Originally published in the Edmonton Journal.
March 3, 2026
By: Doug Griffiths, CEO, Edmonton Chamber of Commerce
Separation isn't the answer to Alberta's frustrations with Ottawa. And talking about it is costing us the leverage we need to win the fights that matter.
Look, I get it. I've served as a cabinet minister here in Alberta, worked with rural communities across North America, and spent years watching pipelines get blocked, while equalization payments and investment flows elsewhere.
It's tempting to think we'd be better off on our own. But every day this separatist conversation continues, Alberta loses ground where it matters most: investment, jobs, and economic growth.
Uncertainty is our real enemy, not Ottawa.
When investors see political instability, they move capital elsewhere. And it moves elsewhere, fast. Just as political unrest in a developing nation overseas can undermine stability and deter investment, rising separatist sentiment in Alberta has many similar negative impacts. We have seen the tariff situation create uncertainty in similar ways over the last year. Talk of creating an entirely new landlocked nation in Canada has had, and continues to have, a very real, very negative impact on Alberta businesses.
Right now, Alberta is competing with Texas, North Dakota, and Saskatchewan for energy investment. We're competing with Ontario and B.C. for tech talent. We're competing globally for capital in carbon capture, hydrogen, and critical minerals. Every one of those competitors is watching this conversation and gaining ground while we're distracted by an issue of our own making.
We've seen this before. When Quebec flirted with separation, more than 700 companies relocated head offices out of province. Nearly 230,000 skilled workers left. GDP growth lagged the rest of Canada by almost a full percentage point annually for decades.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business found that 80 per cent of small businesses say unpredictable conditions have made planning harder and increased stress. Separatist talk creates the same effect, only worse, because it's entirely self-inflicted.
Separation won't get us what we want.
Leaving Canada isn't like opting out of a trade agreement. Leaving would require unprecedented constitutional amendments approved by Parliament and every province, Supreme Court rulings, and negotiated treaties with Indigenous Nations; many of which have already launched legal challenges of separation referendums. Most experts agree that this makes the reality of separation virtually impossible. Regardless, the attempt alone would paralyze Alberta's economy and have long lasting, dire consequences.
We already struggle to secure pipeline rights-of-way within Canada. Imagine negotiating cross-border infrastructure while embroiled in constitutional separation talks? Far from giving Alberta leverage, separatism would isolate our energy sector, raise borrowing costs, and shrink our markets. Is that our goal? That’s the very meaning of the phrase, “to cut off your nose to spite your face”.
Separation won't get pipelines built. It won't reduce red tape, fill labour shortages, or fund schools and hospitals. What it will do is strip Alberta of Canada's AAA credit backstop, eliminate billions in federal infrastructure funding, and force us to negotiate trade deals alone without the leverage of being a G7 nation. We would be a tiny land locked country of 5-million people in a world that can find plenty of oil elsewhere.
As we heard Prime Minister Carney address the world in Davos at the World Economic Forum, Canada has signed 12 economic and security agreements across four continents in six months. The UAE alone committed $70 billion in investment. Canada secured preliminary agreements with China to lower tariffs on canola and other agricultural products. Negotiations are advancing with ASEAN nations, the Philippines, and others to diversify our export markets.
This demonstrates real leverage: showing that Alberta and Canada can thrive in multiple markets, build strategic partnerships that strengthen our position, and prove we're essential to Canada's competitiveness. Separation makes us a liability.
Alberta's economic strength is our bargaining power. Here in Edmonton, we're proving what's possible. We're home to world-class AI research, leading energy innovation, and a business community ready to compete globally. We don't need to leave Canada to succeed. We need to lead by championing the stability, competitiveness, and ambition that has attracted capital and created opportunity for decades. The Alberta Advantage that I, and so many others worked hard to create, evaporates the second we leave Canada.
