What’s really behind Alberta ‘independence?’

By Lethbridge Herald on August 21, 2025.

Catherine Mardon
For the Herald

I was born in the United States, but I realized recently that I rarely think like an American anymore. I certainly don’t think like a MAGA American. My two decades as a Canadian have changed my thoughts on many issues. I never thought I’d live without a firearm in my home. My high school had a shooting range in the basement. I learned to shoot in grade school.

I expected to have some issues with the metric system. Still, during my first trip to the fabric store, I almost ended up on the floor in the fetal position when the clerk asked me how many meters I needed. Canada might look and sound a lot like the U.S., but everyday I am reminded that it isn’t.

Independence Day wasn’t just a movie. It’s a pretty big celebration in the U.S. It is a remembrance of those who were willing to fight and die to gain the right to determine their own fates. Many of my 4-5th Great-Grandfathers and one Great- Grandmother fought in the US Revolutionary War.

My great-Grandfathers also fought in the Civil War 85 years later, on both sides. We call it Independence, but it wasn’t really about freedom in the way we think today. In brutal honesty, both were about money. First day of law school I learned that most disagreements are foundationally about money. Some would say they are about power, but money can often buy power.

At first when Alberta independence was brought up, I laughed in the same way I did when I heard Donald Trump was running for president the first time. Not laughing now. I laughed because I quickly envisioned all the issues independence would cause. When I lived in the U.S., the city renamed a street after Martin Luther King, Jr. it was horrible for all the businesses. They had to have new signage, new business cards and stationary.

Every street sign had to be changed. It was chaotic for awhile. That was a name change of one city street in a small southern town. Imagine changing every business card, stationary, website and thousands of other things across an entire province.

 That’s just paperwork. The people stuff is where it gets really complicated. Border controls, commerce, the judiciary, the criminal justice system, immigration, the military, anything the federal government handles now, will have to be recreated, right down to the dogs who sniff for drugs at the airport.

Texas once voted for independence. They became a Republic for almost ten years. They couldn’t make a go of it alone and decided to become part of the US. To become a state, the U. S. Congress and Senate had to pass an annexation bill. The President had to sign the bill into law. At that point, Texans had to vote to accept the offer to become a state. A majority voted in favour of statehood. That ultimately led to the Mexican American War.

When Mr. Trump first started threatening Canadian Sovereignty, I got to use my constitutional law training. I spent weeks teaching impromptu constitutional law classes everywhere, to the neighbours, to my community band members, to bus drivers. Canadians were scared. The definition of a terrorist is someone who does or says something designed to scare people. The words of one man, no matter how loud or scary, cannot annex a large country without our consent.

Mr. Trump has been playing fast and loose with the checks and balances written into the U.S. Constitution. It’s a grown up version of rock/paper/scissors. The president can propose spending cuts, but the purse strings are exclusively in the hands of Congress. When more of the current lawsuits against the president’s actions make their way through the federal courts, the power of the judicial system will come to bear. Then we’ll see if he will comply.

Alberta is a big place in more than just geography. We have big opinions of ourselves. We have big trucks, big mountains, and big ambitions. Do we really think we can become an independent nation? Why would we want to? What’s really behind this push? One way or the other, we may get to vote on it.

In the meantime, we need to be practical. We need to be the grownups in the room. I wasn’t born in Canada. I didn’t choose Canada like immigrants wanting a new, better life. I chose a Canadian, my husband. I was proud to become a Canadian, waving my maple leaf flag with a roomful of other new Canadians. I wouldn’t have believed it possible that Canadian unity could come unraveled.

My family has fought in almost every conflict probably back to rock throwing cavemen. My father fought in WWII, including protecting convoys of Canadian troops during the Battle of the Atlantic. He still served in color guards for veteran’s funerals into his 70’s. I grew up around soldiers. I volunteer with the Royal Canadian Army Cadets. My interaction with Canadian Force members has shown them to be proud to represent their country.

Many Albertans have fought with the Canadian maple leaf on their shoulders. Too many have died wearing it to be discarded for vain, disrespectful reasons. When politicians make decisions that make no logical sense, follow the money. Alberta independence makes no sense, so what exactly is behind this movement?

Dr. Catherine Mardon is a retired attorney, social activist and author. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta’s John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre, and serves on the Ethics Committee at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.