Could very well be why the Saskatchewan Separatists are on the "move," again. Make no mistake about it, Trump has his eyes on that sort of thing. Divide and conquer is a tactic he uses a lot. Great blog, thanks. Even if it's two-finger typing. :)
Feels like every time there’s money or resources on the table, a new “Prosperity Party” magically appears, doesn’t it?
Next thing you know it’s alphabet soup.
First United Conservative Party, then the Alberta Prosperity Project, now Saskatchewan Prosperity Party riding in like they just discovered the word “sovereignty” last Tuesday.
Funny how “prosperity” always seems to mean...
Cut ties.
Split up.
Sell the farm cheaper.
I’ve lived long enough to notice something…
When outsiders want your resources, they don’t knock on the front door.
They start whispering...
“You’d be richer on your own…”
Yeah. Sure.
That’s exactly how you bargain away leverage.
Big provinces inside one country = negotiating power.
Tiny breakaway pieces = clearance rack.
Call me old-fashioned, but I’d rather Canada stay big, boring, and hard to push around.
I wonder if this doesn't feed into (sorry) an opportunity to cement the "all for Canada" partnership as a Canadian Utilities Corridor could provide the energy Saskatchewan would need to process the ore. I'm not sure how much capacity either Quebec or Kitimat has … and Saskatchewan needs to move away from economic dependence on O & G.
If Saskatchewan handled processing and power, while Quebec or Kitimat focused on export capacity, that’s not just a project... that’s a national strategy.
Great question, Pearl... and you’re right to ask it.
Mining and refining alumina isn’t harmless. It’s heavy industrial work.
Dust control, tailings ponds, water use, and air quality all matter... especially if you’re anywhere near a processing plant. Nobody wants to be breathing that stuff.
The upside here isn’t “dig baby dig.”
It’s where the digging happens.
Right now most alumina comes from places with weaker environmental rules and zero transparency. Shipping it halfway around the world just hides the mess... it doesn’t eliminate it.
If this ever becomes a real mine in Saskatchewan, it would face Canadian environmental reviews, permits, monitoring, and cleanup standards... which are a whole lot stricter than what you see overseas.
So the choice isn’t...
mine vs no impact.
It’s...
mine responsibly here… or pretend it’s clean because someone else deals with the damage.
Still early days... but that question absolutely needs to stay front and centre.
As a frustrated Albertan I was glad to see it’s not in Alberta. I’m afraid certain people would be offering US tanks a quick cross border run to take us over. So much temptation to get rich and powerful themselves. Nothing for the rest of us.
Could very well be why the Saskatchewan Separatists are on the "move," again. Make no mistake about it, Trump has his eyes on that sort of thing. Divide and conquer is a tactic he uses a lot. Great blog, thanks. Even if it's two-finger typing. :)
You might be onto something, Jackie.
When things get noisy and weird at the edges, I always ask one question...
Who benefits if Canada starts fighting itself?
Because it sure isn’t us.
Every time the country starts talking separation, splintering, “going our own way”…
we get weaker overnight.
Smaller bargaining power.
Less leverage.
Easier to push around.
That’s not politics... that’s math.
And yeah… divide-and-conquer has always been straight out of the old playbook.
It’s the oldest trick in the empire handbook.
You don’t beat a country head-on.
You get it arguing with itself and step over the pieces.
That’s why I’m allergic to separatist talk, no matter where it pops up.
West. East. Anywhere.
Canada works because we’re boring and united... not loud and fractured.
And hey… if two-finger typing is the price of stubborn independence, I’ll keep poking these keys like a woodpecker. 😄
Appreciate you reading.
Move over UCP,APP , here comes MOE and his SPP( Saskatchewan Prosperity Party).
Feels like every time there’s money or resources on the table, a new “Prosperity Party” magically appears, doesn’t it?
Next thing you know it’s alphabet soup.
First United Conservative Party, then the Alberta Prosperity Project, now Saskatchewan Prosperity Party riding in like they just discovered the word “sovereignty” last Tuesday.
Funny how “prosperity” always seems to mean...
Cut ties.
Split up.
Sell the farm cheaper.
I’ve lived long enough to notice something…
When outsiders want your resources, they don’t knock on the front door.
They start whispering...
“You’d be richer on your own…”
Yeah. Sure.
That’s exactly how you bargain away leverage.
Big provinces inside one country = negotiating power.
Tiny breakaway pieces = clearance rack.
Call me old-fashioned, but I’d rather Canada stay big, boring, and hard to push around.
Prosperity doesn’t come from breaking the table.
It comes from keeping your seat at it.
Smith, Moe and Ford ALL need gps and body cams EVERY freaking place they go! Air tags, everything.
I’m less worried about where they are…
and more worried about what they’re signing when nobody’s looking.
At least it’s not in Alberta…
I’m just happy it’s staying in Canada.
We can squabble about provinces after we cash the cheque.
I’m just happy it’s in Canada at all.
We can argue about provinces after we cash the cheque.
Wow! This sounds exciting. 🇨🇦🍁
I thought so too Jill.
Stories like this are exactly why I keep digging around for what Canada’s actually doing right.
Definitely catch Dementia Don's attention, 51st state talk will gin up again
If Canada controls critical materials like aluminum feedstock, we’re not someone’s 51st state... we’re a supplier the world lines up to deal with.
Big difference.
Just in Trump's brain. He does not recognize Canada's moves economically, politically, militarily, socially to move out from the orbit of the U.S.
Aaaaaaamd they sold it to Chinese communist party!
Most resource projects have international partners... American, European, Asian.
That’s just how capital works.
The asset and the jobs stay here.
At ~17,000 kw power to manufacture 1 tonne of aluminium, scale that up to make 1.8 million tonnes per year
Saskatchewan certainly does not have tha power …
Which is why this probably has to be a multi-province play.
Power in one place, processing in another, ports somewhere else.
Nobody can do this solo anymore.
And that is what Federation is all about.
Not the farcical "we aren't as rich as we can be because - EQUALIZATION"
I wonder if this doesn't feed into (sorry) an opportunity to cement the "all for Canada" partnership as a Canadian Utilities Corridor could provide the energy Saskatchewan would need to process the ore. I'm not sure how much capacity either Quebec or Kitimat has … and Saskatchewan needs to move away from economic dependence on O & G.
You might be onto something there Tom.
If Saskatchewan handled processing and power, while Quebec or Kitimat focused on export capacity, that’s not just a project... that’s a national strategy.
Less regional silos, more “Team Canada.”
You’re absolutely right to flag the power side of this.
At roughly 17,000 kWh per tonne,
1.8 million tonnes works out to about 30+ terawatt hours a year.
That’s not “plug it into the wall” power.
That’s small-province power.
And today?
Saskatchewan doesn’t have that kind of spare capacity just sitting around.
But here’s the part most people miss…
Heavy industry doesn’t move because the power exists.
The power gets built because the industry commits.
Aluminum smelters are basically giant “anchor tenants.”
They justify...
• new hydro
• small modular nuclear
• dedicated gas + carbon capture
• or big baseload builds
Same thing Quebec did decades ago with hydro.
No smelters → no dams.
Smelters → dams everywhere.
So the real question isn’t “Do we have the power today?”
It’s...
“Are we willing to build it on purpose instead of exporting raw ore forever?”
Because shipping rocks is cheap country behaviour.
Smelting here is how you create jobs, tax base, and leverage.
If we’re serious about industrial independence, we don’t wait for extra power…
We build the power to match the ambition.
Big difference in mindset.
The utilities corridor has been in the spotlight before.
Senator Simmons has examined the idea but, I'm not sure what her conclusions were.
What is the environmental impact of mining Aluminum? It is real tough to breathe Aluminum!!
Great question, Pearl... and you’re right to ask it.
Mining and refining alumina isn’t harmless. It’s heavy industrial work.
Dust control, tailings ponds, water use, and air quality all matter... especially if you’re anywhere near a processing plant. Nobody wants to be breathing that stuff.
The upside here isn’t “dig baby dig.”
It’s where the digging happens.
Right now most alumina comes from places with weaker environmental rules and zero transparency. Shipping it halfway around the world just hides the mess... it doesn’t eliminate it.
If this ever becomes a real mine in Saskatchewan, it would face Canadian environmental reviews, permits, monitoring, and cleanup standards... which are a whole lot stricter than what you see overseas.
So the choice isn’t...
mine vs no impact.
It’s...
mine responsibly here… or pretend it’s clean because someone else deals with the damage.
Still early days... but that question absolutely needs to stay front and centre.
As a frustrated Albertan I was glad to see it’s not in Alberta. I’m afraid certain people would be offering US tanks a quick cross border run to take us over. So much temptation to get rich and powerful themselves. Nothing for the rest of us.