Drew Barnes, the former Alberta MLA behind the new federal party Alberta Now, says it submitted its membership list to Elections Canada on Wednesday with 635 members, well above the 250 required. Barnes told Lise Merle and Tamara Lich on Wednesday's Buffalo Roundtable that he expects Alberta Now to be a registered party in about six weeks.

Barnes has said the party will run candidates only in Alberta's 37 federal ridings, modelled on the Bloc Québécois, and not in the rest of the country. He told the hosts that having up to 37 MPs in Ottawa would give whoever governs in Edmonton the confidence to push for more autonomy, including control over resources, trade, immigration and environmental regulation.

Barnes said his goal is for Alberta to be the freest and most prosperous place in North America, whether that is inside Canada or outside it. He spent 11 years as MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat and recalled that on the Fair Deal Panel, he said, about 80 per cent of the Albertans who spoke wanted to push Ottawa for a better deal, while perhaps 25 or 30 per cent wanted out of Canada.

Lise asked why Albertans should not simply work through the Conservative Party. Barnes said the Conservatives' Alberta MPs let their votes be whipped, and he named Pierre Poilievre as a leading example.

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By Barnes's account, Poilievre stopped talking about defunding the CBC and eliminating the carbon tax partway through the last campaign. He also said Premier Danielle Smith is in "huge trouble" with her base for not shrinking government or cutting taxes, and for not delivering an Alberta police force, immigration control and tax collection.

Tamara said the federal election result is often known before Alberta's polls close. "It's over before our polls are even closed here," she said, adding that she hopes the party gives people an option to get behind.

Lise also put the vote-splitting worry to him. Barnes said the concern is misdirected. In his reading of the October 19 referendum, about a third of Albertans want more autonomy or independence, and the other two-thirds sit with the Conservatives and Liberals. First-past-the-post, he said, keeps voters crowded into two parties in the middle, and Alberta Now will not compromise on putting Alberta first.

Asked about a plan B for keeping Ottawa's worst ideas out of the West, Barnes said the party would press Ottawa to stay out of Alberta's environmental regulations, tanker bans and net-zero rules, and would stick to lower taxes, less borrowing and smaller government. He said Alberta Now is playing the long game and intends to be a voice for Albertans in Ottawa for years.

The Buffalo Roundtable airs Wednesdays at 11 a.m. MT / 1 p.m. ET.