PODCAST: Referendum on a Referendum - A Muddled Question to Decide Alberta’s Future

In this episode of the Rob Breakenridge Show, we’ll focus on the major development that occurred this week in Alberta: the announcemengt from Premier Danielle Smith of an October referendum on Alberta’s future.The question itself is controversial though: it's not one where the outcome means Alberta separates from Canada, but it’s not a meaningless question, either. It’s muddled enough that neither sides seems to happy.We’ll hear from Thomas Lukaszuk, founder of the group Forever Canadian. The first part of the premier’s question does mirror the Forever Canadian petition question, although Lukaszuk maintains their efforts were to head off a separatist referendum. We’ll get his thoughts on how we got to this point, the remarkable scenes this week at the committee tasked with reviewing his petition, and the campaign pivot for Forever Canadian now that this referendum campaign is underway.We’ll also find out how this is being received on the independence side of this debate and what now for the separation movement, as we’re joined by Derek Fildebrandt, president, publisher, and CEO of the Western Standard. We’ll get his reaction to Smith’s announcement and framing of the question and how this ensuing campaign is shaping up. Plus, we’ll look at the influence of the separatist movement within the UCP and how much of a threat now exists to Smith’s leadership. Get full access to Rob Breakenridge at robbreakenridge.substack.com/subscribe