EDMONTON — Forever Canadian leader Thomas Lukaszuk says Alberta independence leaders are attempting to instill doubt in the legitimacy of Alberta's referendum and destabilize Canada ahead of the October vote. "The second narrative that's out there right now, and it's obviously a narrative that is being proliferated from top down, is that the only way the separatists could lose this referendum is if this referendum is rigged, and we know that they're likely to lose this referendum," said Lukaszuk in an interview with Energy Media on Wednesday..Right or wrong, Alberta independence supporters often claim that the deck is stacked against them ahead of the October referendum. Their supposed obstacles include an erroneous judicial system, biased election officials, provincial and federal government leaders, and wealthy business owners. Lukaszuk claims their tactics are similar to the ones used by U.S. President Donald Trump before and after the 2020 election. "It is unfortunate that many people are falling for this narrative, but it seems to be effective," Lukaszuk said. .He further said that independence supporters have taken suspect incidents from the movement and checkered histories from their leaders and turned them into galvanizing forces. In the days following a turbulent news cycle that involved media outlets revisiting the 2012 manslaughter conviction of Robert Deer, who is the leader of the Alberta Land Consortium pro-independence third-party advertising group, nationalists gathered around him and donated $20,000 to his TPA."When I talk with some of the separatists on the street, they tell me, 'See, that is the reason why we need to separate because it's the deep state going after our leaders. They're innocent. They haven't done anything. It's the crooked courts, the crooked police that are trying to frame them,'" Lukaszuk said. "So, you know, obviously we have to pursue those individuals for what they have done, but they have created a culture that 'the more we are convicted of more offences, the more we are victimized, and the more we have to push back.'".Alberta independence supporters have spent a large part of the referendum campaign period questioning Elections Alberta and Alberta's Chief Electoral Officer for holding their groups to strict regulations, but ignoring what they claim are flagrant violations by Lukaszuk's group.Earlier in the interview, Lukaszuk said the independence movement's playbook is similar to the one used by Trump and in Brexit to destabilize the nation's political system. "It is to sort of perpetuate doubt in how elections are conducted, who counts the ballots, who appoints the judges, how fair or unfair the decisions are, and doubt in police, and that then dismantles our society," Lukaszuk said. "Those are the pillars of what keep what keeps our country together, and when you create doubt in those institutions, you have anarchy, you have chaos, and that's exactly what foreign powers want." In a letter sent to Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi and posted on social media on Sunday, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service said events such as Alberta's referendum can create conditions for foreign actors to exploit and advance their narratives and objectives. Alberta's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, Mike Ellis, claimed in May that the RCMP said they had not found any evidence to suspect foreign interference in the October referendum.
