Bessent weighs in on Alberta separatism, calls Alberta ‘natural partner for the U.S.’

By Canadian Press on January 23, 2026.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent commented Thursday on the separatist movement in Alberta — making him the highest-ranking member of the Trump administration to weigh in on the province’s politics.

While appearing on the right-wing TV station Real America’s Voice, Bessent claimed Canada won’t let Alberta build a pipeline to the Pacific.

“I think we should let them come down into the U.S. and Alberta’s a natural partner for the U.S.,” he said.

“They have great resources. The Albertans are very independent people,” Bessent said, adding there’s a “rumour that they may have a referendum on whether they want to stay in Canada or not.”

When asked if he knew something about it, Bessent said, “People are talking. People want sovereignty. They want what the U.S. has got.”

Organizers of the Alberta independence movement have repeatedly claimed they have had meetings with members of the Trump administration, although they have not disclosed any names. Their message has started to spread among MAGA influencers online, and among Republicans broadly.

Andy Ogles, a Republican congressman in Tennessee, told a BBC panel earlier this week that the people of Alberta would “prefer not to be a part of Canada and be a part of the United States because we are winning day in and day out.”

The Alberta independence movement is collecting signatures to trigger a referendum in that province. The question they are asking is whether Alberta should be independent — not if it should join the United States.

Bessent’s comments come after U.S. President Donald Trump rescinded the invitation for Canada to take part in his “Board of Peace” following Prime Minister Mark Carney’s widely praised speech at the World Economic Forum.

In a post on social media Thursday night, Trump did not explain why he was withdrawing Carney’s invitation — the latest upheaval in the relationship between Canada and the United States.

When asked about Bessent’s comments, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon said Carney has laid out how Ottawa is diversifying trade and playing its role as a middle power to ensure “we have a strong economy to make the decisions that keep our country sovereign.”

“And that does not mean that you reply to any comment. We can control what we control,” he said in Quebec City.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2026.

— with files from Catherine Morrison in Quebec City.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press