In the 20th century, when countries waged internal battles over their future, the intellectual stature of proponents and opponents was rarely in doubt. Pierre Trudeau and René Lévesque were featured on the cover of TIME Magazine in February 1978. Jean Chrétien and Jacques Parizeau would have probably enjoyed the same treatment in October 1995, had the United States not been consumed by the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

The last Québec referendum happened almost three decades ago, in the early days of the internet and way before social media turned nobodies into influencers. As Canada ponders the possibility of a referendum on Alberta’s future, it is difficult to figure who could grace the cover of TIME.

One contender would be Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, whose government recently proposed to reduce the threshold for citizen initiatives. Proponents will have 120 days to gather the signatures of 10 per cent of voters who participated in the last provincial election to compel a “yes” or “no” provincewide vote on whether Alberta “shall become a sovereign........

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