A Recap of the Last 1-2 Months

I want to take some time in this newsletter to jot down some notes with regards to Alberta Independence, or Alberta Sovereignty, or Alberta Separatism, whatever you might call it.

In the last month or so, the movement has gained increasing popularity and opposition.

In the last months, we have seen line-ups all over the province. There are a couple thousand canvassers who have now been unleashed in the province with pop up signing booths to approve a referendum in the Fall, on roadsides, in mom & pop shops, all over. If 3000 canvassers each get 100 signatures, that is 300,000 signatures to approve the referendum.

Here is a photo that I took of line-ups in Grande Prairie, AB

The MSM has also taken to attacking the movement. It’s becoming more frequent to hear accusations of treason, especially in light of visits from Independence leaders to the States, to see if the States will give legitimacy to a new nation of Alberta, should we vote ourselves out of confederation by a democratic vote.

Most recently, a prominent Independence leader, Mitch Sylvestre, received some sort of threat when a man walked into his gun store, dropped two bullets on the counter and said “these are for Mitch.”

I am told that that the Independence Movement is aiming at a million signatures to approve of a referendum in the Fall, far exceeding the required 177,000 signatures.

It’s a shame to see some of the vicious rhetoric levelled against the Independence Movement. Amidst calls of treason, it appears that even the Left is willing to bring back the death penalty when it comes to calls of treason against Alberta.

Thankfully, one or two MPs, like Damien Kurek began to call out MSM for calling separatists traitors. Things have quieted down, a bit. Besides the latest death threat. So maybe things have not quieted down.

Meanwhile, reports are that Quebec might leave Canada before Alberta does.

The Death of Civic Dialogue

The former disgraced Premier of Alberta, Jason Kenney, has not been helping with civic dialogue by joining in on the name-calling, via his platform on X.

Which makes one wonder, is civic dialogue possible?

I am sure that there are many helpful discussions happening among friends and co-workers. I’ve seen it.

Maybe we can bring the workplace discussion back into public civic dialogue, soon.

Reflecting on the Reasons to Exit Canada in Alberta

Many Christians think that the only reason Alberta would leave Canada is for economic reasons. Some are suspicious that the movement is largely driven by fiscal conservatism. The Alberta Prosperity Project has pushed the public perception in this direction. The very name gives away the aims and goals.

But maybe there are more reasons. Or maybe economics and social conservatism should not be separated.

I’ll start by tying the knot between economics and so-called socially conservative policy, before moving on to demonstrate that Alberta’s concern with Canada is not only economic.

It’s all Moral

Here is the central issue of Alberta with Ottawa. It is unequal taxation without equal representation. That’s the fundamental issue.

Because of this, some Christians would argue that it’s all about money, appealing to a separation between fiscal conservatism and moral conservatism that has been promoted over the last 50-100 years.

Here is the thing. It all comes together. Murder is wrong. Theft is wrong. Justice needs to be a thing again. The civil government has been given the ministry of justice. (Romans 13:1-7)

We must not divide fiscal conservatism from moral conservatism. For that reason, I’m thankful that even Jeffrey Rath has rolled in and started taking pot-shots at doctor assisted suicide. His commentary is mostly fiscal in nature, but even he is becoming more horrified by the moral state of Canada.

We need leaders in Alberta who are virtuous, who recognize that federalist theft is wrong, that provincial theft is wrong, but so is not only state-funded murder and sexual mutilation, but all murder and sexual mutilation is a crime.

I’m poking at Alberta here, but Canada has also made this divide for years. This is why our federal conservative party, the Conservative Party of Canada, might be described as fiscally conservative, but does not want to touch on many moral issues. Most recently they have done some good work on Bill C-9. And they want MAID to stop expanding. They function as brakes for the vehicle, but for some reason, they can’t get a guy to the steering wheel of our Canadian insanity. Alberta is not any worse than Canada. In fact, I would wager that there are more Christians here with a Christian ethic and stance with regards to wealth. Why does Canada so badly want to retain Alberta? Largely because of love for the hoarded gold.

By What Standard?

So what is your standard for good and evil? What is your standard for right and wrong?

If Alberta rolls out of secular (but formerly Christian) Canada and becomes a secular nation, what standard actually makes it wrong for a man (or woman or child) to “consent” to state-sanctioned assisted murder by a doctor?

That said. If Alberta rolls out of secular (but formerly Christian) Canada and becomes a secular nation, what standard makes it wrong for the government of Alberta to tax us into oblivion and socialize all of our resources?

I can hear the stammer. “B-b-but it’s j-j-just wrong! And you are a Christian Nationalist!”

OK, but who cares if you think it is wrong when you and two other sheep show up for a vote with four or five wolves. The wolf sector of the population just got the 50+1% of the vote. Bye-bye little sheep.

If your standard for morality in society, if your standard for rights, is a secular liberal democracy, then whoever shows up to vote decides the future of rights in your society. Either that or conniving politicians will manipulate a lazy, apathetic, blind population to follow their whims.

Might makes right in this economy.

I get it though. We have to work within the democratic system. And that is why it is necessary to have good men with substack newsletters, pointing out the obvious for a population that actually could be smarter and wiser than they think.

Who do you Worship?

Fundamentally it is a matter of worship.

Maybe I’m the odd ball. I actually do want a prosperous Alberta. I don’t mind Christians raking in wheelbarrows of wealth. I want to have the ability to retire well and to leave an estate for my children. But that it is because my beliefs on wealth are tied firmly into a broader Christian worldview. This is also not my highest love and I am convinced that this ought not be the highest love for a nation.

The problem in Canada and Alberta and the modern West is not wealth. Rather it is the love of wealth, esp the love of money (I Tim. 6:10). Love is connected with worship. Secularism is a farce. You will always worship someone or something.

You can read the entire section in Matthew 6:19-24, but to hone in, Jesus writes in Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” He says earlier, in vs. 21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

If Alberta sets her heart on money and the worship thereof, that’s all she will get. She will rise and fall based on her love for the hoarded gold. If Alberta sets her heart on the worship of God, everything will spin into focus. Any Christians in Alberta, whether for or against Independence, have a simply duty laid out by our Lord in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” This does not mean that Alberta will be immediately prosperous, but this command of our Lord, when obeyed even in suffering, is the source of all true prosperity.

Is Christianity Good for Alberta?

This is the question I keep coming round-circle too.

Many will give me a blank stare and ask “what does Christianity have to do with Alberta Independence?” My answer (now that I have thought about it): “exactly what it had to do with the founding of Canada as a nation, except I have faith we can do even better, because we have the mistakes of Canada to learn from.”

The issue though is that we actually need widespread repentance, a restoration of the churches to reality, a move of the Holy Spirit among those who have abandoned the Church in the population of Alberta.

Christianity provides the worldview, the reality, by which Alberta can find sanity in the midst of the asylum again. It is a system that has deep internal coherency and is consistent with the reality that we see around us.

I am told that many have grown disillusioned as a result of the revelations of the Epstein files. This is no different than the disillusionment that I saw among Canadians during the COVID lockdowns. This is because Canadians worship the state. That why we are disillusioned by these things. We are a prodigal people and those who are disillusioned will not find true, fulfilling answers for their disillusionment outside of the coherency and consistency of Biblical Christianity. Secularism has been tried and found wanting, and there is no other response, then to beat a path back to the Father and find mercy in His Son Jesus Christ.

This truly is the answer for all of Canada, whether Alberta charts her own future or not. We get stuck on the horns of our stupid dilemmas, like the false dichotomy of fiscal or moral conservatism, because we have abandoned God and the common sense and sanity and wisdom that is grounded in the Holy Scriptures and under the good reign of King Jesus.

It is time for conservative Canadian Christians to stop relying on the fire and fervour in Alberta and the strength of the church that remains here. We all must seek the help of the Holy Spirit in bringing the claims of Christ and the testimony of Him back into the public square again. You to have the Holy Spirit, to suffer, to testify to Christ, to witness to His mercy and glorious reign in the public square.

Wherever you are, we must begin with the true worship of God, repentance before His majesty, forgiveness through the blood & righteousness of Christ, the true preaching of the gospel and the glorious celebration of the sacraments.

In the meantime, the reasons for Alberta Independence are manifold. They are not just limited to dollar signs, as much as 8th commandment ethics matter as well. We should consider the justice of Alberta’s complaint, and bring it back to a Christian worldview where needed, and then take responsibility to make Alberta a place of justice, truth, beauty and goodness.

We must continue to press for godliness in the home, the church, and then press godly men into the public arena.

Thank-you,

Pastor Nathan Zekveld