Right now, our friendly neighbors to the north (in the Canadian Province of Alberta) are in the process of breaking away from Canada. The first major milestone has already been achieved—a referendum will be put to the people later this month. Meaning, on Monday, Oct. 19, of this year, the people of Alberta will be asked whether the province should remain in Canada or begin the process of secession. Alberta is often referred to as the “Texas of Canada.” It has a lot of oil production. Politically, it’s very conservative. And it has a strong ranching/cowboy culture. Also, it borders the United States, specifically Montana. So the question now becomes twofold: first, will the majority of people in Alberta choose to secede, and second, if they do, will Alberta become its own sovereign nation—or will it become the 51st state of America? Which might sound far-fetched, but, given the current makeup of the U.S. federal government, it might actually not be. During his 2nd term in office, President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to Canada as an American state. But realistically, in a real-politick sense, Trump would probably not actually want liberal Canada as a new state. But what if, instead of the whole pie, America just gets the conservative, oil-rich province of Alberta? And so today, let’s go through why so many Albertans want to secede, how it would actually work under Canadian law, what the likelihood of success is, and then, lastly, if it goes through, the likelihood of Alberta becoming the 51st state.
