James Albers is a Calgary-based management consultant specializing in leadership development. He was formerly a school principal and teacher of history and active in conservative politicsDanielle Smith, Premier of Alberta, has laid out what is surely one of the most deliberate and pointed responses to the current state of Canadian federalism — and more particularly, to the arrival of Mark Carney as heir apparent to the Trudeau dynasty. With clarity and candour, she has voiced not just her own convictions, but those of a people long wearied by a system that demands their resources, taxes their patience and gives little in return but derision and denial.This is not, as some smug Laurentian scribes might sneer, about sour grapes or regional petulance. It is, as she rightly framed it, about the legitimacy of a grievance. Smith distilled her argument into four potent indictments — each echoing the voice of Alberta’s grasslands and foothills. .Equalization, that sacred cow of Ottawa’s redistributionist dogma, is exposed as the grotesque parody it has become. How, in any moral or mathematical calculus, can Alberta be expected to subsidize “have” provinces like Ontario and Quebec? How is it just, let alone logical, that the very provinces that sneer at our pipelines feast on our bounty?Her second demand: open the damn corridors. West, North, East — it makes no difference. Let our resources flow, unshackled by ideologues who have never set foot on a rig, and whose only experience of work boots is stepping over them on the way to a photo op.Third, she called for an end to the Liberal climate jihad — decades of punitive policy dressed in green rhetoric, eviscerating our energy industry, muzzling its advocates and painting the lifeblood of our economy as a national embarrassment. We will no longer apologize for pulling the country’s economic cart while being whipped for the direction we pull it.And finally, the premier made clear: she hopes for a rebalanced confederation. A sincere effort to find common ground, a nation where Alberta is not a subject province but an equal partner. Yet, she did not equivocate — should Alberta choose a different path through referendum, she will abide the will of her people..In the independence movement, we often say each Albertan comes to the cause by their own road. The premier, by offering this breathing room — this time to speak, debate, and reflect — has, perhaps unwittingly, laid the very groundwork upon which the idea of independence may finally find its popular footing.We applaud her courage, her plainspoken honesty. We know this journey cannot be rushed. Albertans need to see, beyond all doubt, that Canada as it currently stands has no place for their aspirations. And they must see it conclusively. Independence cannot be sold as vengeance or vanity — it must arise from necessity. And only when the genuine effort to reform the federation fails will Albertans be ready to cross that final threshold..And here lies the essential question — when that threshold is crossed, will Premier Smith lead the charge? So far, she has walked a deft line — politically adroit, steadfastly pro-Alberta. Many of us have resisted launching new parties or movements because, frankly, she’s been saying and doing the right things.But if the vote comes down in favour of leaving, then Alberta will not need a navigator — it will need a captain.We do not need that answer today. We respect the art of timing, and the premier has managed the minefield with more grace than many imagined possible. But the clock ticks, and Alberta’s patience, though deep, is not infinite. We would urge her to set a public horizon — some measure of when we stop waiting for Ottawa to care and begin acting on our own terms.So carry on, Premier. Push your agenda. Pursue the Alberta Accord. You have the movement’s support. But know this: if the day comes and you will not lead the final leg of the march, others stand ready, boots laced, to carry the flag forward.James Albers is a Calgary-based management consultant specializing in leadership development. He was formerly a school principal and teacher of history and active in conservative politics.
