Alberta held three byelections for seats in its provincial legislature this week, with two Edmonton ridings being contested alongside the rural riding of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills.

While NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi will officially enter the legislature after winning in Edmonton-Strathcona, a safe socialist seat previously held by former leader Rachel Notley, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills represented a test for the separatist movement in the province.

Cameron Davies, a former United Conservative Party staffer who now heads the Alberta Republicans, was running in the riding — which became the first to elect a separatist outside of Quebec in 1982.

Though Davies failed to win the riding, he still received nearly 20% of the vote.

On Tuesday night, Ezra looked at what this result means for the separatist movement — and what it means for Premier Danielle Smith.

“If I had to guess what was going on there,” Ezra said, “I would say that separatism is alive; the independence spirit is alive.”

However, despite the showing, Ezra said he believes “most independence-minded Albertans trust Danielle Smith to navigate the months ahead.”

Taking it a step further, he said there was a reliance on the premier “to keep her promise to adjust the rules for the referendum.”

Smith is currently addressing both the growing separatist movement while fighting with Ottawa, making her viewed as the “champion of Alberta,” Ezra added, believing many independence supporters are still backing the premier.

Nevertheless, “separatism is alive. It's not looming; it's not imminent, but it's definitely on the ballot and basically tied with the NDP in second place in rural Alberta.”

Next year's top news story is likely to be a referendum on Albertan independence, Ezra suggested.

“I don't think (this) has been fully digested by either Albertans or certainly people in Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal. They don't really know what's coming and they don't really know how to deal with it.

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