Charlie Angus held a press conference in Ottawa this week, where he claimed Russian bot farms, offshore actors, and the Trump White House are coordinating to amplify Alberta's independence movement.

Sheila Gunn Reid and Lise Merle reacted on Tuesday's Rebel Roundup — and they had questions for the former New Democrat MP from Timmins, Ont.

Both hosts were dismissive of Angus's claims, with Sheila noting that the RCMP and Canada's public safety minister have both said there is zero evidence of foreign interference in the independence movement.

“We know the people involved in the independence campaign,” she said. “Seven thousand canvassers volunteering their time in the dead of winter. No one's given the independence movement anything except motivation — and that's come from a hundred years of mistreatment at the hands of the feds.”

Lise pointed out the double standard at the heart of Angus's worldview. “The only reason those things won was because of interference and because big bad guys from Russia,” she said, summarizing his logic. “Not because they had good ideas and people were sick of the woke.”

Sheila also took aim at Angus's claim that he had never seen the Parti Québécois meet with American officials, citing her own reporting for Rebel News' Alberta Fact Check campaign.

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During the 1995 referendum, Quebec separatists openly and actively cultivated support from American, French, and other international actors, including President Clinton.

“He's real mad that prominent people in the independence movement went to the United States to talk to State Department officials,” Sheila said. “That's not unusual. Quebec did this openly.”

For Sheila, Angus himself is part of the reason Western alienation runs so deep.

“Charlie Angus is one of the reasons we wanted to leave,” she said, pointing to his past advocacy for censorship of oil and gas industry voices and his calls to have energy CEOs arrested. “Alberta is not in a recession. We are pulling this entire country like an anchor around our leg.”

“Unity can't be demanded,” she added. “It's earned. If you want a united Canada, start talking to the West like we're part of this with you.”

Rebel Roundup airs Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 11 a.m. MT / 1 p.m. ET.