Pierre Poilievre told the House of Commons this week that a decade ago, there was no separatist movement in Alberta "whatsoever." Now there's a referendum in Alberta and one threatened in Quebec. "My mission will be to truly unite the country," he declared.

But Sheila Gunn Reid, Lise Merle and Alberta independence advocate Chris Scott weren't moved by the Conservative leader's comments on Wednesday's Buffalo Roundtable.

Sheila noted the double standard in how the movements are described. In Quebec, it's dignified sovereignty and self-determination. In Alberta, it's selfish separatism.

"What a liar," said Scott, who owns the Whistle Stop Cafe in Mirror, Alberta. He pointed out that Poilievre campaigned in Alberta against an Alberta Pension Plan, despite what Scott says the math shows, and has said he won't touch equalization or supply management.

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"He hasn't talked about any of the issues that have contributed to Western alienation at all," he continued. Telling Premier Danielle Smith to drop a pension plan to protect his own campaign, he said, "does not speak to national unity. That speaks to Central Canada unity."

Lise said Westerners have heard the same promise for decades: wait for the next Conservative prime minister. In the meantime, she said, the Official Opposition doesn't oppose the worst Liberal policies, a pattern that goes back to Stephen Harper's economy-first focus.

"Waiting for the federal government to fix itself, we're going to be here for another 121 years," she said. "You cannot make government in Canada and represent the interests of the West in any meaningful way," added Scott. "The math doesn't work."

Sheila recalled a documentary by Quebec filmmakers, The Disunited States of Canada, which examined separatist movements across the country and found they receded once the Liberals lost power, crediting Stephen Harper's election. That, she said, is precisely the problem.

"Changing the prime minister is only temporary," she said. "Unity can't be manufactured. You have to offer us something better."

Scott had the last word. "Since when has Canada ever been unified?" he asked.

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