Topline
A tiny far-right Canadian separatist group pushing for Alberta to join the U.S. as the 51st state got a publicity boost when right-wing outlets Fox News and Newsmax reported about its existence Tuesday, in the latest fringe movement for Albertan secession—though the group’s hopes of breaking away from Canada are a tremendous longshot.
A push among from a group in Alberta to join the U.S. has gained traction, though it faces a long … [+]
Key Facts
An anonymous source from the group, which launched in opposition to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Covid-19 restrictions, told Fox News he had “an affinity toward the U.S.” because of its “freedom, Constitution and just the entire Republican system versus the monarchy here, which is really a pseudonym for dictatorship.”
More recently, the group, which only has 67 members on Facebook and 74 Twitter followers, has risen to prominence among right-wing networks for its resurrection of a longstanding movement to redraw the U.S.-Canada border around the oil-rich, heavily conservative province (Forbes has reached out to The Alberta 51 Project for comment).
Fox News featured the advocacy group in an online article Tuesday, linking it to a video from Fox News’ The Five slamming Trudeau’s decision to invoke emergency authorization to quell protests led by truck drivers in February 2022, which had caused highway blockades and shut down bridges and border crossings to the U.S.
The source told Fox the group opposes Canada’s federal government’s “increasingly authoritarian tactics,” pointing to a February 2022 decision by the Canadian government to freeze some protesters’ bank accounts during the so-called Freedom Convoy, which started in response to Canada’s Covid vaccine mandate on truckers that crossed the U.S. border (the bank account freezes were lifted that same month).
Contra
In order to secede, Alberta would need to hold a referendum where a majority of voters support leaving Canada, though the Canadian Parliament would then have to amend its constitution to allow for secession. . In the U.S., meanwhile, Congress has the authority to admit new states under Article 4 of the Constitution, though it hasn’t done so since Alaska and Hawaii joined the Union in 1959. Statehood, however, might also be an unlikely prospect from an American perspective, following unsuccessful Democratic-led initiatives to admit both Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico as states. One attempt in 2021 to admit Washington D.C. as the 51st state reached the Senate, but failed after facing heavy pushback from Senate Republicans as well as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who argued a constitutional amendment should be taken up to admit them—rather than a simple piece of legislation.
Key Background
The Alberta 51 Project, which was founded last year, called on the Canadian Rocky Mountain province in July to secede from Canada, announcing its opposition to the “parliamentary imbalance that allows central Canada to control the lives and enterprise” of Alberta residents. It’s the latest in a series of attempts to join the U.S., following failed initiatives throughout the 1900s, as well as a failed referendum for Quebec’s independence in 1995. According to the Alberta 51 Project’s website, the group advocates for a new constitution recognized as a state in the U.S., which would give it roughly six electoral votes in Congress. Among its demands are the abolition of customs, a stronger army, “better protection of our land and resources” and economic protection under the U.S. dollar. The group also raises funds on its website through bumper sticker sales, and has nearly $1,100 in a fundraiser for promotional billboards.
Big Number
21%. That’s the percentage of Alberta residents who believe the province would be better off in the U.S., according to a February poll by Research Co. that Fox News cited. The same poll found 20% of Canadians in general would rather their area be part of the United States.
Further Reading
Trudeau Invokes Rare Emergency Powers To Shut Down ‘Freedom Convoy’ Blockades (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/05/16/what-is-the-alberta-51-project-hard-right-canadian-separatist-group-gaining-steam-from-fox-news/