Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said talk of Alberta separation drives away investment during his speech at the Global Energy Show in Calgary; the evidence so far points in the opposite direction.

While Alberta has been debating sovereignty, constitutional reform, equalization, and even outright independence more intensely than at any point in decades, companies continue to announce some of the largest private-sector investments in Canadian history.

Talk of separation drives away investment. I shared those thoughts at the Global Energy Show in Calgary. pic.twitter.com/54sWgFgIrz

— Jeromy (Pathfinder) Farkas (@JeromyYYC) June 11, 2026

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Here are just a few examples:

Dow Path2Zero: $10.1 billion

Dow's Path2Zero project in Fort Saskatchewan is a $10.1 billion investment that will create one of the world's first net-zero emissions ethylene and derivatives facilities. The project is expected to support thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions. The final investment decision was made in late 2023 and construction is underway.

Linde: More than $2 billion

In 2024, Linde announced it would invest more than $2 billion in a massive clean hydrogen facility in Alberta's Industrial Heartland to support Dow's project. The company called it the largest clean hydrogen production facility in Canada and Linde's largest single investment.

Air Products Net-Zero Hydrogen Complex

Air Products continues development of its multibillion-dollar net-zero hydrogen energy complex near Edmonton, one of the largest hydrogen projects in North America.

Alberta continues to lead Canada in investment

Statistics Canada data has consistently shown Alberta leading the country in business investment per capita. Alberta also attracted a disproportionate share of Canada's major project announcements in energy, petrochemicals, hydrogen, carbon capture, data centres, and critical minerals over the last several years.  Alberta's Industrial Heartland remained one of the busiest industrial investment zones in North America. 

Investors appear to be making decisions based on Alberta's natural gas reserves, petrochemical feedstocks, skilled workforce, tax environment, and regulatory certainty—not on what people are saying at town halls. If merely discussing constitutional options scared away capital, these projects would never have proceeded.

The stronger argument may be the reverse: investors have repeatedly demonstrated confidence in Alberta despite ongoing political debates because the province's underlying economic fundamentals remain exceptionally strong.