Alberta Independence Leader Calls on Supporters to Join Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party and Nominate Separatist UCP Candidates

One of the leaders of Alberta’s separatist movement is calling on supporters of Alberta independence to join Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party en masse to exert pressure on the party from the inside.

Mitch Sylvestre, a sporting goods store owner from Bonnyville and the self-described “leader of the Alberta independence movement,” says Alberta separatists need to “leverage the UCP” by signing membership cards to nominate separatist candidates and push the party to adopt separatist-friendly policies.

Sylvestre, who leads the secessionist group “Stay Free Alberta” that delivered 300,000 signatures from a petition calling for a referendum on independence to Elections Alberta on Monday, appeared in a YouTube livestream over the weekend explaining that the next step for Alberta separatists is to make sure Smith’s government allows a vote on independence to happen.

“We have to get this to a vote,” Sylvestre said. “So how do we do that? We have to leverage UCP.”

“We have to become members of the UCP party and leverage the UCP,” the separatist leader added.

“Make your MLA aware of the fact that you want Alberta independence and that you’re a member and you’re going to recruit other people to take the same stand and do it the same way.”

“If we don’t get it to the vote, nothing else happens,” Sylvestre continued. “So, we have to be very sure that we leverage the UCP, give them a reason to believe that we’re going to be there and give them a reason to believe that we’re going to participate.”

“That will motivate them to put this question on a standalone ballot as a constitutional question that will effect change in the province of Alberta.”

In an interview with PressProgress Tuesday afternoon, Sylvestre elaborated that he is calling on Alberta separatists to take out UCP memberships in order to influence the party from within.

“It’s time now to join the UCP,” Sylvestre told PressProgress.

“We’re now leading into a new section where nomination processes are involved,” Sylvestre explained. “If we’re going to have our voices heard as far as nominations, we have to be sure that we’re members 21 days in advance.”

While encouraging separatists to join an established political party to nominate separatist candidates and adopt separatist-friendly policies might sound like a separatist faction is planning a takeover of the UCP, Sylvestre insists this is simply “what political parties do.”

“I want people to be represented in a democracy and make sure their politicians represent them.”

Alberta’s United Conservative Party, which has adopted an internal policy of refusing media requests from PressProgress, did not respond to questions about Sylvestre’s call for separatists to join the UCP or whether the party welcomes separatist leaders as party members.

Danielle Smith (Facebook)

Sylvestre, who confirmed to PressProgress he is the current chair of the Bonnyville – Cold Lake – St. Paul UCP constituency association’s board of directors, has organized numerous partisan UCP events for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in recent years.

In May 2025, Sylvestre was photographed at the head table seated next to the premier at the constituency association’s annual “Leader’s Dinner,” alongside another separatist figure, Dennis Modry. Other photos from the same event show Sylvestre participating in a panel discussion with UCP MLA Scott Cyr.

An advertisement for the event posted by Cyr’s official MLA social media account identified Sylvestre as the main organizer and point of contact for the UCP fundraising event.

The Alberta separatist leader also appeared on stage with Smith and Cyr at multiple partisan UCP events between 2023 and 2024.

Bonnyville – Cold Lake – St. Paul UCP Constituency Association (Facebook)

Other separatist influencers appear to be following Sylvestre’s lead.

Emmott Kelsey, the Edmonton captain of a different separatist group called the Centurion Project, shared a screenshot on social media of a proposed UCP policy resolution he submitted, calling on the UCP to adopt the position that “Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada” and “become an independent state.”

Kelsey explained in the post that Alberta separatists will “relentlessly pursue this from every angle,” including through “referendum or party policy changes.”

Emmott Kelsey (Facebook)

Sylvestre said he was unaware of Kelsey’s policy resolution and stressed that he has “no comment” on the Centurion Project in general, but said he nonetheless supports Kelsey’s policy resolution.

“It’s my motion,” Sylvestre remarked, noting the language of the UCP policy resolution closely mirrors the language in his petition calling for a referendum on Alberta separatism.

“All these policy questions are going to come up for member vote at the AGM in November,” Sylvestre pointed out, though he’s hopeful a referendum vote will happen before then.

The Centurion Project is currently at the centre of a major political scandal currently rocking the province. Last week, police showed up at a Centurion Project event and informed David Parker, the group’s leader, that they are under investigation, after it was revealed Elections Alberta and the RCMP are investigating how the group obtained private information on nearly three million Alberta voters.

On Tuesday, former UCP premier Jason Kenney issued a statement announcing he was considering legal action against the separatist group after the opposition Alberta NDP released screenshots of a different Zoom call in which the Centurion Project allegedly shared information about Kenney’s private home address.