In line with polling projections, three-quarters of Alberta voters have rejected a path to nationhood. This likely has dimmed the optimism of some Alberta patriots, but it need not. The awareness generated was an immense step in the right direction, and we have a solid base of support to work with.
However, charging head first into another referendum would be insanity. That would burn even more precious political capital while failing to build the movement from the ground up.
Now is the time for cooler heads to prevail. That means taking a sober look at the outcome and brainstorming towards the noble goal of a Prairie nation-state. The question we face is how to best allocate our resources in a targeted, cost-effective fashion.
Whatever misgivings we have with the United Conservative Party, keeping a broad coalition together towards sovereignty remains crucial. Dividing our ranks would be shooting ourselves in the foot, since the New Democratic Party base are vehemently opposed to property rights and Western Civilization. The NDP will do everything in their power to expand their patronage network and bring in migrants deferential to them and Ottawa.
The same need for coalition building goes for the independence movement proper. Many people have sacrificed for this cause, and that merits respect, not condemnation. In particular, I want to recognize Keith Wilson, Cory Morgan, Kathy Flett and Angela Tabak of Alberta Women for Independence, and Bruce Scholl of Unscrew the News as devoted people in this domain. We have an enviable army of dreamers and workers, and working with them is a privilege.
This morning, I shared a short post-referendum review with the Free Cities Foundation. This organization promotes decentralization via semiautonomous jurisdictions—free cities—and I recently joined them as an ambassador. Centralized and heavily layered federations such as Canada are poison for innovative and constituent-oriented governance, so FCF support is welcome here.
Cuban exile Mailyn Salabarría, representing FCF, was one of our star speakers at Capitalism & Morality, and she broadened the discussion by proposing special economic zones as an incremental step toward freedom. While an independent Alberta would not be a free city, it would disrupt centralization and be a step in the right direction.
My talk followed a line of questions, but the last one generated the most discussion: “Where to next for free cities?” The invitation-only attendees were doers who wanted to see paths forward for jurisdictional renewal, competition, and decentralization. Here are the three I shared:
