Danielle Smith unaware of reported Alberta separatist meetings with U.S. strategists
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office has denied any involvement or knowledge regarding meetings between a party official and U.S. Republican strategists concerning the Alberta separatist movement. The official, Mitch Sylvestre, reportedly discussed software for mobilizing supporters, though he denies discussing the exchange of natural resources for U.S. support.
Why it matters
It underscores political tensions regarding regional autonomy and the potential for foreign influence in Canadian provincial politics.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s office is distancing itself from one of her party presidents who met in Calgary with U.S. Republican strategists looking to assist the province’s separation movement.
Smith’s spokesperson Sam Blackett, in a statement Monday, said the premier “is not affiliated with these individuals’ activities and has no knowledge of these alleged meetings.”
“She also opposes separation or becoming a U.S. state.”
Blackett’s statement declined to answer questions put to him on what, if anything, Smith will do about Mitch Sylvestre’s presence at the meeting.
Sylvestre is the president for the Bonnyville-Cold Lake UCP constituency association.
He also heads up the pro-separation Alberta Prosperity Project and spearheaded a petition that ultimately gathered enough signatures for a provincewide separation vote, before a judge quashed it in court earlier this year.
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