Canada is no stranger to separatism but push for Alberta to join US is a new peril

First Nations protesters and allies gather outside the legislature to oppose the Rally for Alberta Independence in Edmonton on 3 May 2025. Photograph: Artur Widak/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

A separatist push for a referendum on independence from Canada. Meetings with foreign officials perceived to be sympathetic to their cause. Accusations of treason and sedition.

Ahead of a 1995 referendum, leaders of Quebec’s independence movement made a string of provocative overtures to foreign governments, including a trip by the province’s premier to France. In a move that outraged anglophone Canada, the mayor of Paris gave Quebec’s Jacques Parizeau a welcome befitting a national leader.