EDMONTON — Forever Canadian leader Thomas Lukaszuk appeared on The OShow with Laura Babcock and said that "no more than 25, maximum 30%" of Albertans are in favour of Alberta independence, and that within that, there are three equal subgroups, each with its own goals and motivations. He said independence supporters are either looking to send a message to Ottawa, to make Alberta its own country, or to become the 51st state. .Lukaszuk said he understands the 10% of Albertans support independence because they want to send a message to Ottawa and secure a better deal for Alberta within Canada. "There are problems," said Lukaszuk. "I'm the first one to tell you, there are problems within our federation that slow down all provinces from being as prosperous as they can be, and we need to resolve that as provinces with each other.""And I have all the time in the world for them, and I think we should pursue some of those solutions."Then, there are 10% of Albertans who want an independent Alberta, such as advocate Keith Wilson. "Those people argue that we should form a new country because nothing can be done to make them happy anymore," Lukaszuk said. According to Lukaszuk, the final 10% of Albertans are those who want Alberta to become the U.S.'s 51st state. "They are having meetings with high-ranking officials in Washington, in Mar-a-Lago," Lakaszuk said. "They definitely want to be part of states, and there's nothing that we can do about it." .Lukaszuk's comments were contrasted by Babcock's claims that the entire movement was motivated by a desire to become a 51st state, not independence, and Premier Danielle Smith is in on the plan."I don't think for one minute that the Alberta separation is about being independent," said Babcock. "I believe it's about becoming the 51st state, and I think Danielle Smith has shown us, in photographic evidence and her actions, to your point, that she is interested in being as close to the MAGA Trump regime as possible.""She flew down to Mar-a-Lago on her own, she flew down to the inauguration, she has taken all kinds of meetings, she has been on the podcast of the far-right MAGA movement in the US, she is courting MAGA, and MAGA is a threat to our country, and so to me, Daniel Smith is playing a very dangerous game.".Babcock asserted that the movement is, in some ways, an act of treason. "France was not a hostile regime like the Trump regime has become to Canada, and so at no time were they going over and asking for military support and money from a hostile regime, which raises it to me to treason," said Babcock when comparing Alberta's movement to Quebec's in 1980 and 1995. Lukaszuk nudged back against Babcock's allegations of treason, but said the independence movement would have been shut down if Alberta were in the U.S. "Then they would be breaking American law, and the National Guard would probably come in and bring order to this, because American law wouldn't allow for this to happen," Lukaszuk said. "Our Canadian law never had to deal with this. There's no jurisprudence on it, so, technically, it's legal. Is it moral? Is it right? Of course not. But they're doing what they're doing."Alberta's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, Mike Ellis, told Albertans on May 7 that the RCMP have informed him they have received no credible information that the Alberta independence movement has been subject to foreign interference.
