Alberta Independence Party candidates discuss platform ahead of provincial election

The Alberta Independence Party was re-established last year after an almost two-decade hiatus.

Two AIP candidates running in the Lethbridge ridings, John McCanna and Ben Maddison, say they decided to run because they feel Alberta’s previous governments and the federal government aren’t looking out for everyday people.

McCanna says he believes Alberta should separate from Canada because “our federal government is not a friend to Alberta and in reality, over the past several decades, that’s been the case.”

He also says it would be possible to become independent, despite what other party candidates have said.

“There’s international law that says an independent country that is landlocked, the surrounding countries must give them access to tidewater, and Canada’s a signatory of that agreement,” McCanna said.

He adds that if the province were to gain independence, the party would implement the “lowest business tax in North America… 8.5 per cent for Albertans and nine per cent for foreign businesses.”

“That would generate enough interest in Alberta for all of these industries to come back, and if we don’t have to give $41 billion a year to Ottawa and Quebec, Alberta will be much better off for it,” McCanna added.

For his part, Maddison says the NDP government is hypocritical when it comes to environmental issues.

“The government wants to tell me that man-made carbon emissions are creating global warming and cannot listen to a dissenting view of that, yet want me to believe that there’s more than two genders. You know, science is science and facts are facts,” Maddison said.

The Alberta Independence Party has 59 confirmed candidates across the province and hopes to have 61 confirmed by Friday’s deadline.