Is Alberta headed towards a separation vote?
They're trying to drum up support for a petition and earn enough signatures to trigger a referendum on separation in 2026.
One of the reasons the petition is picking up steam is because Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party has just passed legislation that would lower the bar for holding a referendum vote.
Jason Markusoff is a producer and writer who covers Alberta politics for the CBC. He speaks to host Jayme Poisson about Smith's latest political moves, including the backlash, as well as the separatist movement itself.
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CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Troops conduct 21-gun salute at Government House Park for Canada Day
Troops from the 20th Field Artillery Regiment execute a 21-gun salute at Government House Park in Edmonton on July 1, 2025. (CTV News Edmonton/Sean McClune) Booms echoed from Government House through the Edmonton core and across the river around lunch time as soldiers conducted a 21-gun salute in honour of Canada Day. A 21-gun salute is typically done on Remembrance Day, but it is tradition for the 20th Field Artillery Regiment to do so on July 1 in Edmonton. GUNSALUTE Troops are seen conducting a 21-gun salute at Government House Park in Edmonton on July 1, 2025. (CTV News Edmonton/Sean McClune) Capt. Zachary Caterini of the 61st battery said they primarily do the salute for historical purposes. '(We also) show the community that we're here and practice the skills of the troops as well,' said Caterini following the salute. 'We want to keep the skills of our troops currently honed and ready for operational demands.' GUNSALUTE Capt. Zachary Caterini of the 61st battery is seen at a 21-gun salute ceremony at Government House Park in Edmonton on July 1, 2025. (CTV News Edmonton/Sean McClune) All of the troops are qualified on howitzers, an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon and a mortar, which were used during the salute. The howitzers use 105 millimetre shells with blank rounds. While normally done at the Alberta legislature, the salute has been executed at Government House Park by the former Royal Alberta Museum location in Glenora. With files from CTV News Edmonton's Sean McClune.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Boost in patriotism on display at Canada Day events
Canada Day in the nation's capital came with a bit of an edge this year. Many wore T-shirts emblazoned with slogans such as 'Canada is Not For Sale,' 'Elbows Up,' and 'Never 51″ – a reference to U.S. President Donald Trump's frequent musings about Canada becoming his country's 51st state. That rhetoric, and Mr. Trump's imposition of a series of tariffs on Canadian goods, is what prompted Jim Kamp to fly from Victoria to take in Canada Day in Ottawa for the first time. 'I was really inspired because of what's been going on for the past four or five months,' said Mr. Kamp, who was wearing a red shirt that said, 'Never 51, Canada Stays Free.' 'I don't think I was really a very strong patriotic Canadian until now. I think this is definitely a turning point for a lot of Canadians,' he said. That boost in patriotism has been reflected in Canadians' shopping and travel habits this year. While Buy Canadian bump fades for many businesses, it's going strong among some industries Will life ever go back to normal for Canadian snowbirds in Florida? Return trips by automobile from the U.S. in May declined by 38 per cent on a year-over-year basis, Statistics Canada reported last week. The afternoon speeches and performances in Ottawa included Mark Carney's first Canada Day appearance since he won the federal election campaign in April, one that drew heavily on patriotic themes. 'We find ourselves in a situation where our economy is being attacked by a trade war that we didn't start. We find ourselves in a situation where our values are being tested by attacks on democracy and freedoms, attacks that we must resist. And once again, as the world becomes more divided and dangerous, Canadians are uniting,' he said. He then referenced his government's recent legislation to fast track large projects, saying it will allow Canada to do things 'we previously thought impossible at speeds not seen for generations.' During the recent election campaign, Mr. Carney seized on the 'elbows up' mantra, saying he was the best person to stand up to President Trump. That pledge is currently being put to the test as Mr. Carney attempts to lead negotiations toward a new trade deal with the U.S. by July 21. On the eve of Canada Day, Mr. Trump's chief spokesperson Karoline Leavitt boasted that Mr. Carney 'caved' over the weekend, dropping Canada's digital services tax after the President demanded the move as a condition for continuing the negotiations. Happy Canada Day, from Donald Trump Pete Hoeskstra, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, released a statement Tuesday wishing all Canadians a happy Canada Day. 'Today we remain committed to advancing our shared goals – from strengthening continental defence through NORAD to combatting the deadly threat of fentanyl to our citizens. We also continue to co-operate on important issues affecting this hemisphere and the world,' he said. In Ottawa's Byward Market, Le Moulin de Provence bakery has a section where it usually sells 'Obama cookies,' marking the time when former U.S. President Barack Obama stopped in during a 2009 visit, a much warmer time in Canada-U.S. relations. On Tuesday, the Obama cookies display was full of red and white Canadian flag cookies instead. In addition to Mr. Carney's speech, the noon Canada Day event in Ottawa featured music performances by Amanda Marshall, Garou and Thompson Egbo-Egbo, as well as speeches by Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Governor General Mary Simon. The evening event's schedule featured a longer list of music artists, including Sarah McLachlan, Coeur de Pirate, Josh Ross, Tom Cochrane, Mitsou, Roch Voisine, Randy Bachman and Talk, followed by fireworks. In Toronto, Canadian forces members helped unfurl a massive Canadian flag on the field before an afternoon Canada Day Toronto Blue Jays home game. Chief of Defence Staff General Jennie Carignan threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Over at Queen's Park and outside Toronto's City Hall, flags flew high as thousands of people celebrated a sunny Canada Day. All dressed in red T-shirts, the Kenney family relaxed at a park bench in a shaded corner of Nathan Phillips Square. Motivated by Canada's recent wave of patriotism, Ben Kenney wanted his family of four to participate in Canada Day celebrations instead of staying at home. 'I've never celebrated Canada Day in Toronto before,' Mr. Kenney said, who has lived in the city for the past decade. Mother-daughter duo Pat McDermid and Heather Wilson also said they feel this Canada Day is markedly different from previous years. 'The whole country has kind of metaphorically stood up and been like, 'We don't need the States, we stand on our own, we can do this,'' Ms. Wilson said. Shyr Alenandro and Boots Carag, who immigrated to Canada from the Philippines, said they are proud Canada is their second home. Dancing in the square donning red-and-white sunglasses, they said they're thankful to be Canadian. The two always celebrate Canada Day but tensions with the United States make this year more significant. 'We are so blessed and grateful for the kindness of Canada,' Ms. Alenandro said. A recently released survey by the Environics Institute found a modest increase in the strength of the Canadian identity. The survey asked respondents how attached they feel to Canada. Almost nine in 10 said they were either very attached (57 per cent) or somewhat attached (30 per cent) to Canada. That is up from responses last year, when 51 per cent said they were very attached and 34 per cent said they were somewhat attached. Andrew Parkin, the Environics Institute's executive director, said Canadian patriotism is clearly on the rise. 'The pressure from the U.S. is making us less reserved and a bit more vocal in our attachment to Canada, but it didn't make us a completely different country,' he said in an interview. Our elbows may be up, but have Canadians really changed? The survey of 5,391 adults was conducted between May 1 and June 16, 2025. As is the case with all online surveys, there is no margin of error as the sample, while representative, is not drawn strictly at random. Recent months have seen increased attention on a potential referendum on Alberta independence, while the separatist Parti Québécois is leading public opinion surveys in that province. However, the Environics survey suggests neither of those developments are driven by declining Canadian patriotism. In fact, the survey found that attachment to Canada has strengthened in both provinces. 'It's important not to mistake whatever frustration there is in Alberta as somehow a sort of rejection of being Canadian, because that's just not there,' he said.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
He made the decision on impulse, but it sparked a movement. Mike Myers on elbows up
Does Canada need more Mike Myers? 1 day ago Duration 17:31 Social Sharing For all in Canada who happened to be watching Saturday Night Live, that March night was an unforgettable moment. Mike Myers, the one-time SNLer who'd performed in the opening skit as a chainsaw-wielding Elon Musk, stood onstage with the rest of the cast at the end of the show as they all waved goodnight. Then he did it. As millions watched, the Toronto-born Myers opened his jacket to reveal a black T-shirt underneath bearing that red-and-white maple leaf flag and the phrase "CANADA IS NOT FOR SALE." He then flexed his arm in the air, pointed at it and mouthed the words "elbows up," an old-time hockey term meant to signify punishing one's opponent. It happened as U.S. President Donald Trump's antagonistic threats to annex Canada were reaching their apex. "It was just, 'Leave us alone,'" Myers told CBC News, explaining the shirt. "We love Americans. But we can love Americans and not want to be Americans, you know what I mean?" WATCH | Replay the SNL moment Myers put his elbows up: #TheMoment 'Elbows Up' became a rally cry against Trump 4 months ago Duration 1:23 In response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, Canadian actor Mike Myers may have started a movement by pointing to his elbow and mouthing the words 'elbows up' during appearances on Saturday Night Live. The phrase has caught on and has become a rallying cry in the trade war. Myers, who holds multiple citizenships — Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. — has never been shy about his love of his birth country. Trump's rhetoric on Canada angered him enough that he looked around for a T-shirt, found one on Amazon and wore it to the show that night. The message was Myers's salute to everyone watching back home. Revealing it on live television was a spur-of-the-moment decision, he tells CBC News in his first on-camera interview about that night. He says he had no idea it would catch fire — let alone spark a wave of Canadian patriotism not seen in decades. 'It's not about me' The actor has popularized many phrases before, though more comedic in nature, through various characters on SNL, then later in Hollywood blockbusters such as Wayne's World and Austin Powers. But now he had suddenly — and inadvertently, but with a kind of patriotic fervour — created a forceful political slogan. "Elbows up" became an instant catchphrase throughout Canada, sprawled on T-shirts, ball caps, coffee cups, bumper stickers, even chocolate bars, underlining as much as anything else, an attitude. 'I just got more and more angry' 1 day ago Duration 0:41 Actor and comedian Mike Myers says he was thinking of Canadian hockey icon Gordie Howe when he decided to spontaneously reveal the pro-Canada slogan on his T-shirt and make the elbows-up motion on Saturday Night Live. To this day, Myers emphasizes it's that attitude that matters. "It's not about me," he insists. To him, it's more about Canada and Canadians — and the imperative to speak out, stand up and push back. And when Myers woke up the morning after that appearance on SNL, he was oblivious to any of the fallout from what he'd done. He got a phone call from one of his brothers who told him, in effect, 'You'll never believe what's happened." A pro-Canada message After that first moment on SNL, more would follow. A subsequent appearance brought another T-shirt, this one bearing the logo of Canadian Tire, which, says Myers, was meant to signal "Buy Canadian," at a time Trump was threatening tariffs on Canadian goods going into the U.S. Then came that ad for Mark Carney during the federal election campaign, with the prime minister and Myers acting as hockey dads watching a game rinkside and Myers wearing a jersey with "Never 51" emblazoned on his back. WATCH | How he learned the SNL clip went viral: 'It's blowing up' 1 day ago Duration 0:27 Mike Myers, who has both U.S. and Canadian citizenship, said he was surprised to find out from his brother that the clip of his public show of solidarity with Canada was being widely shared online. Political messaging may be a new path for Myers, but despite his having now lived in the U.S. for many years, with an American wife and American children, he has never shied from his roots nor his belief in all things Canadian. The U.S., he says, is simply where his livelihood — the entertainment industry — has taken him. He's long demonstrated that his heart has always remained north of the 49th. His 2016 book, Canada, is broadly described as a love letter to his home country. "[It's] a kind, truth-speaking nation," said Myers. "There's a sanity, a reasonableness; there's a grown-upness that is unique to this country." WATCH | On what growing up in Canada gave him: Mike Myers: 'I would be nothing without Canada' 1 day ago Duration 1:25 In conversation with The National, the actor and comedian told the CBC's Paul Hunter about the deep gratitude he has for what the country has given him. Indeed, he's adamant that his messaging on it now is neither anti-American nor even anti-Trump, but rather pro-Canada. "I like our vibe, I like who we are." It's also clear he's somewhat humbled by the explosion of the elbows up movement, downplaying attempts to give him too much credit for igniting such patriotism among his fellow Canadians. To those who've said "Canada needs more Mike Myers," he responds simply: "I'm nothing without Canada." Still, his made-in-Canada passion has rarely been as forceful as it is now, driven by Trump's continued talk of it becoming the 51st state. A more positive focus On his way home from the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., on June 17, Trump met with reporters and was again asked about Canada and his thoughts on it becoming the 51st state. "It's a much better deal for them," he said onboard Air Force 1 as it flew back to Washington. WATCH | Why he thinks Canada will never join the U.S. 'It's not gonna happen' 1 day ago Duration 0:48 Mike Myers says he thinks the majority of Canadians will reject the idea of becoming the 51st U.S. state and choose the Canadian approach to government, which, even if flawed, generally 'empowers the least empowered.' Myers begs to differ. And amid all the political division, he points to a positive which, for him, has become the focus. "I have to say, this generation of Canadians is so inspiring to me. They know what they have. They don't want to lose it."
