Separatist leader Mitch Sylvestre urges Okotoks crowd to work inside the UCP

A leader of Alberta's independence movement told supporters in Okotoks that the way forward for independence is through the United Conservative Party.

Mitch Sylvestre, long associated with the independence movement and the Alberta Prosperity Project, headlined an event at the Viking Rentals Centre on Nov. 10. The event was billed as part of a province-wide tour. Some people associated with the Alberta Prosperity Project claim Sylvestre was stripped of his title and removed from the group's board in September.

The push to reorganize the movement comes after October's referendum, when roughly 75 per cent of Alberta voters said they want to stay in Canada. Speaking to about 115 people, Sylvestre said he remains committed to independence and urged supporters to get more involved with the governing UCP. The goal, he said, is to choose sympathetic candidates, constituency association members and provincial board members. "You can find a candidate that represents your views, and then you can put them in," he said.

That advice runs against Premier Danielle Smith's position. In a video posted after the referendum results, Smith said, "The United Conservative Party is not an independence party." Those who cannot accept that, she said, "I would respectfully invite them to join a different party."

The UCP has required candidates for provincial board positions, and all constituency association presidents, to sign a declaration that they will abide by the referendum results.

Three speakers preceded Sylvestre. Jack Redekop, the UCP's chief financial officer, is seeking re-election at the party's annual general meeting later this month. "I have been a freedom person all along," Redekop said. He urged people to set aside the referendum result and pull together to re-elect the UCP, saying another conservative party "would be suicide." He also suggested the membership could turn on Smith if the UCP forms government again, saying, "I don't think the premier is going to fill out the next term." The next provincial election is scheduled for October 2027.

Nathan Steinke, a political staffer and campaigner, also spoke. His wife, Samantha Steinke, sits on the party's board of directors. Steinke claimed Alberta's oil reserves are worth $20 trillion and asked, "How many trillions of dollars of fresh water do you think we're sitting on, really, if you were to quantify?" Former Conservative MP Rob Anders, the first speaker of the night, is also running for a UCP board seat.

The UCP's annual general meeting takes place Nov. 27-29 in Calgary. Members needed to have bought a party membership by Nov. 6 to vote on policy or in elections.