to raise a family with. And no real-life experience yet to know how to chart a path forward despite the challenges. Not to mention, unfettered immigration has only exacerbated the problem. It is not good and no wonder they are mad. I am, too.

There is a very strong youth presence in the Alberta independence movement and they have their own reasons for it. It is a grave mistake to think a ‘one size fits all’ message is going to reach them. Our meetings are not their jam. These young men and women know what they want and need and we have an opportunity to bring the generations together by helping them get the independence message to their peers in a way that works for their generation, not ours. So, let’s talk with them, not to them, and find out how.