If you were part of the Forever Canadian effort, you already know what we built.
You know what it looked like to take something from nothing and somehow get it airborne. You know what it felt like to stand in the heat or the cold, hold a clipboard, have conversations that mattered, and watch something real take shape in real time. We built that aircraft together. Not perfectly, not easily, but honestly. And it flew. We reached the threshold. Then we went beyond it. Hundreds of thousands of Albertans put their names down in response to a simple question. “Do you agree that Alberta should remain part of Canada?”
And then we landed. In that strange, quiet way where something big ends and you expect the next step to come quickly.
It didn’t. And while that aircraft has been sitting on the runway, something else has been moving.
That ‘other’ petition is not about strengthening Canada, but leaving it. The petition question, however unpalatable, is clear. “Do you agree that the province of Alberta should cease to be part of Canada to become an independent state?”
That effort only needs a fraction of the signatures that Forever Canadian gathered. Half the passengers. A completely different destination.
And like any aircraft being assembled in a hurry, it is being presented as ready for takeoff before anyone has really examined the design. A narrative is being built around it. That separation is straightforward, financially viable, offers control, clarity, and a better future, and somehow, the risks are manageable.
And this is where I keep coming back to something as basic as what most of us learned in school. Think back to grade six and Bernoulli’s principle. Flight only happens when the forces actually work together.
You can say you have lift. You can claim you have thrust. But if you ignore drag, if you ignore the real resistance that comes from economics, trade, geography, law, and global reality, the aircraft does not fly.
We have known that for a very long time. Anyone who remembers Icarus understands that belief alone does not keep you in the air. We may be tempted to see Icarus as a warning for the separatist movement. But if we sit back and assume this will resolve itself, we may be the ones left with melted wings.
That is the risk we need to pay attention to. We cannot spend the next number of months debating every flaw in their design. Because the outcome of that conversation will not be decided in arguments. It will be decided in a referendum.
And if that question makes it onto a ballot, every single person in this province is on that flight, whether they paid attention to the boarding call or not. That is the moment where there is no more watching from the terminal. No more assuming someone else has it handled. You are on board.
And this is where we need to be very clear with ourselves. Those of us who supported that original question, who signed, who showed up, cannot act like the work is finished. It is not. We cannot sit back now and assume that what we built will carry forward on its own. It will not.
The people driving the separation effort are organized. They are motivated. They are putting in the time and pushing this forward.
We need to do the same.
If you supported Forever Canadian, go to the Forever Canadian website. Make sure you have actually completed the process. Then encourage someone else to do the same.
Volunteers are still needed. Resources are still needed. And yes, there is a financial reality to this. If you are in Canada and asking how to help, you can support this effort. That information is on the website.
We are living in a moment where the world is already unstable enough. Economically, politically, globally, there is no shortage of pressure on countries trying to hold their footing.
And here at home, we are debating whether to fracture ourselves on purpose. If we cannot hold this together here, how exactly do we expect to navigate anything beyond it?
I am proud to have been part of the Forever Canadian effort. Proud of what we built. Proud of the people who showed up in the heat and the cold and proved that this province is capable of more than division.
But pride does not keep a country together. Participation does.
If you were engaged, stay engaged. If you signed, make sure it counts. If you have been watching from the sidelines, this is the moment to step in.
Go to https://www.forever-canadian.ca/en your name. Bring someone with you. Because this is no longer about building the plane.
It is about making sure it actually flies.
Nancy's Notes 