A Movement Built by Its People Needs a New Foundation

Alberta Radio Show was a registered third-party advertiser in Alberta’s 2026 referendum. We supported Question 10, Option 2 because we believe Alberta needs change and because we wanted Albertans to have the opportunity to decide their own future. That option would have started the legal process toward a later, binding referendum on separation. It was not itself a vote to declare independence.

Albertans chose Option 1 on October 19. The results are still unofficial, but the message from the vote is clear. I respect the people who disagreed with us. I also believe the people who worked for change deserve an honest conversation about what comes next.

In the days since the vote, a public dispute over the leadership of the Alberta Prosperity Project has divided people who stood together during the campaign. Chris Scott and others say the organization removed Jeffrey Rath and Mitch Sylvestre from their roles. Rath disputes the authority behind those decisions. I am not going to turn this article into a judgment about who is right. Those questions should be settled with the relevant records and a fair process.

Over the past day, I have spent hours talking with supporters and volunteers. Many are hurt and asking the same question: Where do we go from here?

I keep thinking about the people who went out in the cold to gather signatures. I think about those who carried signs, talked with neighbours, and spent their own time explaining why this issue mattered to them. I have heard volunteers describe confrontations and vandalized signs. Through all of it, they kept showing up. Whatever happens between the people in the headlines, those volunteers should not be forgotten.

My view is that supporters of Alberta independence should start building a new political party, with a foundation that belongs to its members. That means clear rules for choosing leaders, open finances, accountability, and a serious plan that can withstand hard questions. It also means listening to Albertans who voted against Option 2 and engaging Indigenous nations honestly about treaty rights. If we want to earn trust, we have to do the work.

I know some people want to answer this dispute with another public fight. I understand the frustration, but I do not want the movement’s future defined by a feud. People who have questions about what happened should be able to pursue answers. The rest of us can keep building something useful together.

We have all worked hard over the past year. People collected signatures, organized town halls, put up signs, did the third-party advertising work, and had countless conversations with their neighbours. We have worked hard to get to this point. It is all right to take a break now. I think we should give ourselves at least a week to rest, spend time with our families, and step away from the public arguments.

Then let us regroup. Pick up the phone. Send a text to somebody you worked alongside. Ask each other what we learned, what we want to keep, and what our next move should be. Those conversations should include the volunteers who gave this movement their time, not just the people whose names are in the headlines.

As of October 24, the unofficial count shows 513,885 Albertans chose Option 2—more than half a million people who voted to begin the legal process toward a future binding referendum. That was not a vote to separate immediately, and we should not presume every one of those voters would join a new party. But their voices matter, even as we acknowledge that most voters chose to remain in Canada.

I still believe the path to freedom and independence for those who want it is to build a new Alberta independence party. A party with a foundation the members can trust will take time and hard work. After a week to breathe and a chance to talk with one another, that is where I believe we should begin. Put the people who built this movement at its centre, and let us start the next chapter together.

Sources and context

Elections Alberta, unofficial referendum results (accessed October 24, 2026): https://results.elections.ab.ca/8400

Elections Alberta, registered referendum third-party advertisers: https://www.elections.ab.ca/political-participants/third-party-advertisers/referendum-tpa/

Medicine Hat News, October 23, 2026, on the contested APP leadership claims: https://medicinehatnews.com/news/local-news/2026/10/23/social-media-report-says-rath-sylvestre-terminated-by-alberta-prosperity-project/

Cover art: editorial illustration created for Alberta Radio Show; the people shown are illustrative, not photographed campaign participants.