Canada stands today in a season of uncertainty unlike anything experienced in its modern history. A nation once marked by stability, strength, and confidence now finds itself navigating confusion, fragmentation, and deep cultural division. In Alberta especially, the mood is shifting. Conversations across the province — in small towns, in urban centers, in church foyers and coffee shops—have begun to circle around a single question that seemed unthinkable only a generation ago: Should Alberta become its own nation?.MACLEOD: Independence without chaos.It is an important question, but it is not the first question that must be asked. Beneath the political frustration and the growing desire for provincial autonomy lies a deeper concern about the direction of the country itself. Alberta’s debate is not merely about sovereignty, taxation, energy policy, or Ottawa’s influence. At its core, the province is wrestling with something far more foundational—the very question of what makes a nation free, and what causes a nation to lose that freedom.To understand Alberta’s moment, we must look honestly at Canada’s past. What many Canadians have forgotten — or in some cases, never learned — is that Canada’s freedom did not begin with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. The Charter, in fact, marks the moment when Canada began to drift from the foundation that once anchored it. .The familiar phrase in the Charter’s preamble — “the supremacy of God and the rule of law” — is often cited as evidence that Canada remains rooted in a moral and spiritual framework. Yet the truth is that this line, added late in the constitutional discussions of the early 1980s, carries no binding legal authority. It is symbolic, not structural—a gesture included to ease public concern during a time of constitutional upheaval.This symbolic reference has not been enough to safeguard the freedoms Canadians once enjoyed. Increasingly, Canadians are recognizing what was dismissed for decades: that without the real, substantive supremacy of God and the genuine rule of law rooted in something higher than human opinion, freedom becomes fragile..MACLEOD: Alberta’s institutions make independence a practical choice.When God is removed from public life, freedom begins to erode. When God is removed from the law, justice loses its anchor. And when God is removed from government, government has a tendency to take His place. This is the unsettling truth that now defines the Canadian experience of the twenty-first century.To see how far the country has drifted, we must return to its beginning. Canada’s true foundation was laid not in 1982, but in 1867, when the Fathers of Confederation shaped the identity of this new nation with a remarkable clarity of purpose.They deliberately chose the name “The Dominion of Canada”, drawing it directly from Psalm 72:8: “He shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” This was not poetic ornamentation. It was a declaration of national identity and intent. The founders understood Canada as a nation that existed under God’s authority..This identity is literally carved in stone. Psalm 72:8 is engraved on the Peace Tower in Ottawa as an enduring reminder of the truth that once guided our institutions: Canada recognized God’s supremacy, and in doing so, found its strength and unity. For 115 years, from 1867 until the Charter in 1982, Canada was not a perfect nation, but it was undeniably a freer one.It operated under the Dominion mandate, which shaped its laws, informed its culture, and provided stability during seasons of hardship and change. That foundation did not guarantee perfection — no nation is perfect — but it provided a coherent identity and a moral clarity that Canadians today can scarcely imagine. The freedoms people now long for were the natural fruit of a nation built on an unshakeable foundation..PARDY: The referendum goose could still be cooked.Then, in the span of just 43 years, the country changed dramatically. The introduction of the Charter in 1982 marked a profound shift. What took more than a century to build has been steadily weakened in less than half that time. Canadians have watched moral clarity give way to moral confusion, national unity dissolve into fragmentation, and once-stable freedoms become conditional, inconsistent, and vulnerable to reinterpretation. The erosion has been rapid, and the reason is simple: Canada traded a God-anchored foundation for a human-anchored document.This brings us back to Alberta’s present struggle. Discussions about independence often focus on policy disagreements, economic frustrations, or regional inequality. But none of these issues touch the real heart of the matter. The essential question Alberta must answer is not whether it can become a nation, but whether it can become a nation on a foundation strong enough to sustain it..A border does not create a nation. A referendum does not secure freedom. A constitution, however well-written, cannot provide a soul. If Alberta were to become independent without first reclaiming the foundational truth that made Canada free — namely, that God is above government and law is grounded in His authority — it would run the risk of repeating the very mistake that has brought Canada into its present decline.Independence built on emotion, anger, or political expediency would be a fragile independence. A nation without a moral compass eventually loses its direction; a nation without a soul eventually loses its freedom. History has shown repeatedly that when governments elevate themselves above God, they inevitably overreach. When societies abandon objective truth, they fracture. And when people forget their foundation, they forfeit their future..PINDER: The meaningless MOU.If Alberta is to rise — whether within Confederation or as an independent state — it must rise on something stronger than political rhetoric. It must return to the foundation Canada abandoned. It must reclaim the truth that genuine freedom flows from recognizing God’s authority, not rejecting it. That law is stable only when rooted in moral truth. And that national identity is sustainable only when anchored in something higher than public opinion.Canada once understood these things. For 115 years, the nation lived under the blessing declared at its birth: “He shall have dominion from sea to sea.” If Alberta hopes to secure a future marked by freedom, stability, and unity, it must recover what Canada has forgotten. A nation can survive hardship. But no nation can survive the loss of its foundation.Whatever future Alberta chooses, it must not lose its soul. Only by returning to the principles that once made Canada strong can Alberta move forward with clarity, conviction, and real hope for the generations to come.
