The Buzz May 9th 2026: Alberta's Referendum Drama Unfolds

The Buzz May 9th 2026: Alberta's Referendum Drama Unfolds

Welcome to the weekend and welcome to The Buzz.

There have been two referendums in this country’s history. Two separation referendums, that is. Or is the plural actually “referenda”? Let’s think about that, but it’s not my point.

My point is, I’ve covered both of them. 1980 and then 1995. In 1980, the result was 60-40 in favour of the federal side, which seemed pretty convincing, but that didn’t stop the rumours about what was happening “just in case”. One of those stories had Brinks trucks, a long line of them, crossing the Quebec/Ontario border at one of the bridges into Ottawa, supposedly carrying federal money to a safe haven, just in case. That night, I was a junior reporter on Parliament Hill, and I was told to keep an eye on those bridges for any such money movements. I saw nothing. That didn’t stop the rumours, which still linger all these years later.

1995 was a very different night. I was anchoring CBC’s coverage that night. Fractions of a point separated the two sides for hours. Incredibly close, but in the end, the country held together.

There are many differences between what happened in Quebec on those two occasions and what’s happening in Alberta as they edge closer to a likely referendum, which seems slated for October. To me, one key difference is that Quebecers like to keep the debate within their borders. In fact, in 1995, many Quebecers were upset when Canadians from outside the province were bused in a few days before the vote to wave flags, sing the anthem, and push for a Canada vote. In Alberta, in 2026, not so much. They seem to be welcoming, at least the separatists seem to be welcoming, even recruiting, outsiders, including Americans, to push the leave Canada message.

The story is getting messy, and with a privacy scandal mixed in, it gets even worse. Just the kind of story Andrew Coyne loves to get his keyboard fingers worked up about, and he did that this week in The Globe:

🔒 Here’s the real scandal at the heart of the Alberta data breach

Let me get back to the angle of outside influence on the possibility of an Alberta referendum.

It's not just the Americans, it's also the Russians. This is important and shouldn’t be ignored. Jason Markusoff wrote this for the CBC:

Russia and U.S. amplifying Alberta separatist narratives to stoke division, distrust: report

Here’s another opinion piece on the Alberta story – it comes from Western Canada, specifically from Max Fawcett in the National Observer.

As is always the case with Max’s work, it’s pretty good:

Alberta's voter data scandal demands a public inquiry

Have you been following the latest on Mark Carney and his European ambitions?

Does he really want to join the EU? They seem to want him. He at least teases them. But there is no denying he’s a “Europhile”, and there’s no crime in that. AI defines a Europhile as a person who is fond of, admires, or loves European culture, society, history, food, and music. A lot of us could stand guilty as charged if that’s a crime. But could there be more to this story about Carney and Europe? Tasha Kheiriddin has some thoughts on that:

Opinion | Mark Carney, the European prime minister

Time for our weekly push to our YouTube podcasts.

Yesterday saw Bruce Anderson and Chantal with their regular Good Talk discussion, and you can find it here.

And on Tuesday, Althia Raj and Rob Russo were here with their Reporter’s Notebook, which is available right here.

The article we’ve all been waiting for came out a few days ago.

Michael Ignatieff on the change in political leadership in Hungary and what we all should make of it. As always with Ignatieff, his writings are a master class in how to tell a story:

Making Your Own History

This is undeniable.

Some people have been making a lot of money, like billions, betting on spikes in the oil trade during the Iran war. Now, you could say these are really smart people who use their expertise in the oil business to know exactly when to pounce. Or, you could say this smells. Here’s the latest example:

Traders point to suspicious activity in the oil market on Wednesday

Canada is about to get a new Governor General, and the reviews are in, including one suggesting Louise Arbour is “overqualified”.

That may be correct, as she certainly has quite the resume. McGill University professor Daniel Beland took a look for Policy Magazine:

Louise Arbour: A Governor-General with a Global CV

Since the advent of cellphones, mobile phones, and smartphones, it's not unusual to hear about bans on their use.

Schools, libraries, and so on. But now the idea of a ban is growing. Like in offices. Check this out in The Independent:

Phone bans are spreading across the US workplace

Has Donald Trump ever seen anything he doesn’t want to put his name on?

As he’s got older, he’s got more determined to attach the Trump brand to whatever he can, no matter how bizarre or, quite simply, wrong, it may seem to everyone else. The Telegraph tried to put together a list:

🔒 Everything Trump has tried to put his name on – it’s a long list

So that’s it for The Trump Buzz this week. Back in seven days. Stay safe.

The Buzz is a weekly publication from National Newswatch that shares insights and commentary on the week’s developments in politics, news and current affairs.