Dean Roach …. Well said

I didn’t choose this road — Ottawa paved it.

I didn’t wake up one day looking for a fight, and I didn’t land here because it’s the popular thing to say. I got here because I’m tired — not social-media tired, not election-cycle tired — Alberta tired. The kind you feel after watching the same movie play over and over while Ottawa tells you to sit down, be patient, and wait your turn. I’ve argued both sides of this over the years. I really believed we could fix things from inside Canada. But eventually you stop lying to yourself when the pattern never changes.

I hear the people who say we just need to keep pushing within Confederation. I used to be that guy. I figured if we voted harder, fought smarter, and kept showing up, someone back east would finally get it. But after watching policy after policy shaped in the East land on Alberta’s doorstep — rules written for places that don’t live like we live or work like we work — it stopped feeling like reform. It started feeling like death by a thousand paper cuts.

And if I’m being straight with you, the last federal election was it for me. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Watching the same map light up the same way again, watching Alberta speak loud and still get drowned out by sheer seats back east — because let’s be honest, the raw number of votes doesn’t mean much when the system runs on seats — that’s when it clicked. It doesn’t matter how loud we are if the system is built so we’re outnumbered in Parliament before the conversation even starts. That wasn’t just another loss. That was proof that Alberta will never be where federal power is decided.

This isn’t theory for me. I watched federal decisions almost wipe my parents out. I’ve seen families here bust their backs trying to recover while people thousands of kilometres away make choices that hit our livelihoods without ever stepping foot in our towns. And now I’m supposed to believe if we just wait one more election, one more promise, one more handshake, everything’s going to change? I’m done believing that fairy tale.

And here’s the hard truth I didn’t want to admit for a long time — federally, it feels like one bird with two wings. Different colours, same direction. I still think Canada needs a strong conservative government, absolutely.

But let’s not kid ourselves — federal parties chase power where the seats are, and most of those seats sit in the East. That’s who they need to keep happy to win. Out here we get speeches and campaign stops, but when the real decisions land, Alberta is an afterthought every single time.

Now don’t twist this — I fully support Danielle Smith. She’s fighting like hell for this province and trying to carve out space for Alberta inside a system that keeps pushing back. But Ottawa isn’t going to suddenly let her government change the rules of Canada.

That’s just reality. Which means this can’t just sit on the shoulders of politicians anymore. If Alberta is going to move in a new direction, it’s going to come from the people here deciding we’ve had enough and pushing forward ourselves.

That doesn’t mean I hate Canada. It means I’m done pretending the version we’re living under treats Alberta like an equal. There’s a difference between asking for fairness and accepting a permanent raw deal. We asked for respect. We asked to be heard. Instead we got barriers, lectures, and decisions made about us instead of with us.

I know separation scares people. It should. Big moves aren’t neat and tidy. But staying where we are feels like standing still while everything we built gets chipped away piece by piece. At some point, doing nothing becomes the bigger risk.

And I’m tired of being told Albertans are emotional or reckless for even talking about this. We’re expected to keep producing, keep paying, keep smiling, and never question the system — while the people telling us to calm down never have to live with the consequences we do out here.

I’m past that.

For me, separation isn’t about throwing a tantrum or getting revenge. It’s about survival. It’s about making sure my kids and grandkids don’t inherit a province that’s been hollowed out because every major decision was made somewhere else. It’s about finally steering our own ship instead of asking permission from people who don’t understand our industries, our culture, or our way of life.

Do I think it’s easy? Hell no. Anyone telling you it’s simple isn’t being honest. There are tough questions — trade, currency, borders, governance — and they need real answers. But hard doesn’t mean impossible, and hard isn’t a reason to stay locked into something that keeps proving it won’t change.

Not every Albertan is going to agree with me, and that’s fine. This province belongs to all of us. But for me, the line’s already been crossed. I’ve watched too much erosion, heard too many empty promises, and seen too many chances for real reform come and go.

I’m not chasing slogans anymore. I’m choosing what I believe gives Alberta the best shot at standing on its own feet — being what we know we can be instead of what distant decision-makers allow us to be.

I didn’t start this road looking for separation. But after everything I’ve seen, everything my family went through, and everything I refuse to leave behind for the next generation… I’m done waiting for Ottawa to decide Alberta’s future.