Is Alberta Separation a Corporate Media Creation?
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she's hopeful about trade talks. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)
A Hard Look at How Power and Misinformation Shape Canada
By Jack Etkin — Victoria, May 20, 2025
The Question No One Is Asking
Why has the topic of Alberta separation suddenly dominated Canadian media headlines? Why now, and why so loudly?
After the most recent federal election, the idea of Alberta's potential separation seemed to spring from nowhere—flooding our newsfeeds, talk radio, and national coverage. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: Canada’s corporate media only cover what they want to cover. And when they push a story this hard, it’s because someone with power and money wants it pushed.
What they don’t tell you is just as revealing as what they do.
The Missing Headlines: Oil Profits and Productivity
Let’s talk about facts the media are ignoring:
Alberta has had record-breaking oil production for four consecutive years.
In March 2025, Alberta hit 4.19 million barrels per day—the highest ever recorded.
Esso and other oil giants are posting record profits in early 2025.
So if oil is flowing and profits are soaring, why are Albertans being told they are under attack?
The truth is, if everyday Canadians knew how well Alberta’s oil sector was actually doing, they might start to question why they’re being told to be angry. And that is exactly what the corporate media and their backers don’t want.
Media’s Manufactured Outrage
The narrative of a "strangled Alberta" has been building for years. Political figures and media voices have constantly claimed that Ottawa is punishing Alberta’s oil industry—stealing jobs, wrecking prosperity, and denying the West its rightful place.
But the evidence suggests a different villain: Big Oil itself.
The oil industry is producing more oil than ever—with fewer workers than ever before. According to Statistics Canada, Alberta has lost over 33,000 oil and gas jobs in the past decade, despite record output. Automation is now expected to wipe out even more jobs by 2040.
Yet this story—of oil profits rising while working people lose livelihoods—isn’t being told.
Why not?
Because Big Oil doesn’t want it told. And they’re the ones funding, influencing, or directly owning much of our media.
Divide, Distract, and Conquer
So why push Alberta separation now?
Simple: it keeps us divided, angry, and distracted. While Canadians debate East vs. West, Federal vs. Provincial, those truly in power—corporations, banks, fossil fuel conglomerates—continue to enrich themselves while our healthcare, affordability, and social stability collapse.
Millions can't afford to eat.
Seniors fear homelessness.
Emergency rooms are jammed for 15+ hours.
Young people can't afford a future.
And the ultra-rich? They just keep winning.
All of this is happening while we're being told to argue about Alberta's separation. Coincidence?
The Truth About “The Truth”
The media’s job is no longer to inform—it’s to protect its owners. The major Canadian outlets, from CBC to private networks, are controlled or influenced by large corporate entities. Their journalists don’t work for the public. They work for shareholders.
So the critical question becomes:
Are we being told the truth?
And if the answer is no, what are we going to do about it?
Time to Wake Up
It’s time for a real national conversation—one that doesn’t pit provinces against each other, but instead unites working Canadians against the real issues: media manipulation, corporate control, and a political system increasingly detached from the people it claims to serve.
The first step? Stop believing everything the corporate media tells us. Start asking who owns the headlines—and who benefits from the stories being told.
Let’s demand truth. Let’s demand better.
