The United States Embassy in Ottawa has promised for the first time that there will be no future meetings held between the U.S. State Department and Alberta separatists.
In an emailed statement to The Maple, an embassy spokesperson wrote: “There will not be a future meeting.” The embassy said that line was cleared by the State Department.
Given the Trump regime’s recent actions, however, Canadians may have difficulty believing the U.S. government’s new commitment.
This week, the U.S. Embassy released a so-called “fact sheet” which claimed to document cases of “Canadian activities” in American politics ahead of the country’s upcoming midterm elections.
The document warned: “All Canadians should refrain from attempting to participate in or influence U.S. elections in any way. Americans decide America’s elections.”
Critics ridiculed the document given reports that U.S. Republican operatives worked with Alberta separatists ahead of the province’s referendum on the matter, and that staff in the U.S. State Department met with separatist leaders last year.
According to reporting by The Globe and Mail, separatist leaders allegedly offered the Americans key natural resource assets in exchange for assistance in transitioning Alberta to independence.
In its email to The Maple, the U.S. Embassy said: “As is typical in routine meetings such as these, no commitments were made. There have only been staff-level meetings, and no principals have been involved in any discussions.”
This week, Albertans decisively rejected a proposal to hold a second, binding referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from the rest of Canada, with 75 per cent voting against the proposal.
Several other proposals that would see the Alberta government pushing for more control over immigration and advocating to abolish the federal Senate, however, are currently projected to pass by slim margins.
The U.S. Embassy said it had no comments to share regarding the referendum results.
Despite the U.S. government’s claim that it will not hold any future meetings with Alberta separatists, polling suggests many Canadians are skeptical about the Trump regime’s willingness to keep its word.
Last year, an IPSOS poll found that 60 per cent of Canadians believe Canada can never trust the U.S. the same way again. An Angus Reid poll commissioned in August this year found that nearly half of Canadians hold unfavourable views of Americans.
