There’s a new political party on the horizon that wants Albertans to unite with Canada’s southern neighbour and become the 51st state.
Born in central Alberta, the Alberta Statehood Party aims for the province to become an equal American state with the freedoms provided under the U.S. Constitution.
“We’re not going anywhere with this abusive relationship that we have with Eastern Canada and Ottawa,” said party leader Glen Carritt.
“We’ve got a prime minister right now that will be in for many, many years who is trying to kill our oil and gas and agriculture industry in Alberta. We have to protect ourselves and protect our province.”
He said the only option is to become a U.S. state because electoral reform will never be achieved in Canada.
“We’ll never have a say in the West. When we become a state, we’ll have equal representation. The states are like a sovereign nation within a nation. We will have autonomy more so than what we have with this abusive (Canadian) relationship.”
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Carritt, a former Innisfail town councillor and vocal opponent of pandemic lockdowns, said the proposed party has been in development for two years, is about 10,000 members strong, and should have party status by March.
He said only nine states will be needed to stand behind Alberta’s request to join the U.S. and 15 have already committed.
“We’re a high-commodity item. With our third largest oil reserve in the world, Texas and North Dakota, we actually become bigger than OPEC. So we’re actually a wanted commodity in the States.”
He said Alberta would still be Alberta. As an independent state, it would develop its own programs, like health care, and leaving Canada would mean more money in Albertans’ pockets.
“It will save $30 billion a year in equalization payments that can go towards social programs such as schools, hospitals, etc. We’ll have no carbon tax, and income tax will be lower. The cost at the pump will be lower.”
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Carritt said the Alberta Statehood Party is the best alternative forward.
“Nobody’s fought more for this country to be united. When I did the convoy to Ottawa, I’ve tried to unite this country and fight for oil and gas, and continue to come up against a brick wall,” said Carritt who organized the United We Roll pro-pipeline convoy to Ottawa in 2019.
“We need another option.”
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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