Nearly 250 people attended the premiere for Rebel News documentary Ungovernable: Alberta’s Quest for Independence at the Canyon Meadows Cinemas in Calgary. .“This movie is not a movie that would be made by the CBC or any mainstream media,” said Rebel publisher Ezra Levant at the Wednesday event. .“It’s fascinating because it was made through the eyes of Kian Simone, a refugee from Ontario coming to Alberta to seek freedom.” .Ungovernable starts off with Simone speaking about leaving Ontario because he was annoyed with the province cordoning off non-essential items in big box stores during the pandemic. Simone said he left with a few suitcases to move to Alberta to preserve the civil liberties he enjoyed. .“Alberta is my favourite place in the world,” he said. .“But something I didn’t understand when I moved here was why would anyone in their right mind want to leave Canada.” .Ungovernable covers how Alberta independence feelings started during former prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s first term in office. Trudeau became involved in politics because he wanted to make Quebec feel more at home in Canada. .Levant said when provinces talk about independence and make demands, that's when they're listened to. While there are Quebecers who want their own country, he said there are more who want a stronger negotiating position. .The documentary said all Western Canadians obtained from former prime minister Stephen Harper's majority government were scrapping the Wheat Board and ending the long gun registry. Rebel editor-in-chief Sheila Gunn Reid said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau being elected in 2015 reversed progress Western Canada made. .It said Albertan independence gained momentum when Trudeau enacted the carbon tax. Levant said what Trudeau believes “sounds like what a child would have heard at his father’s dinner table 40 years ago.” .Levant said Trudeau harbours anti-Western Canada and anti-oil and gas views. He accused the prime minister of not having a rationale for hating Alberta. .Gunn Reid said while many people thought they would have a kind leader by electing former Alberta premier Rachel Notley, what they received was “a fierce and brutal socialist.”.One of Notley’s first policies was a carbon tax, which she said scared away oil and gas investments. .The documentary covered how more Alberta autonomy could be coming if Premier Danielle Smith was elected. Smith defined her campaign as putting Alberta first. .Levant said it's interesting how Smith is most likely to succeed former Alberta premier Jason Kenney because her floor crossing paved the way for Notley. He added she seems penitent for the floor crossing and has been running a bold campaign. .Western Standard publisher Derek Fildebrandt said Alberta would be best served by attempting to make peace in Canada. Failing that, Fildebrandt said “independence becomes the path to go down.” .“I think it’s worth exhausting every tool in the tool chest to obtain maximum autonomy, maximum independence within Canada before we pull the full trigger,” he said. .Simone concluded the documentary by saying Alberta independence is not anti-Canadian. .“The people of Alberta are equipped with the means and desire to hold our leaders accountable,” he said. .“But if history has taught us anything, it’s that Alberta will remain ungovernable.” .This screening comes after Rebel premiered Trucker Rebellion: The Story of the Coutts Blockade in Calgary in May. .READ MORE: Coutts border blockade documentary premieres in Calgary.Trucker Rebellion was met with much support from the audience, and many of them were present at the Coutts and Milk River protests in February. .This premiere was attended by Simone, Gunn Reid, and Rebel reporters Sydney Fizzard, Mocha Bezirgan, and Adam Soos.
