The two bad boys of Canadian conservative politics joined forces in Calgary on Saturday, eager to show that they were on the same track and together could forge a new conservatism.

But it didn’t exactly turn out that way.

Maxime Bernier, leader of the People’s Party of Canada, was invited to speak at a rally organized by Derek Fildebrandt, an Alberta MLA who has also started his own party — The Freedom Conservative Party — after being booted from the caucus of the official opposition for minor court convictions and abuse of his MLA housing allowance.

But Fildebrandt doesn’t go away quietly. His new provincial party has already jumped on the Alberta separation bandwagon. And so at the rally on Saturday many of the 200 or so people in attendance were sporting bright yellow ribbons emblazoned with the words “Equality or Independence.”

Maybe Fildebrandt though that since Bernier is from Quebec he would be all in. That he would give Albertans some solid advice about how best to fight for independence.

But Bernier, who spoke first, was having none of it.

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“Perhaps this slogan sounds new to you, here in Alberta. But for someone from Quebec, like me. It has very distinct historical connotations,” Bernier said right off the top of his speech.

Bernier then went on to explain that it was the name of a famous book written by Quebec Premier Daniel Johnson that became a rallying cry for those who wanted more powers for Quebec and threatened separation if they didn’t get them.

According to Bernier this strategy didn’t work out too well.

“What they got, however, was decades of political, economic, and constitutional disputes that divided Quebec itself, and Canada. One government after the other asked for not just for more powers, but also for more money from Ottawa.”

According to Bernier this meant provinces became too dependent on federal funds not more independent.

“If you rally around a slogan like ‘Equality or Independence’ you could be forced into a very negative political dynamic. One based on failed attempts to blackmail Ottawa, internal divisions, and resentment against the rest of the country.”

Bernier then urged the crowd to work with Quebec and other provinces that want to change the way the federation works.

He then went on to tackle his usual topics, equalization payments, carbon taxes, and pipelines. His last words before he left the stage? “You don’t need to flirt with independence.”

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Fildebrandt may have been listening to Bernier’s speech but he didn’t seem to hear a word.

“I propose to give Alberta a very big stick,” Fildebrandt thundered. “A real and credible threat of independence.”

He then went on to describe Alberta’s relationship with Canada as a marriage in which Alberta is the “sugar daddy.”

How sexist is that? For Fildebrandt, Alberta is a manipulative rich guy and the rest of Canada is nothing more than exploitive, duplicitous women on the make.

“If it’s a one sided relationship and it can’t be fixed we must go our separate ways,” he added.

Fildebrandt never did explain what equality would mean for Alberta. Equal to what? For Quebecers equality meant recognition of French Canadians as a founding nation of Canada.

The two women sitting next to me said they had come to hear Bernier not Fildebrandt and weren’t at all sold on the independence strategy.

A woman sporting a yellow “Equality or Independence” ribbon said she had made the ribbons for the rally and was leaning toward independence but was more interested in hearing Bernier than Fildebrandt.

Fildebrandt did get a raucous standing ovation after an operatic kind of finale to his speech.

But I wondered if he had regretted inviting Bernier to his rally only to have him pull the rug out from under the reason for the rally in the first place.

And I wondered if Bernier regretted accepting the invitation.

Or if he took it as an opportunity to emphasize that the People’s Party of Canada will have no truck with separatists of any stripe.

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