Canada’s Eby slams separatists seeking US help: the word for that is ‘treason’

British Columbia Premier David Eby said Alberta separatists who have sought help from Washington in their quest to gain independence from Canada are carrying out an act of immense disloyalty.“To go to a foreign country and to ask for assistance in breaking up Canada, there’s an old-fashioned word for that – and that word is treason,” said Eby, the leader of Canada’s westernmost province, which is Alberta’s neighbour.The Financial Times reported that officials in the Trump administration have held meetings with people from the Alberta Prosperity Project, a group that is working on a petition to hold an independence referendum in the oil-rich region of western Canada.A separatist organiser, Jeffrey Rath, said earlier this month that he had met with US State Department officials three times and they were supporting his cause. He declined to name the officials.A US State Department official, speaking on condition they not be identified, said in an email on Thursday: “The Department regularly meets with civil society types. As is typical in routine meetings such as these, no commitments were made.”British Columbia Premier David Eby and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith attend a meeting in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on Wednesday. Photo: ReutersThe department has previously declined to comment on whether its officials have met with Alberta separatists.