Canadian Separatists Optimistic After Meetings With Trump Officials

Leaders of a right-wing separatist activity successful Canada opportunity they’ve discussed everything from switching complete to U.S. rate to creating a caller subject successful conversations pinch U.S. officials from nan State and Treasury departments astatine 3 meetings successful nan past year.

Leaders of nan Alberta Prosperity Project activity to spot a referendum connected separating Alberta — nan conservative-leaning state often referred to arsenic nan Texas of Canada — from nan remainder of nan state connected nan ballot this year. They said a 4th gathering pinch Trump management officials successful Washington, D.C., is tentatively planned successful nan coming weeks to further talk a modulation process should their effort beryllium successful.

“For those of america who are very overmuch successful support of Alberta becoming a sovereign country, it’s heartening to america astatine each of nan 3 meetings that we’ve had pinch nan U.S. management to beryllium informed that nan full U.S. management is supportive of Alberta becoming a sovereign country,” Dennis Modry, a co-founder of nan Alberta Prosperity Project, said successful an interview.

Modry said he attended each 3 meetings, which he said were connected April 22, Sept. 29 and Dec. 16. He said different gathering is successful nan useful for this month. Jeffrey Rath, an lawyer for nan separatist group, said nan meetings took spot astatine nan State Department’s office successful Washington.

State, Treasury and White House officials sought to tamp down connected nan seriousness of nan discussions, saying elder officials were not coming and nary commitments were made. A elder State Department charismatic said location will not beryllium different meeting.

Modry, Rath and nan Trump management each declined to opportunity which U.S. officials were present; Rath and Modry said they had agreed arsenic a information of gathering that they would not publically sanction them.

“The genesis of nan meetings was to research … nan benefits to nan United States and to Alberta citizens erstwhile Alberta becomes a sovereign state and to talk astir that and to spot wherever nan U.S. management was astatine and … to explain that we were not advocating for Alberta to go nan 51st state,” Modry said.

The meetings people immoderate of nan administration’s astir nonstop engagement successful Canadian politics, astatine a clip erstwhile President Donald Trump has sought to wholly reorient nan U.S. narration pinch its neighbour to nan north.

A erstwhile elder profession U.S. diplomat, who, for illustration others successful this article, was granted anonymity to speak candidly, described nan meetings arsenic “irresponsible arsenic hell” and “highly unusual,” particularly pinch a neighboring country.

“It’s really irresponsible for nan United States to beryllium engaging pinch these kinds of people, because it conscionable encourages behaviour that cannot beryllium successful nan U.S. nationalist interest,” nan erstwhile elder State Department charismatic said, likening it to nan Canadians’ gathering pinch Puerto Rican independency groups.

Modry and Rath, arsenic good arsenic a Canadian authorities professor, pointed to nan Trump administration’s 2025 National Security Strategy document arsenic helping explicate why Washington would beryllium willing successful gathering pinch nan separatists. In describing its liking successful nan Western Hemisphere, the management wrote: “We will reward and promote nan region’s governments, governmental parties, and movements broadly aligned pinch our principles and strategy.”

“The cardinal rumor present is really nan existent management sees nan usage of extremist blimpish groups arsenic portion of its overseas argumentation strategy,” said Michael Williams, a authorities professor astatine nan University of Ottawa, adding that nan strategy archive “made clear nan management views specified groups arsenic friends successful its wider civilizational struggle against liberalism and against states it views arsenic opinionated successful nan measurement of what it defines arsenic American interests.”

'People are talking'

News of nan meetings, which The Financial Times reported precocious past month, comes arsenic U.S. relations pinch Canada are astatine their lowest constituent successful modern history. Trump throughout his 2nd term has called for absorbing Canada arsenic nan 51st state. In caller weeks, he has intensified his disapproval of Canada successful backstage conversations, according to aides, complete what he sees arsenic its vulnerability to U.S. adversaries successful nan Arctic.

On Monday, nan president posted to Truth Social that Canada “has treated nan United States very unfairly for decades” and said he will not let a caller span betwixt Ontario and Michigan to unfastened “until nan United States is afloat compensated for everything we person fixed them.”

In an address astatine nan World Economic Forum successful Davos, Switzerland, past month, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said location has been “a rupture” successful nan existing world order, adding that “great powers” are utilizing “economic integration arsenic weapons, tariffs arsenic leverage, financial infrastructure arsenic coercion, proviso chains arsenic vulnerabilities to beryllium exploited.”

Carney besides visited Beijing to “recalibrate” Canada’s narration pinch China and agreed to trim its 100% tariff connected Chinese-made electrical vehicles successful return for little tariffs connected Canadian workplace products.

The separatists sewage a boost from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent while he was being interviewed by right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec at Davos. After he criticized Carney’s overtures to China, Bessent described Alberta arsenic “a earthy partner for nan U.S.”

“They person awesome resources. The Albertans are very independent people; rumor [is] that they whitethorn person a referendum connected whether they want to enactment successful Canada aliases not,” Bessent added.

“Sounds for illustration you whitethorn cognize thing up there?” Posobiec responded.

“People are saying, group are talking,” Bessent said. “People want sovereignty. People want what nan U.S. has got.”

A Treasury spokesperson declined to remark connected nan meetings. A personification acquainted pinch Bessent’s reasoning said that while Bessent neither supports nor opposes nan separatist movement, he believes Carney is acting against nan interests of oil-rich Alberta.

This personification said Bessent is skeptical that nan premier curate will bolster power infrastructure betwixt Alberta, successful Western Canada, and nan U.S. Carney precocious signed a deal pinch Alberta to beforehand an lipid pipeline to nan Pacific Ocean, but hurdles remain, among them that nan pipeline is opposed by David Eby, nan premier of British Columbia, which borders nan U.S. Pacific Northwest.

But Bessent, this personification said, does not judge Alberta needs to go independent of Canada to boost its ain narration pinch nan U.S. The root said neither Bessent nor different elder Treasury officials met pinch members of nan separatist movement.

The State Department and nan White House besides put region betwixt nan management and nan separatist movement.

“The Department regularly meets pinch civilian nine types,” a elder State Department charismatic said. “As is emblematic successful regular meetings specified arsenic these, nary commitments were made.”

A White House charismatic said: “Administration officials meet pinch a number of civilian nine groups. No support aliases commitments were conveyed.”

And Pete Hoekstra, nan U.S. ambassador to Canada, told NBC News he had “no info” astir nan meetings pinch separatists.

State and Treasury section officials did not straight reside what issues were discussed astatine erstwhile meetings and did not opportunity who initially projected nan discussions.

“There person only been staff-level meetings, and nary principals person been progressive successful immoderate discussions,” nan elder State Department charismatic said.

The meetings covered what would hap successful a imaginable modulation to a country, said Modry, pinch discussions astir separator security, nan Canadian pension plan, taxes, nan nationalist debt, nan process for converting to U.S. rate and nan improvement of an independent military. He said nan group asked American officials whether nan U.S. would beryllium consenting to supply a $500 cardinal statement of in installments if needed.

“Alberta will besides request its ain military,” Modry said, adding: “And would nan U.S. beryllium consenting to activity pinch Alberta successful nan improvement of an Alberta military? That’s connected nan array for discussion.”

An uphill battle

The Alberta Prosperity Project is moving to cod nan basal signatures to get connected nan ballot successful October. It has until May to stitchery 178,000 signatures, and leaders declined to opportunity precisely really galore person truthful acold been gathered successful nan state of 5 cardinal people, though they are optimistic they tin cod astir 1 million. The group is simply a nonprofit organization, not a governmental party, and it has nary definitive backing from elected parties successful Alberta.

The separatists’ concerns stem from what they spot arsenic nan Canadian government’s overtaxing and overregulating nan province, holding backmost industry. They besides return rumor pinch progressive migration policies and a changing narration pinch China, among different areas of discontent.

They look an uphill conflict to succeed: An Ipsos poll conducted successful January recovered that 28% of Albertans said they would ballot yes connected a imaginable ballot measurement to abstracted from Canada. The study had a separator of correction of 5.4 percent points. Danielle Smith, nan premier of Alberta, who has sought a lukewarm narration pinch Trump and Republicans, has said she wants nan state to stay successful Canada.

There is simply a history of separatist movements successful Canada, chiefly successful Quebec, wherever 2 specified referendums grounded successful 1980 and 1995. Rath said he believed nan Canadian authorities is successful a weaker spot now than it was successful 1995, when -President Bill Clinton visited Ottawa and said astir nan value of Canadian unity.

Canadian officials person offered beardown pushback to nan Trump administration’s engagement pinch nan separatists. Carney, whose agency declined to comment, precocious told reporters, “I expect nan U.S. management to respect Canadian sovereignty,” while Eby has gone arsenic acold arsenic to opportunity nan separatists are committing “treason” by seeking thief from a overseas government.

Eby called it “deeply troubling” that nan separatists would activity U.S. thief arsenic Trump calls for Canada to beryllium absorbed arsenic nan 51st authorities and posts photos successful nan Oval Office of a representation pinch an American emblem complete nan entirety of Canada.

“I return nan management astatine its connection and nan nationalist statements that they are not offering support and they’ve taken nan meetings astatine nan petition of this group,” Eby said, adding: “We emotion our narration pinch Americans, and it has been earnestly tested by nan president’s comments and his profoundly disturbing suggestions to america that spell astatine nan bosom of our sovereignty arsenic a country. So it doesn’t thief our relationship, frankly, to beryllium engaging pinch this group.”

Modry said nan separatists advised nan management “not to interfere pinch nan referendum process,” adding that they suggested to officials that immoderate comments they make astir nan effort “be successful narration to nan benefits to Alberta citizens arsenic a consequence of Alberta sovereignty.”

Public sentiment successful Canada has shifted sharply against nan U.S. A Pew Research Center study past twelvemonth recovered just 34% of Canadians held affirmative views of nan U.S., down from 54% successful 2024.

Both Modry and Rath pushed backmost against Eby’s proposal that their effort was treasonous. But Rath suggested his activity could beryllium nan commencement of a fracturing of nan Canadian nation, 1 wherever different provinces, for illustration Saskatchewan and Quebec, will soon activity to separate. too.

“Canada will extremity up being Ontario and nan Maritimes and Newfoundland,” he said. “What’s B.C. [British Columbia] going to do? Are they going to enactment isolated connected nan West Coast, aliases are they going to ballot to go an independent country? Or are they going to ballot to subordinate Alberta, Saskatchewan, nan Northwest Territories and nan Yukon? That’d beryllium an astonishing country, if you deliberation astir it.”