Alberta's separatism debate thrives online but remains awkward in person in small towns

The debate over Alberta separatism is thriving on social media but remains conspicuously absent from everyday conversation in small communities, according to residents in Drumheller, a town 100 kilometres northeast of Calgary.

During a CBC public event at the Drumheller Public Library, locals described a stark split: community Facebook groups have been filled with angry banter, some ruined by animosity, while face-to-face discussion is rare unless people are fairly certain the other person agrees with them.

Natalie Lum, an entrepreneur opposed to separatism, said she had an unusually candid conversation with her brother-in-law while they waited for her partner to finish running errands. "It was awkward. You gotta feel OK and sit in some awkwardness, right?" she said. "we both were like: I know my brother better. I know my sister better, and we're better off for it."

Lum observed that Drumheller is a place where "people are great face-to-face," but "what you're hearing and reading is just so drastically different. The internet is a beast, and it's allowed for a lot of beastly things."

Earlier this year, pro-independence volunteers in Alberta collected signatures to force a vote on separation. The provincial government subsequently decided to hold a referendum in October asking whether voters want to remain in Canada or explore holding a binding referendum on separation.

In communities like Drumheller—an old coal and farming town now known for paleontology and the Royal Tyrrell Museum—political support spans a wide spectrum. The town is in a federal Conservative stronghold; the local MP is Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre. But loud voices on either side of the separatism question can mask the views of quieter residents, making it difficult to gauge actual support levels.