The transition plan and the Canada West Foundation's report come out on the same day
The Alberta Transition Council, a pro-independence group led by lawyer Keith Wilson, released a 214-page transition plan. It names two co-leads, Wilson and Dennis Kalma, and says its other contributors are anonymous and were not paid. The plan says its purpose 'is not to make the political case for or against independence'. It says Alberta 'would not be starting from scratch'. On the same day the Canada West Foundation, a Calgary think tank, published a report called Alberta in Confederation. The report put set-up costs at $200 billion. It said negotiations would be complex, with no guaranteed outcome. Gary Mar, the foundation's president, said the aim was to inform voters and that Alberta's economic future would be 'murky'. Wilson replied in writing that day. He wrote that the foundation 'assumes a worst-case outcome and ignores Alberta's powerful leverage'.
Why this matters
From September 3, 2026 each side had a long document of its own to cite. Only the foundation's report put a price on separation, $200 billion in set-up costs.
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Two documents disagree about what an independent Alberta could count on. The Alberta Transition Council, which advocates independence, published a 214-page plan on September 3, 2026. The plan says many arrangements would have to be negotiated and that independence would not be 'automatic, inexpensive or risk-free'. Gary Mar, president of the Canada West Foundation, whose report argues against separation, said no provision guarantees passports, health coverage or trade access.
What would carry over to an independent Alberta, and who says so? → See all 1 claims from this moment →How it was reported
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Alberta Transition Council
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The Alberta Transition Plan: A Practical Analysis of Alberta's Transition from Province to Independent Country
albertatransitioncouncil.comRead original source (opens in a new tab)
Introduction; Executive Summary; Research Note and Contributors; chapters 2, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 27; the council's home page