It’s the hope that kills you. That’s why the constant failure of the federal Conservative Party is the true driver of separation sentiment here in Alberta.

Let’s face it — we don’t trust the Liberals in this part of the world. We haven’t since they tried to dupe us more than a century ago by pretending to bring telephone service to rural Alberta. In reality, they were just dumping thousands of wooden poles in prominent small-town locations right before a provincial election.

When this hoax was discovered, it was the upstart United Farmers of Alberta party that roared to victory, replacing the ruling Liberals. Following that scandal, the Grits have been shut out in provincial and national elections in Alberta ever since. (Premier Danielle Smith better hope the memorandum of understanding on future energy development she recently signed with Prime Minister Mark Carney isn’t a Liberal rerun of that great telephone scandal of........

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