THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
1980 — The federal government ignites widespread alienation in Alberta with the National Energy Program, which keeps domestic oil prices below world levels to promote Canadian energy security and increase the federal share of oil revenues. Alberta views it as an unjustified attack and a federal money grab. The issue is later settled, but discontent with Ottawa continues.
1982 — Separatism enjoys a brief heyday. Gordon Kesler of the Western Canada Concept Party wins a provincial byelection in central Alberta on a separatist platform. Later that year in the general election, he loses a spot in the legislature. The party receives 12 per cent of the vote but no seats.
2019 — The anti-Ottawa mood ramps up as the United Conservative Party under Jason Kenney wins power in Alberta, capitalizing on discontent over federal rules and policies deemed to impair Alberta’s ability to create wealth, particularly in oil and gas. Premier Kenney fights for more independence from Ottawa but remains a staunch advocate for the province staying in Confederation.
2022-23 — Kenney is replaced by Danielle Smith, who wins government in the 2023 election on a platform of further asserting independence from Ottawa. Unlike Kenney, Premier Smith, while stressing her preference for a “sovereign Alberta within a united Canada,” refuses to characterize separatists as fringe extremists, saying they have valid grievances that deserve to be aired.
April 28, 2025 — Mark Carney and the Liberals defeat the federal Conservatives to win a minority government.
May 5, 2025 — Smith announces a panel to discuss Alberta's future in Canada. She says her government won't itself put separation on a ballot but would honour a successful citizen petition seeking such a vote. At the same time, her government takes steps to eventually pass rules to lower thresholds for citizen-led petitions.
June 2025 — Former Alberta Progressive Conservative deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk launches a “Forever Canadian” petition to affirm the province stays in Canada. It eventually collects more than 400,000 names — enough to validate the petition. But by the spring of 2026, the petition is tied up in a legislature committee as Smith questions whether Lukaszuk gathered the names for a referendum or as a trigger for a vote among legislature members.
Former Deputy Premier, MLA and spokesperson for the Forever Canada petition, Thomas Lukaszuk, at a Forever Canadian rally, in Edmonton, Saturday, May 23, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amanda Erickson.
January 2026 — Mitch Sylvestre of the separatist Alberta Prosperity Project is given the green light by election officials to launch a petition asking whether Alberta should leave Canada. Months later, the petition is deemed successful, having gathered about 223,000 signatures.
Feb. 19, 2026 — Smith announces nine referendum questions about immigration and constitutional concerns will be put to Albertans in an Oct. 19 referendum.
May 13, 2026 — An Alberta Court of King's Bench judge quashes the separatist petition, ruling Smith’s government didn't properly consult First Nations as required in the Constitution. Smith later promises to challenge the ruling, and it remains in legal limbo.
Mitch Sylvestre hold boxes of signatures before submitting signatures for a separation referendum to Elections Alberta in Edmonton, on Monday, May 4, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
May 21, 2026 — Smith announces a 10th referendum question asking whether Alberta should stay in Canada or hold a binding vote on separation. Smith cites the legal uncertainty of the court decision on the separatist petition as the driving force, saying it unduly deprives thousands of Albertans of having a say. Smith later cites Lukaszuk's petition, too, as a reason. She says both show hundreds of thousands of Albertans want the issue decided.
Sept. 10, 2026 — The Alberta government launches a $4-million advertising campaign for the referendum and urges citizens to vote to stay in Canada. The move comes as polls suggest a broad majority of Albertans want to stay.
Sept. 14, 2026 — Smith's UCP loses a byelection to the Opposition NDP in their conservative stronghold of Calgary-Shaw. Critics across the political spectrum say the referendum was a factor in punishing Smith’s UCP. Her office says the party lost due to right-centre vote splitting.
Sept. 16, 2026 — Smith's government publishes a report it commissioned from the University of Calgary to determine what fiscal challenges and benefits an independent Alberta could see. It estimates an initial five-year price tag of $50 billion to $170 billion, noting that figures could swing sharply depending on factors outside Alberta's control.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
A Wedding Guest Cut The Newlyweds' Cake Just For Herself & TikTok Is Melting Down Over It
"You have no idea how angry this is making me."
Nothing says "pure chaos" like walking up to a newlywed couple's pristine wedding cake and cutting a slice for yourself — before they even get a chance to taste it.
TikTok user @mediocrehailey sparked a major outcry on the app recently, after posting video of herself cutting the first slice of her friend's wedding cake before the bride and groom could even get their moment with it.
And while that sounds like a major power move, it seems she did it entirely by accident.
"Me! A guest at my friend's wedding," reads the caption over her video of the incident, which has gone viral online. "Ignoring the brownie table and confidently cutting myself a slice of HER WEDDING CAKE, thinking uh-oh! They forgot to serve it to everyone else!"
The video shows her not only cutting a slice for herself, but then licking her fingers and dancing away to the DJ's next song, completely unaware of what she's done.
Yikes.
"I know better now," continued her caption. "I hate myself!"
How do you even recover from that, or begin to apologize to the newlyweds?
People did not hold back in the comments, with many ripping her for somehow not reading the room at the wedding. Others were shocked that she shared the embarrassing video on TikTok, where it now has over 5.8 million views.
The top comment under the video read: "You couldn't pry this information out of me if I did this to someone at their wedding," because some things are just better to keep to yourself.
"You have no idea how angry this is making me," wrote another user.
Many users said they would "no longer be on speaking terms" with someone who did this at their wedding.
Another pointed out that "someone was even recording this instead of running up and stopping you."
"Was this your first wedding??" asked another commenter.
Safe to say that people were angry, but it looks like the bride herself managed to get over it.
The poster apologized to the bride and groom in her caption, and the bride showed up in the comments to accept the apology.
"As the bride whose cake this is - SHE IS FORMALLY FORGIVEN AND HAS LEARNED HER LESSON IN WEDDING ETIQUETTE," she wrote.
Phew!
Despite the bride being over the whole kerfuffle, some people are still trying to wrap their minds around the blunder in the first place.
"Omg, so I see that the bride commented forgiving you, but I still need to go through my own emotional process with this one," wrote one user.
So the next time you're at a wedding, learn from this TikToker's mistake and don't help yourself to a slice of cake!