Left-wing anti-independence activists are escalating pressure on venues hosting the Alberta Independence Tour, a series of live events organised by Rebel News focused on questions of autonomy, governance and Alberta’s place, if any, within Confederation. The tour, detailed on IndependenceTour.com, will stop in Mirror, Red Deer, Edmonton, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray, Westlock and Grande Prairie this winter and spring.

The Independence Tour is a chance for “straight talk, real debate, and face-to-face discussion” with speakers including Rebel News Alberta Bureau Chief Sheila Gunn Reid, Western Standard's Cory Morgan, and Rebel News journalist and Freedom Convoy participant, Tamara Lich with audience Q&A and book signings planned.

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In recent days, some venue operators have reported coordinated campaigns by local activists opposed to the tour’s political message. Those campaigns reportedly include mass emails to venue management and social media appeals urging cancellations or threatening reputational consequences. The tours themselves, however, remain booked and set to proceed as planned.

Critics of the independence movement argue that public discussion about secession and provincial autonomy is inherently divisive. Rather than engage at the events themselves, anti-independence groups have focused attention on beleaguered venue operators and event organisers, bullying teenage staff.

Small businesses where independence canvassers are collecting signatures to trigger a provincial referendum have also reported vandalism and threats.