Two months to go: Inside Alberta separatists’ campaign

Alberta’s independence referendum is now just two months away, with nothing less than the future of the country at stake, so I wanted to check back in with one of the more thoughtful separatist leaders.

I remain one of those flag-waving, Canada-first Albertans who intends to vote Option 1 on Oct. 19 — that Alberta should remain a province of Canada. Yet because of voices like Keith Wilson’s, who advocates Option 2 (that the Alberta government commence the legal process required under the Constitution to hold a binding referendum on secession), I am far from complacent about the outcome.

Polls continue to show separatists in the minority, but their campaign is organized, professionally executed, and focused on converting the undecided.

Political Hack gets at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill. Wednesdays and Fridays.

Wilson is co-founder of the grassroots “Let Alberta Decide” campaign, a registered third-party advertiser with a $607,000 spending limit. He says the group has raised approximately $425,000 so far, with an average donation around $100.

He describes a digital-first operation that is heavily invested in AI-driven targeting, delivering distinct messages to different groups: the middle-aged couple earning $400,000, the 22-year-old struggling with rent and car insurance, and the 30-year-old single mother of two.

“We’ve had digital campaigns before,” he notes with evident satisfaction, “but we’ve never been able to combine digital campaigns and a political question with AI.” He presents this as a genuine novelty for a separation vote — and as a broader experiment. And unlike the party-driven referendums that have defined Quebec’s sovereignty debates, this Alberta effort is intentionally outside formal party structures.

“It’s an interesting experiment,” he says, “as to whether or not a major political decision can be effected outside of party structures.”