US Officials Meet Canadian Separatists Pushing For Alberta Secession: Report -

 US officials meet Canadian separatists pushing for Alberta secession: Report

Talks were said to include a request for a $500-million loan to fund the secession, as well as the construction of new pipelines bypassing the Canadian government

JAN 29, 2026

US government officials held a meeting with Canadian separatists pushing for the secession of the country’s western, oil-rich Alberta province, sources told the Financial Times (FT) in a new report.

“Officials in the [US President] Donald Trump administration discussed loaning Alberta $500 million to break up Canada and make it the 51st state,” one of the sources said.

Jeff Rath, legal advisor to the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP), told the outlet that Washington is pushing for an “independent” Alberta.

The report adds that leaders of the APP are seeking another meeting next month with officials from the US State and Treasury Departments in order to request a $500-million credit facility to fund the secession.

They are also seeking US recognition of the province as an independent state, and the potential construction of new pipelines bypassing Canadian federal approval.

The report coincides with an online campaign by Alberta separatists pushing for a referendum to break away from Canada.

Alberta Labor Union President Gilles McGowan was quoted as saying that social media advertising campaigns, the use of online bots, and the involvement of MAGA influencers are evidence of foreign interference.

A poll conducted by Ipsos last week showed that about three out of 10 residents in both Alberta and Quebec would vote in favor of their province separating from Canada.

Alberta holds the world's fourth-largest proven oil reserves.

The FT report comes amid tension between US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“The world has changed. Washington has changed. There is almost nothing normal in the US now – that's the truth,” Carney said in the House of Commons this week.

Carney defended the comments he made at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

The Canadian premier said at the forum that the international rules-based order is in the middle of a “rupture,” and warned that “great powers” are weaponizing tariffs and supply chains.

Carney confirmed to the parliament on 27 January that he spoke with Trump this week, and denied claims by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that he had “walked back” on what he said at Davos. “I meant what I said.”

“Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements,” Trump said in response to Carney after Davos. He added that Carney “wasn’t so grateful” and that Canada “gets a lot of freebies from us.”

A recent report by Le Monde said that Washington seeks to “use Alberta to destabilize Canada.”

“Alberta is a natural partner for the US. People are talking. People want sovereignty. They want what the US has got,” the US Treasury secretary said at Davos.