Subhead:Albertans upset over equalization, pipeline obstruction, emissions, cancelled projects, and decades of federal hostility toward the energy sector are being told their grievances aren’t real; they’re just manipulated by Americans on the internet, claims Avi Lewis.#
NDP Leader Avi Lewis’ attempt to frame Alberta’s independence movement as uniquely extremist falls apart the second you compare it to how Canada’s political class has treated Quebec separatism for decades.
Quebec held two sovereignty referendums, and separatist parties governed the province. The Bloc Québécois still exists as an openly separatist federal party and currently leads in polling ahead of the province’s 2026 election.
Yet nobody in mainstream politics spent years dismissing Quebec nationalism as “Trump-coded,” “MAGA aligned,” or inherently illegitimate.
Avi Lewis slams Alberta’s independence movement as being “MAGA aligned [and] potentially funded,” claiming there’s “no comparison” to Quebec’s “historic sovereignty movement.”
The NDP leader also accuses Premier Smith of pandering to an “extreme” segment of her base. pic.twitter.com/cf8OVig9zp
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) May 28, 2026
But when Albertans talk about democratic self-determination, suddenly the language changes. Now it’s extremism. Now it’s dangerous populism. Now it’s supposedly infected by American politics.
That double standard is exactly why alienation keeps growing.
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