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But while remaining in or leaving the EU raises important political and economic issues for Britain over tax, immigration, trade policies and more, the decision is not an existential threat to Britain’s independence, which will endure no matter what international agreements the government makes or breaks. Such is not the case in Alberta, where interest in separation — you might call it an Albexit — is growing quickly.

The possibility of leaving Alberta oil wealth in the ground, while world demand — already at 100 million barrels per day — keeps growing at a robust 1.5 per cent each year, is an existential threat to the province. Despite endless promises from so many self-appointed prophets of a renewable future, demand for oil continues to rise since it is needed for petrochemicals (such as all those plastics in all our tech gadgets) as well as air, sea, rail and short- and long-haul road transport. Even with rising production of electric vehicles, all the credible energy agencies project that demand for oil in 2050 will be as high as or higher than demand today.

Photo by Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press files

Yet, Alberta is looking at being forced to sit it out, thanks to political decisions being made by Canadians outside the province. Because of the lack of pipeline capacity promoted by environmentalists who push for Canada to be a “climate leader,” and the politicians who play along, Albertans are losing high-paying jobs, wealth, government revenues and foreign investment in the oilpatch. The lack of support from other provinces — especially British Columbia and Quebec — is raising questions about Alberta’s place in Confederation. Quebec’s premier, François Legault, recently called Alberta’s oil “dirty energy” and said he doesn’t want it piped through his province, even as Quebec imports substantial volumes of that supposedly undesirable Alberta oil through Enbridge Line 9. Albertans can’t help but wonder why they should stand for being slapped in the face after the federal government, Quebec and the rest of Canada have been happy to take the hundreds of billions of dollars that Albertans and their “dirty” oil have provided them over the decades.