Here’s a draft for HTN:
Angus Demands Inquiry as Foreign Interference Warnings Mount Over Alberta Separatist Movement
Former NDP MP Charlie Angus took to Parliament Hill this week calling for a public inquiry into foreign interference linked to Alberta’s separatist movement — and he’s not alone in sounding the alarm.
Angus has spent the better part of a year warning that outside actors are exploiting Alberta’s independence debate, comparing the tactics to what he calls the “Donbas playbook” — the same pattern of offshore bot farms, fake pages, and disinformation campaigns he says shaped Brexit and the 2016 Trump election. He points directly at the Trump White House, noting that high-level meetings between U.S. officials and a small group of Alberta separatist leaders have been quietly taking place for some time.
Canada’s own intelligence agency appears to share his concern. CSIS director Dan Rogers warned last month that Alberta’s potential secession vote is, in his words, “rife for amplification” from foreign interference — singling out Russia as a particular threat. Researchers presented findings to a Toronto conference this week concluding that foreign adversaries are actively working to erode social cohesion, deepen divisions, and undermine confidence in Canadian democratic institutions.
The federal government’s response has been muted. Alberta’s UCP government is pointing to an RCMP review that found no credible evidence of interference — though critics note the federal government quietly raised the threshold for launching such investigations back in 2025, making that conclusion harder to interpret than it appears.
Angus is calling that out directly and wants answers.
