Undecided voter looks for answers ahead of Alberta’s referendum

Did you expect to see more campaigning on the stay side? Yes, I can honestly say that. I was a little surprised at it, but at the same time too, when the other side is the presence that they are, it's kind of, maybe they wanted to find their own lane. This is Jason Clarke in the hamlet of Mirror in central Alberta. It's home to roughly 500 people, including some outspoken separatist voices. They're They're not the majority, but they're loud and prominent. Particularly here, outside the Whistle Stop Cafe. Where should someone put up a Canadian flag that might be seen as a bit of a bold move? You know, it would, but at the same time, isn't that the beauty of our country? Should we not be able to? But you're right. Would it be deemed as an instigation? Jason, by the way, is a bit of a unicorn and undecided, who says there are just too many unanswered questions. He happens to own a restaurant just down the street. How is it going to happen? What's it going to look like for small businesses? Yes, I know millions upon millions of dollars get sent out east, okay? But then who's going to manage all that if eventually it got to that point? So just that uncertainty of a lack of information. So are you cool to have a conversation with Chris and put some of those questions to him? I would be, yeah. So off to meet Chris Scott. He runs the Whistle Stop and also is the founder of Let's Talk Alberta. How are you, brother? Good, how are you? Good. Thanks for coming. Hi, Megan. Making this a pro-independence, definitely option two kind of place. A referendum seen as the only way forward here, which to Jason is curious. Here's a bit of their chat. Since I'm on that undecided, and let's say it was walking up to the pool on the day, and you had a chance to convince me, what would your pitch be? How would you try and convince me to do that? Can I, what, I mean, I'd give you a free hamburger. I think I know where I can get a burger. Honestly, I'm not going to try and convince you. I'll lay out the facts as best I can. I'll give you my opinion on it. The biggest thing for me is the idea of a people's right to self-determine. To self-what, sir? Self-determine. Okay. Every Albertan, every federal election likely feels similar in that it didn't actually matter if we voted in a federal election. Chris Scott and this restaurant have history. He made headlines in 2021 when he refused to close, defying COVID restrictions. I'm not fine with anybody telling me what to do. That era, a big motivation for separatists now. And the idea of independence, according to Chris, is hardly a new one. Since Canada was birthed in 1867, or born of England in 1867, there was 55 countries back then. There's 193 now. The countries historically get smaller. Even since the 90s, we have 38 new nations, and 80% was with a pen and paper. This isn't new. It's not like we're charting unknown territory here. See, it's stuff like that. It's been done before. To me, for someone that's in the middle, that's the type of stuff that when you have those type of dialogue, like that's where, okay, that's sort of, it's like a little light bulb. That piques my interest going, okay, that's a very interesting point because it's a very valid point. But what if the other provinces say, we don't want you to go? Why would it be up to them? Alberta wouldn't be asking. You're just going to tell them you're legal. We have a legal pathway through the Clarity Act according to the Constitution, but I always point out that that's Canada's preference. So you would bypass the 7 out of 10 provinces? 100%. If somebody wanted to ask questions about the financial status of your movement or whatever, is there open dialogue about that? Well, there's different organizations. For my organization, Let's Talk Alberta, Nobody has the right to see the finances, but if they ask me if I'm foreign funded or receiving money from Vladimir Putin, I'll answer honestly. The Alberta Prosperity Project, they're a society registered in the province of Alberta. They are answerable to the CRA, and they have to keep everything on the up and up. But do people have the right to see their finances? Absolutely not. It can be kind of an awkward conversation, and we had tried to find someone local on the stay side willing to come and talk it out with Chris. We reached some people, but they declined. They didn't feel like this would be safe for them, that they'd feel welcome, that it would be okay to have this conversation. So they're talking about a division, a polarization within a small community. And some just find it difficult to speak to, right? It's not necessarily scary to him. Also, they just don't want to look like a fool. Well, it's unfortunate, but when you look at social media and the way people speak, I mean, I'm not surprised that people have apprehension to come into a room where people may not agree with them. Giving with his time, but it's also time to move on. The restaurant is busy. Jason has more questions and the answers aren't necessarily here in a place where the perspective appears to be uniform. So if the whistle stop were your only stop, you might get the impression that this is it. This is the dominant view. But as with a lot of places, sometimes it's what you don't see that says a lot about how people are feeling. A few hundred metres away mirrors Main Street. Not a lot of signs, some closed doors and closed mouths. Good place to consider a new Leger poll, which may explain some of the quiet. 30% of Alberta residents say discussions about separation have caused tension with family, friends, co-workers or neighbours. For 18 to 34-year-olds, it's 44%. In search of someone strong on the desire to stay, a drop-in at another local haunt, the Mirror Station Pub. Another neighbour, owner Daryl Gunn, but only more caution. Do you believe that people are undecided or that they're just shy? That's the same thing. Is it? Undecided means that I'm shy, I don't want to tell you what I'm going to do. And people are more willing to share their opinions in a trusted circle. circle you get outside of that there's so much social media and anything you say wrong gets recorded like this and gets put out there and then it gets miscued so a lot of people don't want to be part of that what are you hoping to see accomplished through this vote for me and what I want to see is that whatever the outcome in the end we still come out as Canadians right that's my ultimate yeah like I'm a Canadian like I hope that with the end of it we're not all pissed off and divided and we say this is the outcome and we all agree to it and we move on and try and make the best of it so maybe fences make good neighbors but referendums don't they don't fences and flags in these wide open spaces a few of each pepper the landscape Jason takes a night to think it over has a few more private chats and we meet up at his restaurant in the morning everyone eats at everyone else's place. It's a community with that kind of generosity and when his place is full Jason says he hears a lot. If I eavesdrop and I can hear them and it's just like there's no way that they're going to vote to separate they're going to stay. Have you come to a point where you think you know what you're going to do now? I'd probably be if I had to give an answer I would lean towards stay. There's just too much unknown for me in regards to the separating and they can say what they want about well there's all this money there's all this and all that okay but show me though don't just tell me that who's gonna police where the doctors come from where are the the politicians like just all of all of it a decision to stay not a strong stance and he says he's open to change his mind he's just still waiting for evidence it would be be the right call.