The future of the citizen petition Stay Free Alberta is in question after an Alberta judge ruled it cannot go ahead, although the province plans to appeal the decision.
In late March, the Alberta Prosperity Project announced the petition had passed the minimum threshold of required signatures to trigger a referendum for Alberta independence.
Alberta separatism has a long history that extends back to the late 19th century. But according to one Alberta pollster, while the movement has been around a long time, it has become “noisier.”“
We’re interested in how “Free Alberta” audiovisual media is being mobilized and how that may serve to persuade listeners. Thinking about this matters particularly as foreign involvement is fuelling anti-Canadian sentiment, as noted by researchers affiliated with DisinfoWatch, a platform that monitors and debunks foreign disinformation.
Jamie Meyers-Riczu, the first author of this story, researches how Alberta’s oil industry, and the petroculture surrounding it, is represented in sound and music. She’s a born and bred Albertan. James Deaville, the second author, has researched anthems, music and media and is from Ontario.
Pro-independent Alberta music
With a mission to break free of federal political, economic and cultural control, Alberta separatism supporters have been dreaming about a new sovereign nation.
Such a mission would imply a new Alberta anthem, something that — compared to the noise of political polemics and rally speeches within the independence movement — may seem inconsequential.
Yet music is the ultimate hidden persuader. It influences people in ways that circumvent reason, often worming into our emotions. Anthem music rallies the collective through a simple “singable” tune with rousing, patriotic lyrics that reflect a nation’s history, values and culture.
It’s perhaps unsurprising to find anthemic music produced among Alberta separatist YouTube accounts to match their aspirations, such as the curated playlist posted by Mitch Sylvestre, leader of the separatist initiative through the Alberta Prosperity Project that promotes provincial independence.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
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As Alberta separatists court the U.S., prosperity is fuelling a sovereigntist turn
The first anthem in the playlist — “Alberta music: Do you agree?” — is crafted to promote the referendum question. The song asks: “Do you agree that the province of Alberta should cease to be part of Canada to become an independent state?” with voices responding: “Yeah!”
Another example is content creator John Bolton’s November 2025 video, “We Are Alberta — New Anthem — World Premiere,” where he explains how he used AI to generate an Alberta national anthem. The video features an upbeat tempo, driving guitar, swelling strings and a chorus of unison voices. The music is accompanied, Bolton says, with photographs he took.
Alberta separation and AI ‘slopaganda’
In addition to pro-independent Alberta anthems being generated and promoted by Alberta separatists, researchers at McGill University’s Centre for Media Technology and Democracy have published research that explains how a network of inauthentic YouTube videos is selling secession to Alberta.
The report found that a network of at least 20 AI YouTube accounts focused on Alberta audiences were “exploiting genuinely held grievances and repurposing them to advance narratives that normalize the prospect of secession and U.S. annexation.”
The 20 inauthentic channels analyzed have had nearly 40 million views. Videos use AI-generated deepfakes, often of Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney, and include “frequent and obvious lies.” Channels include “AI avatars and paid American voice actors.”
A CBC/Radio Canada investigation reports that people based in the Netherlands are behind several of the YouTube channels that promote Alberta separatism.
When asked about these AI videos, particularly claims of foreign influence, Sylvestre said the issue was “overblown.”
‘Sovereign Steel: An Anthem for Alberta’
One widely circulated AI-generated Alberta anthem is “Sovereign Steel: An Anthem for Alberta.”
Press Progress reports the video, shown at a 2025 separatist promotional event, was generated by United States-based content creator Jason Coursey (Full Metal Patriot). The video’s YouTube video descriptor notes it was made in collaboration with
Jim Ferguson and Freedom Train International. Ferguson is an ex-Brexit Party candidate.
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The channel Unacceptable Fringe, which the Centre for Media Technology and Democracy report notes is an authentic Alberta channel, also shared and promoted the video. It’s also circulated on Alberta Facebook groups.
In introducing “Sovereign Steel,” Derek Smith, host of Unacceptable Fringe, said the anthem “speaks to what Alberta is, and it’s catchy as hell,” while also saying he doesn’t believe in “full-blown Alberta separatism.”
Unacceptable Fringe/YouTube
Imaging rugged white men
The music of “Sovereign Steel” incorporates a buffet of associations, tropes and symbols. The music takes as its basis the rock anthem, with its brash electric guitar, persistent bass and four-on-the-floor drums.
No doubt the verse-chorus structure and simple melodic line contributes to its catchiness. However, a good rock anthem also has a social component that rallies communities with shared experiences.
The video begins with the text: “Alberta has drawn the line. Legislation is moving forward to leave Canada. Across the world, patriots stand with them.”
The lyrics discuss Alberta resilience and freedom. We might read these lyrics as indicative of a long-standing cornerstone in the politics of western alienation, yet in and of themselves their expressions of grievance mean little:
“We ride sovereign steel/Through fire through frost/We ain’t the last/We’re the line they lost.”
The lyrics speak more about what Albertans are allegedly fighting against (Prime Minister Carney is depicted as a king in a crown) than any potentially positive outcomes of separation. The imagery capitalizes on the symbolic associations to Alberta’s landscapes and extractive industries.
(Full Metal Patriot/YouTube)
More than 95 per cent of the AI-generated people in “Sovereign Steel” are white men (ranchers, farmers and oilfield workers), some of whom have lightning bolts shooting from their eyes.
These are featured against topographies: snow-capped mountains, golden wheat fields and fire-encrusted oil derricks. The remaining five per cent of people in the video include white women, including Danielle Smith, and one man in Indigenous regalia. The dominant imagery suggests a white nationalist vision.
Foreign involvement amplifying grievance
That non-Canadians are encouraging Alberta separatism should alarm Canadian listeners and viewers.
The DisinfoWatch report notes: “Canadians have the right to debate Confederation, federalism, regional grievances, and Alberta’s future freely and openly. The danger is … that foreign governments, state-aligned media, ideological networks, and profit-driven manipulation systems are seeking to distort it.”
In mid-April, lawyers from Elections Alberta served an injunction against the Alberta Prosperity Project over its lack of financial transparency.
Recent articles reveal that the Alberta separatist movement embraces a deeply anti-immigration mandate. While attending the Alberta Independence Rally in late January, Calgarian writer Marcello Di Cintio reported that during a live poll, attendees listed “immigration and deportation” as their top priority for separation.
This echoes Smith’s referendum questions about immigration that promote a xenophobic narrative.
Anthems aim for emotional response
AI-generated content, shared through social media, possesses its own power.
Anthems — musically, lyrically and visually — generate emotional responses, tying communities together.
Such is the power of music, for better or worse. All Albertans and Canadians need to pay close attention to the music being shared, what is known about its origins and its possible effects.
