The US Treasury Secretary Endorsed Alberta Independence on National Television

Scott Bessent - US Treasury Secretary, second or third most powerful person in the Trump administration - went on television yesterday and said Alberta should leave Canada.

Not hinted at it. Said it.

“Albertans are very independent people. Rumors that they may have a referendum on whether they want to stay in Canada or not.”

The host: “Sounds like you may know something up there.”

Bessent: “Look, people are saying... people want sovereignty. They want what the US has got.”

This is the moment everything changed. Watch the full interview below.

Let me walk you through what just happened and why this matters.

Scott Bessent just went on national television and talked about Alberta leaving Canada. He knows about the referendum. He knows about the petition. These aren’t rumors to him - these are facts he’s been briefed on.

“People want sovereignty.” That’s what he said. Not “we want Alberta,” not “join the US” - sovereignty. He’s acknowledging what Albertans want.

And here’s what’s significant: You don’t go on television as Treasury Secretary and discuss another country’s independence movement unless you’re signaling support. That matters.

We’ve been telling you this for months.

We’ve been meeting with senior Trump officials who go directly from our meetings to the Oval Office. We’ve had several-hour meetings going through all the ways the US government could support Alberta independence when the timing is right.

The US sees what we see: A resource-rich province that wants to be free and would make a natural economic partner. And now Scott Bessent is saying it publicly.

Because they understand what Ottawa refuses to admit. Communist China is controlling the third-largest oil field in the world through the Liberal Party’s energy policy.

Japan came to Canada and asked for long-term LNG supply from Alberta. Trudeau’s response: “No business case.”

What he really meant: “The business case to the Chinese is to lock in Alberta oil and gas until Chinese companies control all the pipelines. Oil only goes to China. Then there’ll be a business case.”

The US gets this. They don’t want China controlling Alberta’s oil. They want the third-largest oil field in the world freed from communist Chinese control. They want Japan and South Korea getting steady stable supply from Alberta, not being cut off so China can monopolize it.

This is why the US is supportive. Not because they’re telling us what to do, but because they see the strategic benefit of a free Alberta.

And then there’s Mark Carney, who this week announced he’s using the breakdown of US trade negotiations as an excuse to “strengthen economic ties with Communist China.”

His message: “Oh we can’t deal with the evil Americans so we’re gonna become Communist Chinese.”

Like who thought they were electing that?

Every week Carney does something that makes our case stronger. Every time he pivots toward Beijing instead of Washington, he gives the US another reason to welcome Alberta as a partner. The man is literally our best recruiter and he doesn’t even know it.

Let me be clear: Alberta independence is happening because Albertans want it. Not because Trump wants it. Not because the US told us to.

We’re in week 2 of the petition drive right now. Hundreds of thousands of Albertans lining up to sign.

The referendum question is crystal clear. It’s taken directly from Section 1(3) of the Clarity Act:

“Do you agree that the province of Alberta shall cease to be part of Canada to become an independent state?”

Every small town we visit, we double or triple the population with people coming from every surrounding farm and hamlet to sign. Grandparents, parents, kids. Three generations signing together.

I’ve never seen anything like it. Nobody in Alberta politics has seen a political movement like this.

Politicians are absolutely terrified because they finally understand this is real. An angry population wants Alberta out of Canada and will not let any politician stop it.

People know this is their last chance. And they’re not letting it slip away.

What Bessent said matters because it confirms what we already knew: When Alberta votes for independence, we’ll have a willing partner in the United States. But this is Alberta’s decision. Alberta’s movement. Alberta’s future.

We are NOT discussing Alberta becoming the 51st state. The Trump administration knows Democrats in the Senate would never allow a Republican state to join anyway.

Our discussions are about a free and independent Alberta with the strongest possible partnership with the United States.

Here’s what that looks like:

Common market between Alberta and US. Zero tariffs on both sides of the border. Free flow of goods and people across the Alberta-US border. Enhanced economic relationship. Military alliance.

West coast pipeline from Alberta through Idaho, Montana, Washington, or Oregon to the Pacific Northwest. North-south pipeline to the Gulf of America that bypasses the Midwestern hub.

And here’s the kicker: Alberta will have the most barrels of oil per capita of any country in the world. We’re sitting on the world’s third-largest oil reserve with only 4.5 million people.

If Saudi Arabia with multiples of our population can have zero income tax, if Dubai can have zero income tax, if Qatar can have zero income tax - why can’t Alberta have zero income tax?

That’s what we’re looking for. Zero income tax. No GST. No corporate tax. Lowest taxed, lowest regulated regime in North America.

Compare that to what Danielle Smith is offering. Her “pipe dream MOU” - and everybody calls it the pipe dream MOU, not the pipeline MOU - adds $10/barrel to production costs. Maybe if we’re really good little boys and girls they’ll let us have a pipeline by 2040.

The only way to revitalize investment in Alberta is for Alberta to leave Canada.

Nobody’s talking about what happens to BC when Alberta becomes independent.

70% of BC’s goods flow east to Ontario through Alberta out of Vancouver Port.

Alberta is a rat-free jurisdiction. We’re gonna keep it that way. So we’re gonna inspect every train and truck at the border for rats. Could take 2-3 weeks, maybe a month.

While all those goods pile up at the border, our customs inspectors are gonna value them. We’re gonna put a throughput tariff on everything.

Or BC can give us a pipeline. Their pick.

BC becomes landlocked unless they come to an agreement with Alberta. That’s how things work in the real world. If you’ve got leverage, you can get deals done.

Right now Alberta has no leverage stuck in this dysfunctional relationship with Ottawa where we have twice the population of the Maritimes but only 6 senators to their 30.

Independence changes that.

People ask: “Aren’t you just trading one distant government for another?”

No.

People in our movement don’t want to escape federal government clutches just to put ourselves under another government 3,500 miles away in Washington that doesn’t understand us.

We’re confident that a free and independent Alberta within literally months of independence could become a zero income tax regime. Alberta operates as one of the lowest taxed, lowest regulated regimes in North America.

We’ve been governed by gibbering idiots long enough. We don’t need to sign up for that again.

The US relationship is about partnership between equals, not control. Zero tariff common market. Free flow of goods and people. Military alliance between sovereign nations. Not annexation. Not statehood.

Bessent said Albertans “want sovereignty.” Not statehood. Sovereignty. He gets it.

I also talked to David about our relationship with Quebec and Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the leader of Parti Québécois who’s currently leading in the polls for Quebec’s upcoming election.

Paul and I have become good friends. We had dinner at the Pallister Hotel for about 4 hours. We’re coordinating. I’ve been invited to the PQ annual general meeting in January.

Here’s why this matters: Quebec electing an openly separatist government while Alberta is pursuing independence completely changes the framework of Canadian negotiations.

Ottawa can’t play the same games when both Quebec AND Alberta are moving toward the exits at the same time. Both exits open at once. That’s leverage.

Canadian media is just waking up to this story and they’re going to try to bury it or spin it or dismiss it.

Don’t let them.

Share this interview everywhere. Because the US Treasury Secretary just acknowledged publicly what Albertans have been saying for months: We want sovereignty. We want to be free. And when we vote for it, the United States will be a willing partner.

But make no mistake - this is Alberta’s movement. Alberta’s choice. Alberta’s future.

Jeffrey R.W. Rath B.A. (Hons.), LL.B. (Hons.)
Foothills, Alberta
January 27, 2026