Poll shows deep divide as Canadians weigh treason claims in Alberta independence debate

CALGARY — A new survey from Canada Pulse Insights has revealed that 71% of Canadians agree with BC Premier David Eby’s comments that “to go to a foreign country and to ask for assistance in breaking up Canada, there’s an old-fashioned word for that, and that word is treason.”The poll was conducted amid reports that leaders of the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) have met multiple times with US government officials in Washington, D.C., to discuss the possibility of Alberta sovereignty and attempts to secure a US$500 billion line of credit with the Americans.“My sense was that, overall, Canadians treat appeals to foreign governments for help in breaking up the country as beyond the pale,” Canada Pulse Insights CEO John Wright said.“It’s effectively a red line that most are prepared to call treason.”The National Post reports agreement with Eby’s comment was strongest in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (82%), followed by Atlantic Canada (78%), Ontario (77%), British Columbia (75%), Quebec (63%) and Alberta (56%)..New poll showcases little support for Alberta independence, highlights Smith's unenviable position.Canadians aged 65 and older were the most likely to agree with Eby — 79% — as were those earning less than $99,000 annually (74%).Nationally, 29% disagreed with the statement, including 44% of Albertans and 37% of Quebecers.A large majority of those polled — 81% — also agreed with Eby’s statement that “it is completely inappropriate to seek to weaken Canada, to go and ask for assistance to break up this country from a foreign power.”Slightly over one-third of Albertans polled disagreed with that statement, as did 22% of Quebecers.Adults under the age of 54 (23%) and men (21%) were most likely to disagree with this view.“In Alberta, basically a third of the people push back on this,” Wright said.“I don’t know whether or not that means we have a third of the people who are so aggrieved that if there were a referendum they would come forward and vote in that way. We haven’t yet had the debate.”Canadians were also divided on comments from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who has argued that labelling discussions of independence as treason is “a desperate attempt to chill free speech.”Of those polled, 53% disagreed with Smith’s statement, while 47% agreed.Opposition to Smith’s framing was strongest in Ontario (58%) and British Columbia (57%), while Albertans were the most likely to agree with her (55%).However, Canadians broadly supported Smith’s assertion that leaders should not “demonize or marginalize” citizens with independence sympathies if they have legitimate grievances, including 64% of Albertans and 65% of Canadians aged 18–34 polled.“There is some sympathy here,” Wright said.“[Canadians] don’t want leaders to write off or stigmatize people who are angry enough to flirt with separatist ideas. Canadians expect leaders to address the underlying grievances, not just condemn the most extreme expressions.”Keith Wilson, a lawyer associated with the Alberta independence movement, has previously pushed back against claims that independence advocacy could amount to treason..“The Criminal Code is absolutely clear on what the definition of treason includes, and it includes the use of violence and physical force to overthrow the government or the collection of, essentially, military secrets and leaking those and providing them to a foreign government to allow them to overthrow the government,” Wilson said.He cited the Supreme Court’s 1998 Quebec Secession Reference, which affirmed that provinces may hold a referendum on independence under clear constitutional conditions.“If a clear majority of the people in that province vote to leave Canada, they have the legal right to do so. Embarking on a lawful, constitutional process is not treason,” Wilson said.Historical precedent also complicates the issue.In the years leading up to the 1995 Quebec referendum, senior figures tied to then-premier Jacques Parizeau and Bloc Québécois leader Lucien Bouchard held informal discussions with US political figures, think tanks, and policy circles to gauge Washington’s reaction to a potential “Yes” vote.However, the US maintained an official position of neutrality and never endorsed Quebec sovereignty.