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Alberta Independence Party Leader Dave Bjorkman believes his party is the “true centre” of Alberta politics.

The notion of left and right?

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“That’s all hooey,” Bjorkman told Postmedia Tuesday.

As far as he’s concerned, Alberta’s financial woes can only be fixed through separation.

“If there was another way, I would do it. I didn’t come up with this to be some radical — it’s because Canada pushed us out. The system’s broken,” he said.

Secession from Canada tends towards a fringe political belief in Alberta, but rears its head every few decades or so.

A February poll by the Angus Reid Institute found that 50 per cent of Albertans would support secession from Canada, and Bjorkman is banking on that growing sentiment when voters head to the polls April 16.

‘They’re getting us wrong’

The Alberta Independence Party has enjoyed something of a meteoric rise.

A year ago, it was a jumbled group with assorted ideas. Now it has 63 candidates — 12 more than the Alberta Liberals — and official party status.