Open this photo in gallery:
Mitch Sylvestre, left, and Jeffrey Rath speak at an event at the Eckville Community Centre in Alberta in January.AHMED ZAKOT/The Globe and Mail
Separatist leaders affiliated with the Alberta Prosperity Project say the group’s two most prominent members – Jeffrey Rath and Mitch Sylvestre – were fired by the organization six weeks ago, but the news was kept quiet to avoid derailing the referendum campaign.
In a Thursday night social-media post, Tanya Clemens said the APP’s board, of which she says she’s a member, had decided in mid-September to remove Mr. Sylvestre and Mr. Rath from their roles with the group “for cause.”
“I didn’t want an internal dispute to become the story when we were trying to have such an important conversation with Albertans about their future,” Ms. Clemens said, explaining why they didn’t publicize the news earlier.
Ms. Clemens said that there were concerns about who was given access to the APP’s membership database, how the group approached the referendum campaign, and how the two men conducted themselves leading the movement.
Lawrence Martin: Canada mercifully escapes the hard right’s rage
“I believe there are legitimate questions about whether some of those actions complied with their legal obligations, and I think those questions deserve a legal examination,” she said.
The revelation of their apparent firings sparked a wave of finger-pointing and accusations in the wake of Monday’s referendum result, in which 75 per cent of the Alberta electorate rejected the separatist cause and chose to remain a part of Canada.
Mr. Sylvestre says he is still in charge of the Prosperity Project; Mr. Rath described meetings that unseated him and Mr. Sylvestre as “imaginary.”
Chris Scott, an independence advocate who says he sits on the board, said the APP terminated Mr. Sylvestre as chief executive and Mr. Rath as legal counsel on Sept. 14. They were removed as directors 10 days later, he said.
There is documentation, Mr. Scott says, to prove that the two men had been removed from the group. In a video, he enumerated a list of allegations that he says led the board to dismiss Mr. Sylvestre and Mr. Rath.
Open this photo in gallery:
Alberta Prosperity Project supporters listen to an address by Mr. Sylvestre as they await referendum results in Edmonton on Oct. 19.John Ulan/The Canadian Press
Alberta’s separatist movement has spent more than a year in the international spotlight. But after Monday’s sharp rebuke from the electorate, it has started to look inward.
On Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith said it was time to turn a new page and reiterated her commitment to not holding another referendum on the issue as long as she’s Premier.
The next day, she issued an ultimatum to separatists within her United Conservative Party intent on transforming the UCP into a vehicle for the movement: accept the results or leave the party.
Some independence leaders responded by pledging support for Ms. Smith while others have turned against her.
Mr. Sylvestre and Mr. Rath have said that they won’t leave the UCP and will push to elect allies to the provincial board of the party at its annual meeting next month.
The separatists who helped bring Danielle Smith to power are trying to unseat her
Other separatists, including Mr. Scott and Keith Wilson, a lawyer who co-founded the pro-independence group Let Alberta Decide, have lined up behind the Premier.
Mr. Scott, in a video posted Thursday night, said he plans to run for a UCP board position at the late-November AGM. But he contends that a separatist takeover of the party would be “a disaster.”
“I do not believe that this plan to try and take over the UCP and create a separatist party after we had only 25 per cent of Albertans even vote to have a conversation about Alberta independence – I do not believe that will bear fruit at all,” he said.
Mr. Scott alleged that the APP’s membership list was given to two conservative strategists during the referendum campaign. Mr. Sylvestre previously told The Globe and Mail that it is a list of roughly 250,000 supporters.
Tony Keller: Separatism’s crushing referendum loss is all upside for the Canadian economy
Communications from the APP have continued under Mr. Sylvestre’s name. A Wednesday e-mail from the group thanking supporters for their efforts was signed in his name.
On Thursday night, Mr. Rath suggested that the board meetings never happened.
“Neither Tanya Clemens or Chris Scott were lawfully registered as board members at the time these imaginary board meetings were held,” Mr. Rath wrote on social media, signing off as general counsel for the group.
Mr. Scott replied, writing that Mr. Rath approved meeting minutes in November, 2025, that showed Mr. Scott and Ms. Clemens were board members.
Mr. Rath replied: “Chris you aren’t a director. Get over it.”
Editor’s note: A photo caption accompanying this article previously misidentified Alberta Prosperity Project leader Mitch Sylvestre. A supporter is pictured in the photo.