Demanding independence supporters have a single, negotiated consensus blueprint for leaving Canada before Albertans have even decided whether they want the government to pursue a binding referendum is putting the cart several kilometres ahead of the horse.
University of Alberta political science professor Jared Wesley is criticizing Alberta independence supporters for not having a unified plan to negotiate the province's departure from Canada, with just 50 days remaining before the October 19 referendum.
“Fifty days to go, and the separatists still have no consensus plan on how to pull Alberta out of Canada,” Wesley wrote on X. “If they can't even generate agreement amongst themselves, how on Earth can we trust them to get a deal with the rest of Canada, or the US?”
Fifty days to go, and the separatists still have no consensus plan on how to pull Alberta out of Canada.
— Jared Wesley (@DrJaredWesley) August 30, 2026
If they can't even generate agreement amongst themselves, how on Earth can we trust them to get a deal with the rest of Canada, or the US?
There's a fairly significant problem with that criticism: Albertans aren't voting October 19 on a plan to leave Canada. They aren't even voting to leave Canada.
Question 10 explicitly asks Albertans whether Alberta should remain a province of Canada or whether the Alberta government should begin the legal process required to hold a future binding referendum on separation.
Option 2 reads:
“The Government of Alberta should commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada.”
Elections Alberta also confirms the October 19 result on Question 10 is non-binding.
In other words, October 19 is effectively a referendum on whether Alberta should proceed toward a referendum on independence.
Premier Danielle Smith made precisely that distinction when she announced the question, explaining that it “does not directly trigger separation” but, if successful, would direct the government to begin the legal process necessary to hold a binding referendum.
Albertans could actually vote to leave Canada, significant legal and constitutional questions would have to be addressed, including consultation with First Nations and the requirements surrounding a constitutionally valid referendum.
Only after that process would Albertans face the decision Wesley's criticism assumes they are making on October 19.
And even a future vote for independence would not magically produce an Alberta-Canada divorce agreement overnight. Questions involving assets, liabilities, borders, pensions, currency, trade, Indigenous treaties and relations with Canada and the United States would form part of a much larger process.
There can certainly be debate about what an independent Alberta should ultimately look like. Independence supporters can also be challenged to explain their preferred approaches to those issues.
But demanding that they produce a single, negotiated consensus blueprint for leaving Canada before Albertans have even decided whether they want the government to pursue a binding referendum puts the cart several kilometres ahead of the horse.
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