It has links to a movement leader
Rise of Alberta account drives 4 times as much engagement as next most popular
One of the most influential voices on Alberta separatism is not a politician or even a clearly-identified person at all, but a combination social media account and merchandise line that is among the independence movement’s breakout stars.
asserted
that → have → stars
The RiseOfAlberta account was created in the spring of 2025 and describes itself as “accelerating Alberta’s journey towards independence.”
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account → create → independence
Since then it has amassed almost 100,000 X followers with a firehose of shareable clips and AI-generated memes about Alberta.
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it → amass → Alberta
“They’ll depict, for example, eastern Canadians as very bureaucratic, government loving people, whereas Albertans are these Wild West people that hate government and love building,” says Chris Ross, a senior analyst at the Media Ecosystem Observatory, a research initiative that studies Canada’s online world and recently released a report into the dominance of separatist influencers.
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that → depict → influencers
“It’s a very idealistic, utopian perspective of what their idea of an Albertan is.”
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idea → ’ → Albertan
In between separatist talking points, the account dabbles in the conspiratorial side of the movement, posting images of Alberta workers standing up to “globohomo,” derogatory online slang for the 2SLGBTQ+ movement, echoes Donald Trump’s call to see “mass immigration” as an “existential threat to Western civilization" and refers to climate change as “fake and gay.”
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workers → dabble → change
Many points are punctuated by an ad for an Alberta-branded blanket or hat.
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points → punctuate → blanket
Distrustful of mainstream institutions, some in Alberta’s separatism movement have constructed their own online world populated by independence-minded influencers.
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some → construct → influencers
Within that, Rise of Alberta is a behemoth, driving four times the engagement of the second-most popular account, according to the report.
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Rise → drive → report
(The account is aware of this, based on a response to a curious American back in January: “I’m the biggest Alberta Independence account on X,” it wrote.
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it → base → X
“Happy to chat.”)
But as the account has grown its influence, the person behind the curtain has remained a mystery.
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person → chat → curtain
The account has not responded to curious social media users, nor did it respond to direct messages sent by CBC News and Radio-Canada asking about the account’s identity.
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it → respond → identity
It’s also not clear where the money from the premium camo hoodies and charcuterie boards is going, though the account has said that the proceeds help cover the costs of the “tools” used to make its graphics.
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proceeds → ’ → graphics
Now, CBC News has found that the account has links to another heavyweight figure in the separatist movement, Keith Wilson, a lawyer who leads the Alberta Transition Council.
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who → find → Council
According to an analysis by CBC News and Radio-Canada, the same email address was used to set up the Rise of Alberta website, the site where merchandise is sold, and the website for one of Wilson’s companies and the site for the Alberta Transition Council.
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merchandise → accord → Council
When asked by CBC News, Wilson said that he was pleased that the account was so successful, and that it had come up with some “incredible, interesting and funny ads.”
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it → ask → ads
But he was clear he was not the one behind the account: “Not everybody’s interested in being famous, right?” he said.
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he → ’ → account
“I can tell you, it’s not me.”
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it → tell → you
In a followup call and email, Wilson acknowledged that he knows the person behind the account, explaining that it was run by the person who had set up his websites — “a website designer and webmaster” — which was why the same email had been used.
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email → acknowledge → websites
He “clearly” had a relationship with the person, he said, but he declined to provide more detail or to identify the person.
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he → have → person
“The individual has chosen to engage in political commentary anonymously,” he wrote.
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he → choose → commentary
“I respect that choice.”
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I → respect → choice
Wilson stressed he had no say over the content Rise of Alberta posted and had "nothing to do with" the money the store was making.
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store → stress → money
He does provide some assistance to the person running the Rise of Alberta account, he said, including listing its merchandise on the “store” tab of his personal YouTube channel.
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he → provide → channel
“I let him do that,” he said.
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he → let → that
“It doesn’t cost me anything and helps him.”
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It → cost → him
Returns of unwanted Rise of Alberta merchandise are also sent to the mailing address for his law firm, he said, though he added there weren’t many.
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he → send → firm
(“Those blankets are amazing,” he said.
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he → say → ?
“I have three.”)
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I → have → three
While the person posting on the Rise of Alberta account remains unclear, they frequently share video clips of Wilson, and comment positively on his activities in the separatist movement.
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they → post → movement
With the launch of Let Alberta Decide in June, the account posted that it was “incredibly encouraging” that Wilson was helping lead a “serious campaign.”
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Wilson → let → campaign
Wilson, who has publicly debated former premier Jason Kenney on the topic of independence, is also very active online, but strikes a different tone.
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who → debate → tone
He tweets clips of his own commentary and links to articles from the news sites dismissed by Rise of Alberta as “fake news.”
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He → tweet → news
The post pinned to the top of his page quotes the French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire.
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post → pin → philosopher
Rise of Alberta “constantly amplifies Keith Wilson’s posts, essentially acting as a campaign tool, but without any of the normal consequences,” says Ross, who was the lead author of the Media Ecosystem Observatory’s recent report on separatism influencers.
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who → amplify → influencers
This is particularly notable because Rise of Alberta is “by far” the most influential account driving the conversation about separation, Ross said.
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Ross → drive → separation
The recent report found the account is single-handedly driving 11.8 per cent of all online engagement about the upcoming referendum, he said.
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he → find → referendum
One in five of the images posted by the account is an ad for merchandise, according to an analysis by researchers from Common Ground at the University of Alberta.
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One → post → Alberta
The second most influential account, according to the report, is Keith’s personal X account, meaning the two accounts get almost 15 per cent of the online shares, likes and comments on separatism-related content.
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accounts → accord → content
In a normal election, party leaders would be scrutinized over their online campaign materials, Ross said.
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Ross → scrutinize → materials
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
