Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Tech Style & Beauty Kitchen & Dining Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeNP CommentDon Braid: Farewell to Steven Guilbeault, a founding father of Alberta separatismNo single politician, apart from ex-prime minister Justin Trudeau, did more to create this Canadian crisisLast updated 14 minutes ago You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault at a press conference in the foyer of the House of Commons at West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, April 30, 2026. Photo by HYUNGCHEOL PARK /Hyungcheol Park/PostmediaSteven Guilbeault is gone, but, oh, the wreckage he leaves behind.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorNo single politician, apart from ex-prime minister Justin Trudeau, did more to create today’s separatist movement in this province.The former environment minister’s extremist climate policies, coupled with massive expansion of federal power, imprinted a fixed belief that Liberal Ottawa despises Alberta and can never be trusted.Prime Minister Mark Carney’s program is appealing for many, but the separatists don’t believe a word of it.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againHundreds of thousands of Albertans now reject Canada. In some extreme cases, they hate Canada.They would have us join America or establish an independent Alberta with help from across the border.Their rejection of Canada is that profound.I’ve probably written 50 columns about Alberta separatism since the movement first appeared with some force in the early 1980s.There has never been anything remotely like the size of this separatist drive, or the emotions behind it.We’ve also never had a referendum, or a premier who thought that was a good idea in order to keep her party together.The Trudeau-Gilbeault inspired movement is something new and challenging.For millions of federalists in Alberta, among whom I proudly count myself, this is a difficult, painful time.Federalism will carry the vote but the deep split in Alberta will not heal soon, or easily.Guilbeault and Trudeau bear heavy responsibility for a Canadian crisis that is now international news. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulates Steven Guilbeault after he was sworn-in as Minister of Canadian Heritage during a ceremony at Rideau Hall on November 20, 2019 in Ottawa, Canada. Photo by CHRIS WATTIE /Chris Wattie/AFP via Getty ImagesThey imposed policies that could only be seen as an attack on the major energy province.The Impact Assessment Act, the emissions cap, the electricity regulations, the planned “just transition” of workers away from oil and gas, all were intended to suppress Canada’s most lucrative export industry and Alberta’s economy.Trudeau made Guilbeault the environment and climate change minister on Oct. 26, 2021. For four years his centralist extremism fostered Alberta counter-extremism.He resigned the portfolio on Nov. 27, 2025, but the damage was done.Upon quitting as an MP this week, he made it clear that he was bitterly opposed to Carney negotiating with Alberta.The nadir of Guilbeault’s wackiness came in 2024, when he stated that Ottawa didn’t want new roads in Canada.“The analysis we have done is that the network is perfectly adequate to respond to the needs we have” he said.“And thanks to a mix of investment in active and public transit, and in territorial planning and densification, we can very well achieve our goals of economic, social and human development without more enlargement of the road network.”Tell that to the people of northern Alberta, who’ve been begging for twinning dangerous Highway 63 for years.In fact, tell it to just about any rural community in Canada.Guilbeault also said electric cars wouldn’t really solve anything, even as Trudeau threw billions into battery plants.This was a story of expanding radicalism that threatened disaster for the second largest country on earth.Guilbeault’s climate extremism was never a secret.In April 2002, he and fellow climate zealots climbed onto the roof of then-premier Ralph Klein’s Calgary house.His wife, Colleen, saw a van arrive and people in orange uniforms go up a ladder.Thinking it was a home invasion, the terrified woman grabbed a broom for self-defence. She was worried for her young daughter.The premier was livid but did not prosecute. Guilbeault said he was just giving the Kleins a gift of solar panels.The year before, he and a partner were convicted of mischief for climbing Toronto’s CN Tower and displaying a banner. Steven Guilbeault was taken into custody by Toronto Police after the environmentalists scaled the CN Tower. Greig Reekie/Toronto SunMischief is a criminal offence that can come with jail time.Guilbeault got a year of probation. He was ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution and do 100 hours of community service in Montreal.He got off easy, but that rap sheet would bar a person from a senior cabinet job in most serious countries.Not in Justin Trudeau’s Canada.Today, their climate-change plan is in ruins. The draconian measures have been reversed or walked back. A negotiated Alberta-Ottawa deal fosters development along with climate gains.All Steven Guilbeault leaves behind is an aggressive, dedicated Alberta separatist movement.We’re no longer afflicted by Guilbeault’s lectures, but largely because of him, fringe separatists rant about Alberta-born citizenship, and women staying home to make new troops for the Alberta army.Thank you very much, Steven Guilbeault.Enjoy your federal pension.Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the HeraldX and Bluesky: @DonBraid Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.