During an interview on a CBC podcast called “Front Burner”, Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne stated, “This is something that is being aided and abetted by what has to be called at this point in history a hostile foreign power. The United States under Donald Trump is not our friend.”

While the relationship between Canada and the U.S. is currently strained, it’s a stretch to call it a hostile foreign power. There is no evidence that the American government has been involved in aiding Alberta’s independence movement financially or politically.

Coyne implied that the act of holding a referendum in Alberta would be capitulating to alleged American ambitions to break up Canada stating, “Should we be aiding and abetting the designs of a hostile power to divide and destroy the country?”

President Trump’s 51st state jibes infuriated many Canadians, but if anything, they have fostered national unity. At least as far as Liberal support goes, anyway.

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It’s irresponsible to accuse Canada’s ally and largest trading partner of having designs to destroy the country.

Coyne also said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith should say “let’s call this off” as far as a referendum is concerned because, “They didn’t follow the rules, to cite another controversy on the gathering of the petition signatures. The use of the voters list was highly improper and may well have compromised the signature gathering process.”

There have been no ties identified between the alleged use of voters’ lists by David Parker’s Centurion Project and the petitioning process managed by Stay Free Alberta.