d'antifa

Ray, the mistake is assuming this is a geography problem. It isn’t. It’s a governance failure. Canada was founded on a core constitutional principle: no province can block another province’s access to markets. That is precisely why interprovincial pipelines, railways, and ports fall under exclusive federal jurisdiction. The federal government’s job is to ensure goods and resources move freely across provinces. What we are seeing today is the opposite. The federal government has repeatedly stated that BC and certain First Nations effectively have veto power over Alberta’s resources transiting BC. That position directly contradicts the Constitution and a foundational principle of Confederation. Canada, in this respect, is no longer functioning as designed. Ironically, this is why the “landlocked Alberta” argument fails. Under a properly functioning Canada, Alberta is not landlocked at all. Ottawa is simply refusing to exercise the authority it already has. And here’s the part critics ignore: an independent Alberta would actually have leverage Canada refuses to use. Roughly $17 billion in BC exports move eastward through Alberta by rail, and highway. Alberta would control that transit as a sovereign state—just as other inland countries do through transit agreements. Independence wouldn’t eliminate trade routes; it would require mutual access agreements, where leverage runs both ways. Canada currently allows BC to block Alberta while Alberta has no reciprocal authority. That asymmetry disappears under independence. The real question isn’t whether Alberta is “landlocked.” It’s why the federal government is failing to enforce the Constitution—and why Albertans are expected to accept permanent economic obstruction with no leverage at all.