Alberta Prosperity Project Hosts Town Hall Meeting in Mundare

 Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser

It was standing room only in the Mundare Recreation Centre hall last Wednesday evening as an estimated crowd of around 150 people came together to learn more about the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP).

Described as a referendum movement for a sovereign Alberta, APP is asking residents to pledge their support digitally so that Alberta can become a sovereign country through a province-wide vote. According to information published on the Alberta Prosperity Project website, as of May 18, 2025; 240,000 Albertans have registered their intent to support the petition.

Priscilla Gagnon welcomed attendees. Gagnon told the crowd, “You are the face of this movement. So, you need to make sure that you are sharing information with people. Because the more that you share, the more we can spread the word. So, please share what you’re learning tonight.

She asked people in attendance if they had attended an APP event before. The vast majority of raised their hands indicating that they had not. “Oh, this is very encouraging,” said Gagnon.

“My second questions is: Raise your hand if you think Canada isn’t working for you anymore and something has to change? I think that’s pretty much 100 percent. So, obviously we’re here for the same reason.”

To best describe the independence movement and its objective were: APP Chief Executive Officer Mitch Sylvestre. Co-Founder and APP Board Chair Dennis Modry made a presentation as well as Economist, Author, Political Commentator, and lay-Theologian Tanner Hnidey.

Gagnon stated that, “An independent Alberta is what the APP is aiming for. It is non-partisan and not for profit educational society that aims to educate, inspire and advocate for all Albertans about the benefits of freedom and prosperity through independence. The movement began in May of 2021 in a humble oilfield shop in Nisku, AB. Where a group of Albertans, tired of the inefficiencies of provincial leadership and the overreach from Ottawa thought it was time to act. So, the APP was born and here were are today.”

When talking about some of the challenges Canadians are facing and the restrictiveness of the Constitution, Dr. Dennis Modry posed the question, What’s the solution to all of this? Well, we know that it’s impossible to change the constitution because we have an imbalance of power and there’s no real mechanism to own it and change the constitution that would fix a lot of these problems other than Alberta having a successful referendum on Alberta sovereignty. That is really the only leverage that we have to make change that’s been necessary for decades.

What will Alberta Sovereignty actually really mean? In simplistic terms, its self-government without external interference. But to be clear, sovereignty is not a left or right issue. Sovereignty is a pragmatic issue. It means freedom from persecution. Political persecution. Economic persecution. Religious persecution. Cultural persecution. That’s what it really means. As a result of sovereignty, I can assure you that when you analyze it every Albertan will substantively benefit from it.”

 Tanner Hnidey touched on Bill 12 and that a province or provinces can’t block trade or impose tariffs. He went on to say, “The picture that I’m painting for you is that if Alberta wants to negotiate, especially with those who do not share our particular views on economics and energy we need leverage, and

Mitch Sylvestre outlined the path to a referendum, and what that would entail:

·         Collection of digital pledges indicating the intent to vote yes on Alberta Sovereignty.

·         Register the petition with Elections Alberta; start gathering physical signatures.

·         Within 90 days Elections Alberta verifies the signatures collected from the public.

·         The Government of Alberta accepts the petition, a referendum is called.

·         Referendum win with clear majority obligates the governments to enter negotiations.

“The face of this project is you. You have to take responsibility, because if you don’t take responsibility we cannot do this. How are we going to go from 250,000 to 1.5 million (signatures)? So, you’re going to have to advocate to your friends and neighbours that this needs to happen and the reason it needs to happen. There’s no question in my mind that it needs to happen. So, in order for us to win this, it’s going to depend on you…We’ve got 40 events booked in the next 50 days, La Crete to deep south in Alberta. It’s going to take a tremendous amount of time…We’re asking that you work as hard as we do because that’s what it’s going to take.”