Bessent says an independent Alberta would be ‘natural partner’ for U.S.
Global News
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the province's vast oil reserves make it "a natural partner for the U.S." while criticizing Canadian leadership.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday appeared to throw his support behind the separatist movement in Alberta, becoming the highest-ranking Trump administration official or conservative ally to do so.
Speaking on the right-wing TV station Real America’s Voice while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Bessent said the province’s vast oil reserves make it “a natural partner for the U.S.” while criticizing Canadian leadership.
“Alberta has a wealth of natural resources, but they won’t let them build a pipeline to the Pacific,” he said. “I think we should let them come down into the U.S.
“The Albertans are very independent people,” he continued. “There’s a rumour they may have a referendum on whether they want to stay in Canada or not.”
Asked if he knew something about the separation effort, Bessent said, “People are talking. People want sovereignty. They want what the U.S. has got.”
The treasury secretary is the latest Trump-aligned figure to push the idea of an independent Alberta, and whether it could become part of the U.S.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to make Canada the “51st state” of the American union. His territorial ambitions have been further underscored by his recent push to acquire Greenland from Denmark, which, like Canada, is a NATO ally.
Organizers of the Alberta independence movement, including leaders of the Alberta Prosperity Project, have claimed they have had meetings with “senior” members of the Trump administration to promote the idea of a sovereign Alberta, although they have not disclosed any names.
Ottawa Fire Services said they received multiple calls around 9:30 p.m. Saturday about a fire with people trapped in a high-rise building in the 300 block of Somerset Street West.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre proposed a tariff-free auto pact with the U.S. to revive Canada’s auto sector, at a press conference in Windsor, Ont. on Sunday.
The vice-president of the St. John's Junior Hockey League, says the violent game was an isolated incident and officials have since handed out suspensions to 18 players and coaches.
Alberta RCMP say just before 3 p.m. Saturday, a pickup truck pulled up beside a Honda Civic on Highway 2 and fired a weapon, resulting in the death of a driver.
Two men face charges ranging from mischief to assault and harassment following Saturday's Al Quds Day march in Toronto. Police say the suspects were counter-protesters.
Snow is continuing to fall in parts of Ontario, B.C. and Quebec, with heavy rain and freezing rain expected in some communities in the Maritimes and Ontario.
As demand for syrup has surged in recent years, Quebec's maple industry is evolving too, adding millions of new taps and turning to automation and better technology.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is concluding his time in Norway meeting with that country’s prime minister, along with the leaders of Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Finland.
Two people have been charged with first-degree murder after the remains of Masood Masjoody, reported missing in February, were discovered in Mission, B.C., police say.
A man and a teenage boy have died after a shooting in Winnipeg’s North End, and police are asking the public for information as the homicide investigation continues.
When you walk into the Club Pays coffee shop in Montreal, the first thing you see are the posters with Quebec sovereignty slogans plastered on every wall.
Police have identified the woman found dead inside a north Toronto home as 60-year-old Xian Wei Shao. She is believed to be Toronto's fourth homicide victim of 2026.
Ontario's public safety regulator has laid charges against the operator of a Scarborough trampoline park following a zipline accident in January that sent a boy to hospital.