Calgary Mayor Criticises Separatists for Offering Alberta Assets to US
Jeromy Farkas stated separatists are 'selling out Alberta' by offering resources for US support.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Calgary Mayor Criticises Separatists for Offering Alberta Assets to US
Photograph: CBC News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas accused separatists of 'selling out Alberta' by offering access to provincial assets for US support.
- A Globe and Mail report claims separatists discussed offering water and oil royalties to Republican operatives in exchange for help with independence.
- Separatist leader Jeff Rath denied negotiations occurred, stating they were sharing aspirations for an independent country.
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office said she was unaware of meetings between her party president and US strategists.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 16 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 17 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
61/100
Hype
41/100
17 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 16 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas has publicly criticised members of the Alberta separatist movement, stating they are "selling out Alberta" to the United States. His comments follow a report by The Globe and Mail alleging that separatists offered access to provincial assets, such as water resources and oil royalties, in exchange for US support for their independence cause. Farkas stated that such discussions were not representative of an "Alberta first" approach and that the separatists were gambling with the livelihoods of Albertans.
Separatist leader Jeff Rath has denied that any negotiations took place. Rath stated on social media that the claims were a "lie" and that the meetings were solely for sharing aspirations for an independent country. The Globe and Mail report also indicated that meetings between Republican operatives and the Alberta Prosperity Project, which included the Alberta Premier's party president, discussed influencing the provincial referendum campaign using voter targeting technology.
Disagreement on negotiations
Jeff Rath, a separatist leader, stated that "negotiating" with the US State Department did not occur and called the Globe and Mail report a "fake news piece." He asserted that the meetings were for "sharing the aspirations of hundreds of thousands of Albertans for a lawful process leading to an independent country." The Globe and Mail report, however, claimed that separatists offered access to Alberta assets like water and oil royalties in exchange for US support during at least one meeting at the US State Department.
What the coverage left out
None of the left or centre-rated reports mention any specific figures related to the potential cost or economic impact of separatism, nor do they detail the specific nature of the "voter targeting technology" discussed by Republican operatives and the Alberta Prosperity Project. The reports also do not include any statements from the Republican operatives or the Alberta Prosperity Project regarding these meetings.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 6 Oct 2026, 03:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
15 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports focused on Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas's accusation that separatists were "selling out Alberta" by offering provincial assets to the US. These reports highlighted the Globe and Mail's claim that water and oil royalties were discussed as part of the exchange for US support. The coverage also noted Jeff Rath's denial of negotiations, characterising his statements as a defence against the allegations. Several reports mentioned that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office stated she was unaware of meetings between her party president and US strategists.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The centre-rated report led with Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas expressing "wrath" over separatist meetings with Americans, quoting him saying, "That’s selling Alberta out." It detailed the Globe and Mail's report that separatists suggested offering access to Alberta's fresh water and crude oil royalties in exchange for help with independence. The report also included Jeff Rath's denial of negotiations, stating they were "simply sharing the aspirations of hundreds of thousands of Albertans for a lawful process leading to an independent country." The involvement of Republican operatives and the Alberta Prosperity Project in discussing voter targeting technology was also mentioned.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Calgary Mayor Criticises Separatists for Offering Alberta Assets to US?
- Of the 16 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 94% are rated left, 6% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 17. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Calgary Mayor Criticises Separatists for Offering Alberta Assets to US left or right?
- The story itself is neither. What can be counted is who has covered it, and 94% of the 16 rated outlets on it are rated left — so far this is a story carried mostly by the left. Coverage is still arriving and that can change, which is why the figure is dated rather than fixed.
- Is the coverage of Calgary Mayor Criticises Separatists for Offering Alberta Assets to US biased?
- Calgary Mayor Criticises Separatists for Offering Alberta Assets to US is one event reported by 17 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Calgary Mayor Criticises Separatists for Offering Alberta Assets to US?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Calgary Mayor Criticises Separatists for Offering Alberta Assets to US?
- 17 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas accuse separatists of doing?
- Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas accused separatists of "selling out Alberta" by allegedly offering access to provincial assets, such as water and oil royalties, to US interests in exchange for support for their independence movement.
- Did separatist leader Jeff Rath acknowledge any negotiations with US officials?
- No, Jeff Rath denied that any negotiations took place. He stated that the meetings were for "sharing the aspirations" for an independent country and called reports of negotiations a "lie."
- What was Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's response to the reported meetings?
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office stated that she was unaware of the meetings between her party president and US Republican strategists who were reportedly looking to assist the province's separation movement.
Read it at the source
17 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
15- Calgary mayor calls out separatists for 'selling out Alberta' to U.S. (opens CBC News in a new tab)
- Alberta premier unaware of reported separatist meetings with U.S. strategists (opens thealbertan.com in a new tab)
thealbertan.com — is thealbertan.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Alberta premier unaware of reported separatist meetings with U.S. strategists (opens Timmins Today in a new tab)
Timmins Today — is Timmins Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Alberta premier unaware of reported separatist meetings with U.S. strategists (opens The NOTL Local in a new tab)
The NOTL Local — is The NOTL Local biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Alberta premier unaware of reported separatist meetings with U.S. strategists (opens ElliotLakeToday.com in a new tab)
ElliotLakeToday.com — is ElliotLakeToday.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Alberta premier unaware of reported separatist meetings with U.S. strategists (opens Bay Today in a new tab)
- Alberta premier unaware of reported separatist meetings with U.S. strategists (opens Sudbury in a new tab)
- Alberta premier unaware of reported separatist meetings with U.S. strategists (opens Elora Fergus Today in a new tab)
Elora Fergus Today — is Elora Fergus Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
Show 7 more
- Alberta premier unaware of reported separatist meetings with U.S. strategists (opens Thorold Today in a new tab)
Thorold Today — is Thorold Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Alberta premier unaware of reported separatist meetings with U.S. strategists (opens Collingwood Today in a new tab)
Collingwood Today — is Collingwood Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Alberta premier unaware of reported separatist meetings with U.S. strategists (opens Midland Today in a new tab)
Midland Today — is Midland Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Alberta premier unaware of reported separatist meetings with U.S. strategists (opens Orillia Matters in a new tab)
Orillia Matters — is Orillia Matters biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Alberta premier unaware of reported separatist meetings with U.S. strategists (opens Rocky Mountain Outlook in a new tab)
Rocky Mountain Outlook — is Rocky Mountain Outlook biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Alberta: Prime Minister's Office Moves Away From One of His Party's Presidents (opens La Presse in a new tab)
- Alberta premier unaware of reported separatist meetings with US strategists (opens National Observer in a new tab)
National Observer — is National Observer biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
1Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
