Letter: Referendum questions, message drawn from MAGA playbook

By Letter to the Editor on March 4, 2026.

Dear editor,

The referendum recently declared by the Government of Alberta clearly shows intent to recreate Alberta in the image of the U.S. MAGA movement. Significant portions of it are clearly drawn from MAGA’s handbook, Project 2025.

Additionally, elements display population control emulating Soviet-styled internal passports and echo Brown-shirted, Jack-booted discriminatory states. If successful it would certainly appeal to the current regime of Felonious-D Trump.

Oddly however, “questions” favoured by proponents of the UCP present Albertans with a future of considerable Government control, which seems – ironically – antithetical to the UCP’s “get government out of our lives” party platforms.

One referendum question/statement recommends voters present government-approved documents in order to vote; that smacks of domestic passports instituted in the USSR, ensuring only those with the wherewithal to acquire such documents are deemed full citizens – all others occupy some secondary group, denying them the right to have a say in how they will be governed.

Another referendum element supports preventing immigration, a proudly racist, discriminatory platform that ultimately shrinks provincial taxes. New immigrants mean more tax dollars, more retail spending, more money in the pockets of small businesses and more in larger retail outlets and service providers. If deprived of this input, how will it be replaced? Given the UCP’s past concessions, probably by granting even more tax breaks to resource extraction corporations, allowing them to abandon more zombie wells, and granting licences for coal mines along the Front Range of the Rockies?

Seemingly, the UCP’s referendum presents a wish to build walls; walls that prevent immigrants from living in Alberta, walls to prevent asylum seekers refuge, walls to prevent graduating graduate students a chance to contribute their skills to building a stronger Alberta. MAGA loves walls, seemingly so does the UCP. Yet another page from the MAGA handbook?

Ultimately, their referendum is testament to the UCP’s mishandling of government budgets. They, for too long, have frittered away taxes gained from natural resource exploitation. Having fiscally mismanaged the province they now seek to mismanage much of what is wonderful about living in Alberta – the natural environment, the ethnic diversity, the varied ways-of-living and the pride we desire in how the province is managed. The UCP – especially their leader – seeks to recreate Alberta into a MAGA-inspired, Soviet emulating, discriminatory, poorer, racist state.

Ms. Smith, rip up your referendum; then resign.

Ben Moffat

Medicine Hat

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