Thousands gather in Calgary's Stampede Park for Alberta independence rally

Alberta separation was in the spotlight at a Monday night independence rally in Calgary's Stampede Park, where thousands packed the Big Four Roadhouse to hear from separatist speakers.

Security officials said more than 3,000 people were in attendance, along with more than 1,000 watching a livestream of the event on YouTube.

Addressing the packed venue, Alberta Prosperity Project CEO Mitch Sylvestre pointed to his many grievances with the federal government — a lengthy list including equalization payments, gun bans and Canada's immigration rate in the last decade.

"If you were in a business arrangement with a group of people that didn't respect you, and continued to abuse you, would you stay in that business arrangement?"

Ahead of the rally, long lineups formed outside the Big Four Roadhouse as people waited to sign a petition on Alberta independence.

That petition, brought forward by Sylvestre, is calling for a referendum on whether Alberta should seek to separate from Canada.

"I love Canada, don't get me wrong," independence supporter Alex Clarke told CBC News. "But I'm an Albertan. I love Alberta."

Clarke said his hope would be that an independent Alberta government offers better benefits and support for the elderly, like his mother.

"I just feel like with us having the freedom, we can live under Alberta rule and just take care of ourselves," he said, adding that Alberta being a "huge landmass" would allow it to be self-sufficient.

"We could take care of ourselves. We have everything here," he said.

Dan Rollings, another supporter of the movement, said he as a fourth-generation Canadian was "very disappointed in Canada."

"Canada is not my father's Canada," he said. "Canada has changed for the worse."

Rollings said signing the independence petition was a step toward a "purge" of what he considers political corruption and over-taxation.

"If Canada returned to before Justin Trudeau days, I would stay in Canada," Rollings said. "But after Justin Trudeau and his mismanagement of the government, or Mark Carney and the games he's playing right now, that really doesn't encourage me to stay in Canada."