Matthew Rowley: Would a free Alberta seek to preserve Canada?

The best of old Canada still lives on in Wild Rose Country, even if Ottawa has no use for it anymore.

(Canadian Mountie - RCMP, by Arnold Friberg - 1948.)

There is a great old poster from John A. Macdonald’s election campaign of 1891. It shows him on two sturdy fellows’ shoulders, carrying a great big Red Ensign. The slogan reads: The Old Flag, The Old Policy, The Old Leader. Canadians were being asked to look to the stability, strength, and unity they had enjoyed in the past, and to continue with the best traditions and values that had made them great. It was a stirring argument, and it won the day.

For me, Alberta independence today is about these same principles. I am not campaigning for independence because I want to burn down our great heritage, tear down our institutions, or create something entirely new from scratch. I am campaigning for independence because I truly believe that the only way to preserve the things that made Canada great in the past is to fight for their future in an independent Alberta.

Canada was founded as a loyal British Dominion, with close ties to the mother country and a noble heritage of peaceful life, ordered freedom, and sensible, limited government. Canada was a place where the values of Western Civilisation truly prospered, where people were encouraged to work hard, keep what they worked for, and be respected for what they did.

In two world wars, Canada proved to be a good ally and friend, championing freedom for those who were entrapped by authoritarian regimes. In the aftermath, Canadian diplomats made a real impact on international relations, brokering peace and helping to stabilise a world in chaos.

Then some people had the idea that Canada should leave behind its glorious identity and inheritance. We got a new flag; we got a new policy; and, worst of all, we got a new leader: Pierre Elliott Trudeau. The whole glorious legacy of Canada began to crumble. In place of the rich British heritage and Western values, we got a watered-down socialist reality and a new constitution that was designed to strip away our self-reliance and make us dependent on the government and the courts. What was once a proud and stable country became a self-hating soup of different values and priorities. Successive governments launched further destructive assaults on our heritage, our economic freedom, and our cultural cohesion. And now the Trudeau and Carney Liberals are determined to turn us into a self-loathing settler-colonial genocidal state, where everyone must look to the government while Papa Ottawa tells us exactly how to think and feel in every situation. The old vision of Canada is in dire straits.

Albertans have consistently cried out against the new direction of the country. In vote after vote, we have tried to set the country on a path of sensible and prudent governance. We have championed less Ottawa and greater provincial autonomy. We have called for an end to the woke assault on the greatness of our past. But in vote after vote, we have been ignored at best and attacked and libelled at worst. So now we must speak with a voice that cannot be ignored.

We cannot save the rest of Canada from themselves. Just as we have a right to self-determination, so do they. They appear to desire the path Canada is on. If it is their will to continue down a self-destructive path, we must let them do as they please. But we are not part of that movement. We do not hate our history and values. We do not consider them to be disposable. We must go our own way.

What do I advocate for? As little change as possible. Alberta has a good, solid conservative tradition, and I am a conservative. I believe firmly that if something is broken, it should be fixed if possible. Canada cannot remain whole while it continues along the path of national self-destruction. Unfortunately, it is not possible to fix Canada under the current constitutional system. But the values, the culture, and the ideals of Canada can continue. Let’s not burn down the Westminster system. Let’s not become radical republicans, attempting to create a new system that may or may not function. Let’s preserve the greatness and majesty of our Westminster-based, British-rooted, Western country. Let’s remind ourselves of the values of Macdonald, Cartier, and the other greats who built a nation.

Let’s look back beyond the Pierre Trudeau quasi-republican abomination that is the Constitution Act, 1982, and let’s restore the principles of Responsible Government to Alberta. Let’s keep all that was good in Good Old Canada, and show every woke, nihilistic, self-hating Canadian leader that we are more truly a part of the old country than they can ever be. We will champion rights, freedoms, responsibility, compassion, and pure greatness better than they can ever imagine. We can champion a renewed and strengthened Westminster system, loyalty to the Crown, and Peace, Order, and Good Government. We can restore the virtues of our history and burnish the reputations of the great men and women who made this country what it is today. We can empower people to take risks, be bold, and build something great. We can remind our country of what it looks like to succeed without the government jealously punishing our success.

Alberta is the only hope for the country. Perhaps through our efforts for freedom, the rest of Canada will wake up and realise how far they have let their culture decline. Perhaps they will open their eyes to the damage that self-hatred and cultural destruction have done to a great country. Perhaps they will turn back from the nihilistic cliff towards which they are walking.

Whatever happens, I have confidence that Alberta will continue moving towards greatness, proving the truth of our motto: that we are truly Strong and Free. The Old Flag, The Old Policy, The Old Leader will continue to have their place in the new Alberta as we preserve and carry forward our glorious heritage and great traditions.

Dr. Matthew Rowley is President of Renew Alberta, an organization that seeks to preserve the Canadian tradition through an independent Alberta. A fifth generation Albertan, he and his family reside in Central Alberta.