I feel like all of Canada is stuck with me in the middle now, with Quebec separatists slipping into power down east and those treasonous Alberta jokers out west.
A major investigation in Saturday's Globe and Mail revealed those Alberta jokers and the extent of US interference in the Alberta "referendum on a referendum":
Coyne's comment may be sour grapes, but its still true:
Signs of the Apocalypse - a regular round-up of the crazy stuff happening down south
This 'splains it!
Trump had CDS - Canada Derangement Syndrome. I think he's talking about some part of the CUSMA deal but who knows
Dispatches from the Canada-US Trade War
I'm reading some trepidation tonight, that Carney is going to have a more difficult time now achieve his goals of increasing investment in Canada because of the separatist win in Quebec, plus the Alberta goings-on.
But I'm still finding news to share:
...A Globe and Mail investigation has found that Republican political operatives were on the ground in Alberta this year to assist the separatist campaign in its bid to leave Canada, while harbouring their own aspirations for the province to secede.Plus we also heard recently about attempts to cut a separate deal with Quebec.
The Globe also found that when Alberta separatist leaders went to Washington to meet with the U.S. State Department, they offered up key assets from the province’s resource portfolio, including access to fresh water and royalties on crude oil, in exchange for help transitioning to independence....
Reaction was fast and furious.So now Trump not only trying to fix his own elections but now trying to fix election in Canada also by trying to deal with a Quebec Govt to get an Aluminum deal but hidden from the Carney and trying to divide us to then hop in
— Barry (@barry13.bsky.social) September 25, 2026 at 4:04 PM
In The Line, Jen Gerson talks to Albertans about what the Globe story means for people who think they just might vote "leave" to tell Ottawa how pissed off they are:Mayor of Calgary: "It's really rich to see from some of these leaders in the separatist movement, they talk about freedom, sovereignty. And when they go down south of the border, offering our water, our land, our oil, this is not about taking back Alberta, this is about selling out Alberta."
— Scott Robertson (@sarobertson.bsky.social) October 5, 2026 at 5:26 PM
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...So, you want to send a message to Ottawa; give them a taste of just how shabbily we’ve been treated. And the October vote to hold a vote seems to be offering a consequence-free way to do it — of regaining some control over a country that seems hostile and unresponsive.In The Globe and Mail, editor Tyler Dawson writes:
I get that. I do.
Here’s the problem.
Voting to leave — even just voting in favour of maybe voting later to leave — is not sending a message to Ottawa.
It’s sending a message to Washington.
The message is this: Canada is weak, regionally divided, and can be turned on itself for America’s benefit. Ultimately, that message hurts all of us, including Albertans.
Look, if you haven’t already, read the Globe and Mail piece that came out over the weekend that fleshed out many of the details about the connections between American political actors and the separatist set. The biggest takeaway was the fact that at least some separatist leaders were willing to effectively pawn off Alberta’s water and royalties, and to accept a massive debt burden, in exchange for U.S. help, consideration, or legitimacy.
The very leaders who are staking their entire argument for Alberta independence on the unfair treatment of Ottawa toward our resources hate Canada so much that they’re willing to sacrifice all of those same resources for God-knows what foreign assurances.
...We seem to have handed the reins of not only Alberta, but the well-being of the nation itself, to the most strategically short sighted, dishonest and narcissistic Useful Idiots this province has ever managed to produce...
...you’d think, in an ideal world, [Alberta separatists would] have some loyalty to Alberta – and Albertans. If you’re going to fight for an independent Alberta you ought, at least, to fight for independence, and not for vassalage to one’s neighbour.And Dani is playing Sgt. Schultz - she knew nothing! NOTHING!
But new reporting, an investigation published Saturday by The Globe and Mail, shows that some separatists have promised just that. At meetings last year in the building that headquarters the U.S. State Department, separatists apparently pitched the United States on the benefits of an independent Alberta. They suggested that Alberta could convert its Canadian dollars to the U.S. greenback, paid for, potentially, by a royalty on Alberta’s crude oil or offering the Americans a tranche of land for a railroad to Alaska. Dennis Modry, one of the founders of the separatist Alberta Prosperity Project, said they even offered up access to Alberta’s freshwater.
No agreement was struck, but that the offer was even made suggests a degree of complicity in the wholesale selling-out of Alberta. It means, as the Oct. 19 vote on secession approaches, Albertans ought to take a very serious look at what their future as an independent state would be like, especially with such people in positions of influence within a newly independent Alberta. And if the concern is escaping from supposed oppression by Ottawa, they ought to consider whether bending the knee to the United States is a preferable outcome – it isn’t. Those Albertans who are perhaps tentative supporters of separatism, or are considering a vote for option two – the option that would compel Alberta to move toward a proper secession referendum – ought to think about whether some of the leadership of the separatist project actually have their best interests in mind....
Alberta premier unaware of reported separatist meetings with U.S. strategists calgaryjournal.ca/2026/10/05/a...
— Brooks DeCillia (@bdecillia.bsky.social) October 5, 2026 at 4:48 PM
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Dean Blundell writes a great piece that brings the fireRath has been publicly bragging about the “several meetings” he’s had with “high level” Republicans for months now. He says he’s asked them for a half-trillion dollar loan to get the new nation of Alberta off the ground. There is precisely zero possibility that she doesn’t know.
— Pragmatical 🇨🇦 (@allij.bsky.social) October 5, 2026 at 10:00 PM
...What Happens on October 19Meanwhile, the Parti Quebecois has won, sort of, in Quebec, with the Liberals as the official opposition now.
Support for separation in Alberta has never held above 30% for any length of time. The ballot question is a referendum on whether to have another referendum. On paper, this should lose. That’s exactly why the turnout machine mattered so much to Parker, and why a crowd of motivated people who will, as Nenshi put it, walk over broken glass to vote is more dangerous than the polls look.
So here’s what a serious country does in the next two weeks. Ottawa tells Albertans, in plain language, what CSIS and ITAC know and when they knew it, instead of letting Danielle Smith sit on top-secret briefings she won’t discuss. The RCMP tells us where the Centurion file stands before people vote, not after. Elections Alberta explains how a list meant for registered parties ended up in an app built on Michigan Republican code. And every Canadian politician who has been mumbling about “respecting sovereignty” starts saying the word Eby used out loud ["treason"], or explains why they won’t.
You can believe Alberta gets a raw deal from Ottawa. Plenty of people do, and some of them have a point. But there’s a difference between fighting for a better deal and flying to Washington with the province’s water on a list of things to trade. One is politics. The other is a for-sale sign, and the buyers have already told us what they plan to do with the property.
Coyne's comment may be sour grapes, but its still true:
Turnout was 68%. So the PQ "mandate" consists of 19 per cent of eligible voters. Fewer than 1 in 5.
— Andrew Coyne 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇬🇪🇲🇩 (@acoyne) October 6, 2026
I have been waiting for Evan Scrimshaw to write something about the results and he did not disappoint:The results coming in looks like someone swung a hammer at CAQ and the shards have just went every direction without any rhyme or reason. Just Vibes, Man™ This has to be the most phoned-in election cycle in Quebec in my lifetime lmao
— TheSinnamom (@thesinnamom.gay) October 5, 2026 at 7:32 PM
Quebec has finally gotten through their election, with a PQ minority government likely able to muddle through for a while with Quebec Solidaire. The CAQ have collapsed to a genuine zero seats - thanks for the help at stopping the separatists, assholes - while the Conservatives have entered the Assembly and the Liberals nearly doubled their seat count. It’s been a hell of a night, to say the least.
There is a majority for a referendum bill, though between the average lifespan of minority parliaments and the PQ’s promise not to hold a referendum while Trump’s in office, that might not matter. The PQ’s obvious disinterest in actually governing for Quebecers will be obvious by their inability to do much on the issues that matter - cost of living, health care, education, and bringing much needed private investment back to Quebec - and their 28% vote share is a very weak platform from which to try and claim any mandate.
But all in, I’m thinking about one word Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said in his speech tonight about the “dream” of independence. It’s a word separatists often use, but in this context it’s a damning admission - he may have a dream, but tonight was not a step towards achieving it. And all the PQ’s done by winning the poisoned chalice of tonight is make the clear Quebec majority’s dream of a stronger, vibrant Quebec inside Canada a hell of a lot more likely.
There is an inherent contradiction in calling a separatist victory a win for federalists, but let’s be very real - this is a fantastic fucking night for Canada, especially compared to what everyone was expecting/fearing months and years ago. The Liberals have rebounded strongly, strengthening their position in the 450, posting strong wins in key seats on the south shore and sweeping Laval on route to a restoration of their traditional base of power.
More importantly for Milliard, he now has the roadmap to go and win government from. While the 2022 campaign strategy of save the furniture won them 21 seats and official opposition by default, it left the party dead outside of its core, and devoid of an obvious or clear target list of where to target and win. Tonight’s victories in this context is little short of Herculean....
Signs of the Apocalypse - a regular round-up of the crazy stuff happening down south
This 'splains it!
Trump had CDS - Canada Derangement Syndrome. I think he's talking about some part of the CUSMA deal but who knows
Here is a useful though depressing commentary from Bob Rae on this Phillips O'Brien post. I don't understand why American media aren't pounding these stories every day:www.threads.com/share/BANNgr...
— 🇨🇦Perpetually Pissed Canuck🇨🇦 (@tangusmac1.bsky.social) October 5, 2026 at 7:15 PM
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The fact is Trump not only lost his war but it's the biggest L the US has taken at least since Vietnam. Our bases are destroyed & abandoned, Iran is emboldened, China is toying w/ us. Hegseth & co want to move on to culture war slop, but they got routed & we'll be dealing w/repercussions for decades
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) September 30, 2026 at 5:20 PM
25th Amendment? We can’t even get network news to air it or even mention it. It’s a massive national media coverup to hide the fact the we have an addled president.
— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) September 30, 2026 at 7:31 PM
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Dispatches from the Canada-US Trade War
I'm reading some trepidation tonight, that Carney is going to have a more difficult time now achieve his goals of increasing investment in Canada because of the separatist win in Quebec, plus the Alberta goings-on.
But I'm still finding news to share:
🇨🇦 Six #FirstNations, Canada and BC have signed off on a marine reserve covering 6,700 km² of the Great Bear Sea. “Realm of the Salmon” will be co-governed by the Wuikinuxv, Nuxalk, Kitasoo Xai’xais, Heiltsuk, GitxaaÅ‚a and Gitga’at Nations. Also declared it an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area.
— Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo (@0lsi.bsky.social) August 12, 2026 at 2:56 PM
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— The Globe and Mail (@theglobeandmail.com) October 5, 2026 at 4:01 PM
And finally, because you've likely got an earworm for it now:Canada and the EU are cementing an alliance at their Montreal summit on October 29. Shrugging off Trump’s furious tariff threats, they’re integrating digital trade, defense, energy, and resources. Ursula von der Leyen wants Canada as an associate member. Transatlantic defiance.
— Notorious VOG (@notoriousvog.bsky.social) September 30, 2026 at 12:30 PM
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