January 29, 2026
Say No To Trump, Say Yes To Canada
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January 29, 2026
Say No To Trump, Say Yes To Canada
The premier should speak out against foreign political interference.
No government has ever benefited from cozying up to Donald Trump. Alberta will be no exception.
Trump’s approach to the world is erratic, confrontational, and deeply destabilizing. And unfortunately, he still has his sights set on threatening Canada. I am merely a provincial MLA, but I am glad that Canada has turned away from trying to appease a Trump-led U.S. and is standing strong as a nation against him.
Last week, Prime Minister Carney gave a powerful speech at the World Economic Forum in which he laid out, in clear terms, that Canada stands with Greenland, Denmark, and our European allies, not the United States. The next day, Donald Trump took to the stage at the same event, and told the audience that “Canada lives because of the U.S.” Excuse me? The comment reveals Trump is truly the madman from Mar-a-lago.
This month alone, we witnessed the United States invade the resource-rich country of Venezuela and openly talk about its plans to take over the resource-rich Danish Territory of Greenland. Now, MAGA talking heads are linking its take over of Greenland to a potential separation referendum in Alberta.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is the equivalent of Canada’s Finance Minister, talked about Alberta while appearing on the right-wing TV station Real America's Voice. “They have great resources.” He said, and “There's a rumour that they may have a referendum on whether they want to stay in Canada or not." It is unnerving to hear people that probably cannot find Alberta on a map use our very small separatist minority as a reason why the U.S. should take over Canada.
In Alberta today there are political operators leading a petition for a referendum on separation that have actively sought U.S. recognition and financial support to facilitate a "seamless departure" from Canada. We need to take this very seriously. Alberta separatists are inviting foreign political interference.
The Government of Alberta under the UCP has stoked the fire of the group leading the separation agenda. The Smith government passed legislation last Fall saving the separatist referendum question from the courts.
The Alberta government could have opted to take the incredible success of the Forever Canadian petition as a signal that Albertans don’t want a referendum on separation. Instead, they passed Bill 14 (which is the bonkers Bill that also banned the use of the word ‘conservative’ by any other political parties). The UCP have actively courted the attention of the madman from Mar-a-Lago, and it has worked.
It’s not too late to put an end to the separatist agenda. A government that can legislate support for separatism can find a way to roll it back and declare that Alberta stands united with the rest of Canada against the U.S. expansionist agenda.
The Premier can and should speak out against foreign political interference. She should focus the immense power of the provincial government on building a stronger Alberta within Canada.
I fear she won’t, because at its core the UCP appears to be a separatist party, or, at the very least, a government of weak ministers and UCP MLAs who cannot say no to the Premier and the separatist elements of their own political party. For months, the Alberta NDP has repeatedly asked the government to denounce separatism. Let’s say no to Trump and focus on building a better Alberta.
This column was published in the Sherwood Park News on January 29, 2026, and written by Kyle Kasawski, the MLA for Sherwood Park. If you have questions about this column or any provincial issues, please contact us.
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