The Buffalo party of Alberta has rebranded as the Republican party of Alberta in the wake of growing calls for independence.
A delegation to Washington to gauge support for Alberta sovereignty is currently in the works, led by Calgary lawyer Jeff Rath and the Alberta Prosperity Project.
“We’ve made an important change — What used to be the WEXIT party and then Buffalo party is now the Republican party of Alberta,” wrote the party in a press release.
“This wasn’t just a rebrand. It was a decision to get serious — and focused.”
The party explained the previous name, Buffalo, “pointed to a broad Western idea.”
“But we’re not trying to represent four provinces. We’re focused on one province: Alberta. This is where the fight is. This is where the future is."
“We believe Alberta deserves real leadership. Not excuses. Not half-measures.”
“We are building a professional, disciplined movement with one clear goal: a binding vote on independence before 2027.”
“We stand for individual liberty, fiscal responsibility, strong families and communities and an Alberta that controls its own future.”
Premier Danielle Smith has called out the federal government for taking advantage of the resource-rich province and has issued Ottawa a list of demands to be implemented within six months, regardless of what party is in power at the time, to avoid a “national unity crisis.”
"I made it clear that Albertans will no longer tolerate the way we've been treated by the federal Liberals over the past 10 years," said Smith in a statement following a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The list includes greenlighting cross-province pipelines, scrapping the greenhouse gas emissions cap and addressing unfair equalization payments.
According to Elections Alberta, the Buffalo party, a party seeking independence for the western provinces, officially changed its name to the Alberta Republicans in February.
The party expects its candidates to be on the next provincial election ballot.
Elections Canada lists Andrew Jacobson, who ran in 2023 in Edmonton-Strathcona as the Buffalo party’s sole candidate, as interim party leader, Micheal Enders as president and Kathleen Adler as CFO.
Calgarian John Molberg was the Buffalo party’s initial leader when the party formed in 2022, with a platform to “seek more autonomy for Alberta and to decentralize government decision making,” said the party in a press release.
