Who are "old stock" Albertans? My children were born in Alberta, as were their children. Their mother was born in Alberta, as were her parents. I, on the other hand, was born in Saskatchewan, as were my parents. Are my children old stock? Their children? Considering that Alberta is just over 120 years old, how far back do you have to go generationally to qualify? Who makes that determination, and on what basis? The further back you go, the more it looks like old stock Albertans are indigenous.
So it's not really old stock is it. It's white, and that's necessarily racist. By "necessarily", I mean it logically follows
Thanks for this excellent article, Jared. I love your crisp, writing style and content. Every article you post is worthy of serious consideration and discussion. Keep up the good work.
I'm an immigrant to Canada, Canadian by the choice of both myself and the government of Canada. I've lived and worked in three western provinces and Yukon. My longest single residence (34 years) has been here in Calgary. My father was Australian, an immigrant to the UK, and his ancestry stretched back to (voluntary) immigration to Australia from the UK. My mother was born in the UK, of Scottish and (yes!) Upper Canadian ancestry, immigrants from England via Ireland. I meet regularly with a small group of men who trace their family histories to the UK, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Ukraine and the USA. We are all adamantly Canadian and will not be voting for even the thought of separation into a new nation of Alberta. We appreciate the diversity and willingness to share history and culture with people from all nations living in this corner of Planet Eh.
My understanding is that Mitch Sylvestre is something of a leader in the Alberta Separatist Movement--just behind David Parker, Jeffrey Rath, and Cameron Davies. This is just more evidence that the Government's agenda has been responding to a movement that is enthralled by the MAGA movement in the United States--right down to the replacement theory popularized by Tucker Carlson and apparently endorsed by JD Vance.
Tragically, in 2026 in Alberta your voice is needed to make the case you just made.
Alberta is becoming a place I was not born into 87 years ago.
Maybe, we should have resisted more vocally and clearly the "old stock" argument made by Francophone separatists in Quebec decades ago. Hard to bear down on "old stock" Albertans when we silently accept the same argument/attitude in Quebec as "understandable."
More evidence that we in Canada no longer aspire to be a serious country which others admire and take seriously.
The mind-set from which we now suffer is far more widespread than we now face up to.
It is common, in the sense of statistically frequent, for folks who are not serious to wake up only after the life they took for granted is gone.
We in Alberta seem to be well down that pathway.
The fact that most Canadians now accept as factual that Alberta has "legitimate grievances" against Ottawa shows how much truth is defined by the number of times an assertion is repeated by folks who claim some authority. This societal consensus is no longer be resisted except by a few of us who were born into an Alberta that had been bankrupted by the depression of the 1930s.
The only surprise is that they said it in the open before October 19. We all know what those referendum questions are about. Can it be any more clear? The premier added those questions to the ballot. What does that say about her?
Who will still vote "yes" to those questions, knowing exactly what they mean?
Not all Alberta separatists are racist. That's fair to say. But it's worth being honest about which arguments in the movement actually hold up.
The economic case is mostly high risk speculation. Ending equalization would save Alberta some money in the short term, but not much. Pretty risky and high price to pay for a small short term gain.
But there is significant disagreement on all the real issues, among separatists themselves, and certainly across Alberta as a whole, on what a new independent country would actually look like. Trade, currency, defense, resource development: pick any of it, and you'll find separatists arguing with each other. And unless the plan is to abandon democracy immediately, a new independent country where Alberta now sits would still have to contend with the same internal opposition to unchecked resource extraction that exists today.
Strip away the arguments that don't survive contact with reality, and what's left is the one that does: the idea of a new state defined, explicitly as a white Christian homeland. That's the part that actually holds together - internally consistent. Everything else falls apart under scrutiny, but that doesn't.
It's an ugly thing to say out loud but it is, I believe, the solid core of the movement.
Tragically, in 2026 in Alberta your voice is needed to make the case you just made.
Alberta is becoming a place I was not born into 87 years ago.
Maybe, we should have resisted more vocally and clearly the "old stock" argument made by Francophone separatists in Quebec decades ago. Hard to bear down on "old stock" Albertans when we silently accept the same argument/attitude in Quebec as "understandable."
More evidence that we in Canada no longer aspire to be a serious country which others admire and take seriously.
The mind-set from which we now suffer is far more widespread than we now face up to.
It is common, in the sense of statistically frequent, for folks who are not serious to wake up only after the life they took for granted is gone.
We in Alberta seem to be well down that pathway.
The fact that most Canadians now accept as factual that Alberta has "legitimate grievances" against Ottawa shows how much truth is defined by the number of times an assertion is repeated by folks who claim some authority. This societal consensus is no longer be resisted except by a few of us who were born into an Alberta that had been bankrupted by the depression of the 1930s.
Who are "old stock" Albertans? My children were born in Alberta, as were their children. Their mother was born in Alberta, as were her parents. I, on the other hand, was born in Saskatchewan, as were my parents. Are my children old stock? Their children? Considering that Alberta is just over 120 years old, how far back do you have to go generationally to qualify? Who makes that determination, and on what basis? The further back you go, the more it looks like old stock Albertans are indigenous.
So it's not really old stock is it. It's white, and that's necessarily racist. By "necessarily", I mean it logically follows
Thanks for this excellent article, Jared. I love your crisp, writing style and content. Every article you post is worthy of serious consideration and discussion. Keep up the good work.
In solidarity,
Judy Johnson
I'm an immigrant to Canada, Canadian by the choice of both myself and the government of Canada. I've lived and worked in three western provinces and Yukon. My longest single residence (34 years) has been here in Calgary. My father was Australian, an immigrant to the UK, and his ancestry stretched back to (voluntary) immigration to Australia from the UK. My mother was born in the UK, of Scottish and (yes!) Upper Canadian ancestry, immigrants from England via Ireland. I meet regularly with a small group of men who trace their family histories to the UK, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Ukraine and the USA. We are all adamantly Canadian and will not be voting for even the thought of separation into a new nation of Alberta. We appreciate the diversity and willingness to share history and culture with people from all nations living in this corner of Planet Eh.
Assuming you skin colour is the same as Mitch's you'll be fine 😉
My understanding is that Mitch Sylvestre is something of a leader in the Alberta Separatist Movement--just behind David Parker, Jeffrey Rath, and Cameron Davies. This is just more evidence that the Government's agenda has been responding to a movement that is enthralled by the MAGA movement in the United States--right down to the replacement theory popularized by Tucker Carlson and apparently endorsed by JD Vance.
Bravo, Jared.
Tragically, in 2026 in Alberta your voice is needed to make the case you just made.
Alberta is becoming a place I was not born into 87 years ago.
Maybe, we should have resisted more vocally and clearly the "old stock" argument made by Francophone separatists in Quebec decades ago. Hard to bear down on "old stock" Albertans when we silently accept the same argument/attitude in Quebec as "understandable."
More evidence that we in Canada no longer aspire to be a serious country which others admire and take seriously.
The mind-set from which we now suffer is far more widespread than we now face up to.
It is common, in the sense of statistically frequent, for folks who are not serious to wake up only after the life they took for granted is gone.
We in Alberta seem to be well down that pathway.
The fact that most Canadians now accept as factual that Alberta has "legitimate grievances" against Ottawa shows how much truth is defined by the number of times an assertion is repeated by folks who claim some authority. This societal consensus is no longer be resisted except by a few of us who were born into an Alberta that had been bankrupted by the depression of the 1930s.
Ruben
Not all separtistes are racists, bigots, sexists or homophones. But every racist, bigot, sexist or homophobe is a separtiste.
The only surprise is that they said it in the open before October 19. We all know what those referendum questions are about. Can it be any more clear? The premier added those questions to the ballot. What does that say about her?
Who will still vote "yes" to those questions, knowing exactly what they mean?
Not all Alberta separatists are racist. That's fair to say. But it's worth being honest about which arguments in the movement actually hold up.
The economic case is mostly high risk speculation. Ending equalization would save Alberta some money in the short term, but not much. Pretty risky and high price to pay for a small short term gain.
But there is significant disagreement on all the real issues, among separatists themselves, and certainly across Alberta as a whole, on what a new independent country would actually look like. Trade, currency, defense, resource development: pick any of it, and you'll find separatists arguing with each other. And unless the plan is to abandon democracy immediately, a new independent country where Alberta now sits would still have to contend with the same internal opposition to unchecked resource extraction that exists today.
Strip away the arguments that don't survive contact with reality, and what's left is the one that does: the idea of a new state defined, explicitly as a white Christian homeland. That's the part that actually holds together - internally consistent. Everything else falls apart under scrutiny, but that doesn't.
It's an ugly thing to say out loud but it is, I believe, the solid core of the movement.
So they think someone is going tp do to them what they did to the previous inhabitants?
It's the kind of country where white patriarchs rule the roost with the rest of us as underlings at best and targets of persecution at worst.
That country is not one that I want to live in.
This is why everyone needs to get out and vote on October 19th, and answer NO to all of the questions on the ballots!
Bravo, Jared.
Tragically, in 2026 in Alberta your voice is needed to make the case you just made.
Alberta is becoming a place I was not born into 87 years ago.
Maybe, we should have resisted more vocally and clearly the "old stock" argument made by Francophone separatists in Quebec decades ago. Hard to bear down on "old stock" Albertans when we silently accept the same argument/attitude in Quebec as "understandable."
More evidence that we in Canada no longer aspire to be a serious country which others admire and take seriously.
The mind-set from which we now suffer is far more widespread than we now face up to.
It is common, in the sense of statistically frequent, for folks who are not serious to wake up only after the life they took for granted is gone.
We in Alberta seem to be well down that pathway.
The fact that most Canadians now accept as factual that Alberta has "legitimate grievances" against Ottawa shows how much truth is defined by the number of times an assertion is repeated by folks who claim some authority. This societal consensus is no longer be resisted except by a few of us who were born into an Alberta that had been bankrupted by the depression of the 1930s.
Ruben
Comment on Jared Wesley’s piece of Aug. 14, 2026
August 14, 2026
Racism is baked into separatists. It's who they are.