Canadian separatists say they discussed moving to the US dollar and creating a new military in White House meeting

A group of far-right Canadian separatists who would like the oil-rich province of Alberta to secede from Canada say they have held meetings with senior Trump administration officials with a view to gaining U.S. support for the plan.

The group, named the Alberta Prosperity Project, is hoping to hold a referendum on separating Alberta – sometimes known as the Texas of Canada – from the rest of the country this year.

In three secret meetings with officials from the U.S. State and Treasury departments, the group has discussed the mechanics of Alberta breaking with Canada, including plans to switch to U.S. currency and even to create a new military force, according to reports in the Financial Times and on NBC.

A fourth meeting has also been planned in the coming weeks to further discuss how a transition process might work, should a legally-binding referendum be held and the result indicate a desire to form a new independent nation.

“For those of us who are very much in support of Alberta becoming a sovereign country, it’s heartening to us at each of the three meetings that we’ve had with the U.S. administration to be informed that the entire U.S. administration is supportive of Alberta becoming a sovereign country,” Dennis Modry, a co-founder of the Alberta Prosperity Project, said according to NBC.

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However, the majority of Canadians believe the separatist group's negotiations with the United States are tantamount to “treason,” according to a new poll out this week.

News of the highly unusual meetings comes amid high tensions between the U.S. and its northern neighbor.

During a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke of a “rupture” in the world order, which appeared to be a veiled attack on President Donald Trump's trade and foreign policies, without mentioning him by name.

Trump has repeatedly suggested the U.S. should make Canada its 51st state, and in 2025, then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Trump's threat was "real".

“They’re very aware of our resources, of what we have and they very much want to be able to benefit from those,” Trudeau said last year.

“But Mr. Trump has it in mind that one of the easiest ways of doing that is absorbing our country. And it is a real thing,” he added.

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The tensions have only helped the separatists, who are trying to capitalize on the friction, according to the FT report last month.

“The U.S. is extremely enthusiastic about a free and independent Alberta,” the group’s legal counsel, Jeff Rath, told the paper after attending the meetings.

Officials in the United States government moved to play down the discussions, saying the meeting involved lower‑level staff and produced no commitments.

A senior official at the U.S. Department of State said no further meetings are expected.

Nonetheless, former diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity are not impressed. The U.S.'s actions have been “irresponsible as hell,” one unnamed ex-official told NBC.

“It’s really irresponsible for the United States to be engaging with these kinds of people, because it just encourages behavior that cannot be in the U.S. national interest,” the former senior State Department official said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said last month that he expects "the U.S. administration to respect Canadian sovereignty."