MACLEOD: Hypocrisy of Canadian sovereignty — why Alberta gets called traitors for what Quebec does freely

Colin MacLeod is the author of the provocative book “The Case for Alberta’s Independence,” and the force behind @cnm5000 on X.Welcome to January 2026, where the Canadian national pastime has shifted from hockey to the casual branding of fellow citizens as traitors. As federal leaders clutch their pearls in Ottawa this week, BC Premier David Eby has helpfully updated our national dictionary: apparently, when Albertans have a coffee with US State Department officials to discuss their economic future, it isn’t “diplomacy" — it’s a high crime against the Crown.It is truly heartwarming to witness this sudden, ironclad devotion to "national sovereignty." For years, CSIS has been shouting into the void about actual foreign interference from hostile regimes — real-deal espionage that would make a Bond villain blush — and the federal response was a collective, sleepy shrug and the appointment of a "Special Rapporteur" who happened to be the prime minister’s favourite ski buddy. But let a few guys in Stetson hats fly to Washington to ask for a credit facility, and suddenly we have a constitutional emergency. .FILDEBRANDT: Eby should look in the mirror before calling Alberta nationalism 'treason'.If we are to take the "treason" charge seriously, we owe a massive, grovelling apology to Quebec. For decades, the Bloc Québécois and the Parti Québécois have treated the dismantling of Canada as a fun, low-stakes afternoon hobby. Their MPs sit in the House of Commons, collecting fat federal paycheques and gold-plated pensions, while openly drafting the "Dear John" letter to the rest of the country.In Quebec, this is celebrated as "protecting a distinct society" and "vibrant democratic expression." In Alberta, apparently, it’s a seditious plot hatched in a villain’s lair. The logic is flawless: if you speak French and want to leave, you’re a "founding nation" exploring your identity. If you speak "Oil Patch" and want to leave, you’re a domestic insurgent who clearly forgot that your only purpose is to bankroll the equalization payments that keep the rest of the country’s vanity projects afloat..Let’s talk about the Clarity Act, that legislative masterpiece designed to ensure that if a province wants to leave, the question must be clear and the majority substantial. It is literally a roadmap for a legal divorce. Yet, the moment Albertans start loading the GPS, the “forever Canada, elbows up” crowd tries to set the car on fire.Albertans are merely using the very democratic mechanisms Canada supposedly prizes. They aren't storming the gates with pitchforks; they are filling out paperwork. To call this treasonous is like being told there’s an "Emergency Exit" in a burning building, but being tackled by security the moment you reach for the handle because "exiting is against the rules of the house."The irony of the CSIS warnings is the most delicious part of this. We are told to fear foreign interference — and we should. But there is a distinct difference between a foreign dictatorship hacking our electoral databases to install a puppet and a provincial movement seeking trade assurances from our largest neighbour and most critical economic partner..WS OPINION: Eby's ‘treason’ tale — a Vancouver fable for a fractured Canada.If seeking support from the US is treason, then every Canadian Prime Minister who has ever begged for a "special relationship" or a trade carve-out should probably be in the cell next to the Alberta independence movement leaders."I would expect that the US administration would respect Canadian sovereignty," says Prime Minister Mark Carney.A noble sentiment, indeed. It’s just a shame that "sovereignty" is a one-way street. It only seems to exist when Alberta wants to talk to the neighbours, but it miraculously vanishes whenever Ottawa decides it wants to regulate every blade of grass, molecule of carbon, and provincial thought process from three time zones away..The Alberta independence movement is legitimate not because it’s a guaranteed utopia, but because it is the inevitable byproduct of a federation that treats its most productive member like an ATM with an attitude problem.When you combine a federal government that treats the energy sector like a shameful family secret it wishes it could hide in the basement, a “Clarity Act” that offers a door but charges you with a felony if you look at the knob, and a political class that ignores actual foreign espionage while weaponizing the word “treason” to bully its own taxpayers, you don’t get a “fringe” movement. Instead, you receive a logical response to a breach of contract..If Alberta’s independence movement is "treasonous," then Canada isn't a federation of willing partners; it’s a high-stakes hostage situation where the ransom is paid in barrels of Western Canadian Select. At some point, the hostage will stop asking for permission to leave the room.Colin MacLeod is the author of the provocative book “The Case for Alberta’s Independence,” and the force behind @cnm5000 on X.

MACLEOD: Hypocrisy of Canadian sovereignty — why Alberta gets called traitors for what Quebec does freely

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