One of the individuals involved in the legal challenge seeking to halt Alberta’s proposed independence referendum petition was former Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation chief Allan Adam.
Criticism of Alberta lawyer Jeff Rath’s comments about foreign-funded anti-oil activism during CBC’s Alberta referendum coverage overlooks the fact that one of the litigants involved in the court challenge has previously been linked to U.S.-based environmental funding.
During a CBC panel discussion on Alberta independence, Rath stated:
“I’m sure that the First Nations, because they’re being funded by the Tides Foundation and funded by George Soros and funded by foreign money, will fight every single step of the way…”
Sports columnist Bruce Arthur later dismissed the remarks online as “fundamentally unserious.”
Fundamentally unserious people https://t.co/IzVG17Ap4f
— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) May 14, 2026
However, one of the individuals involved in the legal challenge seeking to halt Alberta’s proposed independence referendum petition was former Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation chief Allan Adam.
Adam has a long public history of opposition to Alberta oilsands development.
300,000 people signed a petition for a vote.
— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) May 14, 2026
But a reserve with 33 people on it gets a veto, according to a Trudeau-appointed judge.
Oh -- and their chief is literally an anti-oil activist on a foreign payroll. Source: https://t.co/kOvS564Y1E https://t.co/UrRDrqP4U6
In 2014, the Toronto Sun reported that the U.S.-based Tides Foundation had provided $55,000 connected to Adam and anti-oilsands activism efforts.
That reporting formed part of a broader public debate in Canada over foreign foundation funding directed toward environmental and anti-energy campaigns targeting Alberta’s resource sector.
None of this establishes that all Indigenous opposition to Alberta independence is foreign-funded. However, it does establish that Rath’s comments were tied to a real and previously documented example involving a litigant connected to the current court case.
The existence of foreign funding connected to some anti-oilsands activism in Alberta is not disputed historical fact.
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