Alberta separatists prepare detailed transition white paper, seek anonymous expert review

Alberta's independence group Let Alberta Decide is close to publishing a white paper on how the province would become a sovereign nation and is recruiting anonymous experts to review the draft.

Let Alberta Decide, a movement pushing for Alberta's secession, is finalising a white paper that will detail the procedural and institutional changes required for the province to become an independent nation. Co-leader Keith Wilson, who also heads the Alberta Transition Council, explained that the document will address areas such as finance, foreign affairs, defence, citizenship and the transfer of federal employees like border guards and passport staff to an Alberta payroll.

Scheduled for release in mid-August, the draft is currently being examined by experts who must sign non-disclosure agreements and remain unnamed unless they opt to be identified. Mount Royal University political science associate professor Lori Williams warned that the lack of transparent reviewers could call the study’s legitimacy into question. The initiative coincides with other analyses, including a Calgary Chamber report warning of a $62 billion annual economic hit and the Alberta Premier’s estimate of $400 billion in transition costs, all ahead of the Oct. 19 referendum on independence.