For months, we’ve been told Alberta independence is fringe. That Indigenous people oppose it. That claim is doing a lot of work right now, especially in court.

And then this lands: Nearly half of indigenous voters support independence. Someone tell the activist chiefs — the narrative just blew apart.

According to exclusive polling commissioned by Act For Alberta, and full disclosure, I’m the listed contact for that third-party advertiser, 46% of First Nations respondents say they would vote to leave Canada.

Nearly half. That's higher than support in the general Alberta population, which sits at one in three.

That alone should force a rethink. Now layer this on top: 301,000 signatures, collected by 7,000 volunteers. In a long, bitterly cold Alberta winter. And what happens next?

They don’t get verified. Not counted. Not certified.

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They're stopped, wrapped in evidence tape like some crime scene because a judge has issued a stay blocking the validation process while a legal challenge from First Nations groups plays out.

So, line this up.

Nearly half of First Nations respondents are open to independence. But activist chiefs claiming to speak for all Indigenous Albertans want to protect the failing federalist status quo, not just for their people, but for all of us. 

Hundreds of thousands of Albertans signed a petition to at least ask the question.

And the activist chiefs involved in the lawsuit are asking the court to freeze the process before it reaches a result.

That’s the moment we’re in.

A political question with massive public engagement, halted before it could be measured.

There’s a gap here. Between what’s being argued in court by gatekeepers and what people are actually saying when you ask them directly.

And it is not a small gap.

Indigenous communities are not one voice. Albertans are not one voice. That is the whole point of a vote. Everyone gets their say on referendum day.

So, here’s the question that does not go away: if the answer is so obvious, why not let the process finish?

Why not count the signatures and drop the lawsuit? Why not let people speak?

Because once it becomes one person, one vote, the outcome is not controlled anymore, and the narrative is shattered for good.