'Treason!': Trump officials meet Canadian separatists seeking $500bn from US taxpayers to fund 'independence bid'
The Alberta Prosperity Project (APP), a far-right group of politicians, are pushing State and Treasury Department officials for a $500 billion line of credit in the face of a successful independence referendum.
A far-right group of Canadian politicians have met with officials from Donald Trump’s administration requesting billions of dollars to fund their independence bid for the state of Alberta.
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The Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) has reportedly met with Trump’s team three times since April and is hoping for another meeting next month.
The fringe group is pushing State and Treasury Department officials for a $500 billion credit facility to help fund the province in the face of a successful independence referendum, according to the Financial Times.
The independence movement, which has minority support, is attempting to collect nearly 178,000 signatures over the coming months to trigger a vote.
It comes as Washington’s relations with Ottawa sink to historic lows - with the US president threatening to make its neighbour the 51st American state.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said the meetings amounted to “treason”.
“To go to a foreign country and to ask for assistance in breaking up Canada, there’s an old-fashioned word for that. And that word is treason,” he said.
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“It is completely inappropriate to seek to weaken Canada, to go and ask for assistance, to break up this country from a foreign power and – with respect – a president who has not been particularly respectful of Canada’s sovereignty,” he told reporters.
But US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has appeared to support the separatist movement.
“They have great resources. Albertans are a very independent people,” he said last week.
Mr Bessent added: “Rumour [is] that they may have a referendum on whether they want to stay in Canada or not … People are talking. People want sovereignty. They want what the US has got.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has called on the US to respect Canada’s sovereignty in a warning to Trump. I "expect the US administration to respect Canadian sovereignty - I'm always clear with President Trump to that effect," he said.
Mr Carney said Mr Trump has never raised the issue of Alberta's independence during their meetings.
The oil-rich province of Alberta is considered more conservative than the rest of Canada and has long had a vocal independence movement
Recent polling by Ipsos indicates around three in 10 Alberta residents would vote in favour of splitting from the rest of the country.
But up to 20% of those saw a leave vote as a "symbolic" way to vent their political frustrations.
Danielle Smith, Alberta’s right-wing Premier, is an outspoken oil industry advocate who says she supports "Alberta sovereignty within a united Canada."
However, she has warned against demonising the movement’s supporters.
“When you look at the polls, they suggest as many as 30% of Albertans have lost hope – that’s about a million people… and I’m not going to demoniSe or marginalise a million of my fellow citizens when they’ve got legitimate grievances,” she said.