Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he expects the United States to respect the country’s sovereignty after reports that Alberta separatists have held several meetings with officials from President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Financial Times reported that US State Department officials have met with the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP), a group calling for a referendum on whether the energy-rich western province should secede from Canada.
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Speaking in Ottawa on Thursday, Carney said he has clear views on the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump.
“I hope the U.S. administration respects Canada’s sovereignty,” he said, adding that after raising the issue, he hopes the two countries will focus on areas where they can cooperate.
Carney himself is an Albertan, having grown up in the provincial capital, Edmonton. The state has been home to an independence movement for decades.
President Trump has repeatedly threatened to make Canada the “51st state” of the United States.
Here’s what we know:
APP leaders have reportedly met with US State Department officials in Washington at least three times since last April. Trump took office for the second time in January.
These meetings raised concerns in Ottawa about possible U.S. interference in Canada’s domestic politics.
This follows comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who described Alberta as a “natural partner for the United States” and praised the province’s resource richness and “independent” character in an interview with right-wing broadcaster Real America’s Voice last week.
“Alberta is rich in natural resources, but [the Canadian government] “I think they should be brought down to the United States,” Bessent said in an interview with a right-wing broadcaster.
“There are rumors that there may be a referendum on whether to remain in Canada.”
Asked if he knew anything about secession efforts, Bessent said, “People are talking. People want sovereignty. They want what the United States has got.”
Following Bessent’s comments, APP leader Jeffrey Russ said the group is seeking another meeting with U.S. officials next month, where it will ask about a $500 billion line of credit to support Alberta in the event of a future independence referendum, which has not yet been called.
The development comes at a sensitive time for relations between the United States and Canada, with trade tensions still smoldering and following Carney’s recent speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he warned that Washington was contributing to the “collapse” of the world order.
President Trump has repeatedly threatened to admit Canada to the American Union. His expansionist ambitions are further highlighted by recent efforts to acquire Greenland from Denmark, which, like Canada, is a NATO ally. Earlier this year, the US military also abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and has since been trying to take control of the South American country’s huge oil industry.
How did Canadian leaders react to this report?
In a speech Thursday, British Columbia Premier David Eby described the reported behind-the-scenes meeting as “treason.”
“If you go to a foreign country and ask them to help you dismantle Canada, there’s an old-fashioned word for it, and that word is treason,” Eby told reporters.
“It is completely inappropriate to try to undermine Canada, to solicit aid, to try to separate this country from a foreign power or a president who, with all due respect, does not particularly respect Canada’s sovereignty.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford appealed for Canadian unity Thursday morning.
“As you know, there’s a referendum going on in Alberta. The secessionists in Quebec say if they win, they’ll hold a referendum. Folks, we need to come together. It’s Team Canada. Nothing else,” he said.
But Alberta Premier Daniel Smith said he doesn’t want to demonize Albertans who are willing to secede over “legitimate grievances” with Ottawa, saying he doesn’t want to “demonize or alienate a million of our fellow citizens.”
Smith, a longtime Trump supporter, visited the U.S. president’s Mar-a-Lago mansion in January 2025, when many other Canadian leaders joined forces to criticize the president’s call for the country to become part of the United States.
What do we know about a possible referendum in Alberta?
Anger against Ottawa has been building in Alberta for decades, largely due to a dispute over how the federal government manages the province’s vast oil and gas resources.
Many Albertans feel that federal policies, particularly environmental regulations, carbon pricing, and pipeline approvals, limit Alberta’s ability to develop and export energy.
The federal government’s decision is particularly controversial because Alberta, a landlocked province, relies on pipelines and cooperation with other provinces to access global markets.
Many Albertans believe that the province generates significant wealth, although it has limited influence over national decision-making. For example, from 2024 to 2025, it contributed 15% of Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) despite only being home to 12% of the population.
Alberta consistently produces more than 80 per cent of Canada’s oil and 60 per cent of its natural gas.
But many Albertans say the federal government is not giving the province its fair share of the taxes it collects. Canada has a balanced payment system, which allows the federal government to pay poorer provinces additional funds to maintain social services. Quebec and Manitoba are receiving the highest payments, while Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan currently receive no equalization payments.
Mr. Carney’s recent deal with Alberta that opens the door to an oil pipeline to the Pacific Ocean faces major hurdles, with Mr. Eby opposed.
A recent Ipsos poll found that about three in 10 Albertans support opening the Canadian exit process.
But the survey also found that around one in five supporters saw the Leave vote as primarily symbolic – a means of demonstrating political dissatisfaction rather than a firm desire for independence.
Alberta’s independence referendum could be held later this year if residents’ groups can gather the roughly 178,000 signatures needed to force the issue to a vote. But even if the referendum passes, Alberta will not immediately become independent.
Under the Clarification Act, the federal government must first determine whether the referendum question is clear and whether the result indicates a clear majority. Only then can negotiations begin, including issues such as the division of assets and liabilities, borders and indigenous rights.
What is the Alberta Prosperity Project and what do you hope for?
APP is a pro-independence group campaigning for a referendum on Alberta’s separation from Canada.
The province is working to collect signatures to trigger a referendum on Alberta’s citizen-led rules, arguing that it is better for the province to control its own finances, taxes and policies.
The group describes itself as an educational, non-partisan project, but it has been mired in controversy over its claims about the economic viability of an independent Alberta.
“Alberta sovereignty refers to the province’s desire to gain greater autonomy and control over its areas of provincial responsibility in its relationship with Canada,” APP says on its website.
“However, a combination of economic, political, cultural and human rights factors has resulted in many Albertans defining ‘Alberta sovereignty’ to mean that Alberta is an independent country and has control over all matters that fall within its jurisdiction.”
What else did Washington say?
White House and State Department officials told the FT that administration officials have been meeting regularly with civil society groups, but have not communicated any support or commitments.
A report published earlier this year by Canadian public broadcaster CBC quoted US national security analyst Brandon Weichert as saying that President Trump’s talk of Canada becoming the “51st state” was actually aimed at Alberta.
Weichert appeared on a show hosted by former President Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon and suggested that Alberta’s independence vote would lead to U.S. recognition of the province and lead to it becoming a U.S. state.
Has the Trump administration tried this elsewhere?
Yes, Greenland.
Like Canada, President Trump has repeatedly called for Greenland to be incorporated into the United States. His threat to annex Greenland provoked strong opposition from the Arctic island government, Denmark, which rules Greenland, and Europe.
But just like in Alberta, the Trump administration is testing separatist sentiment. In August 2025, the Danish government summoned top U.S. diplomats to Copenhagen after Danish state television reported that three Trump allies had begun compiling a list of Greenlanders who supported the U.S. president’s efforts to have Greenland join the United States.
