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Republican Party of Alberta

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Republican Party of Alberta
AbbreviationRPA[1]
LeaderCameron Davies
PresidentLeah Wood
RegisteredJanuary 20, 2022 (2022-01-20) (as Buffalo Party of Alberta)
Preceded byBuffalo Party of Alberta
HeadquartersPO Box 6361 Drayton Valley, AB T7A 1R8
Membership (June 2025)Increase 24,000
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing[3]
Colours  Red
SloganFaith, Family, Freedom
Seats in Legislature
0 / 87
Website
albertarepublicans.com

The Republican Party of Alberta is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 2022 as the Buffalo Party of Alberta and adopted its current name in 2025. The party supports a binding referendum on Alberta independence and a subsequent non-binding referendum on joining the United States.

History

[edit]

The Buffalo Party of Alberta

[edit]

The Buffalo Party of Alberta was registered as a political party with Elections Alberta on January 20, 2022.[4] The first leader of the party was John Molberg.[5] The party held a launch event in Calgary on May 12, 2022.[6] The party ran one candidate, Andrew Jacobson, in the 2023 Alberta provincial election in the district Edmonton-Strathcona,[7] in which they received 106 votes (0.60%). In March 2024, Andrew Jacobson was listed by Elections Alberta as the new interim leader of the party.[8][9]

Republican Party of Alberta

[edit]

The party changed its name to the Republican Party of Alberta on February 10, 2025.[8][10] Cameron Davies, a dual Canadian-American citizen,[11] was subsequently acclaimed as the party's new leader on April 11, 2025.[12] The party made the announcement of his leadership on April 29.[13][14] In May 2025, the Republican Party and the Independence Party of Alberta signed a memorandum of understanding, which sought to advance and unify the independence movement in Alberta. The parties worked together to select candidates who ran under the Republican banner in the 2025 Alberta provincial by-elections.[15]

On May 14, 2025, the party announced its first candidate since their rebranding: Fred Munn would run in the Edmonton-Ellerslie by-election.[16] On May 20, leader Cameron Davies was announced as the candidate for the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills by-election.[17] On May 27, Ravina Chand was named the candidate in the Edmonton-Strathcona by-election.[18] During the campaign, former MLA for Olds-Didsbury, Gordon Kesler endorsed the Republican Party and Cameron Davies. He is known for being elected in 1982, in a by-election under the separatist Western Canada Concept party.[19] The party did not win any of the elections, which were held on June 23, 2025.

On April 30, 2026, the Republican Party of Alberta along with the Centurion Project were implicated in a large privacy breach for distributing the private information of millions of Albertans. Originally, the list was given legally to the Republican Party of Alberta but ended up being hosted by the Centurion Project on a public facing website.[20] Elections Alberta went to court and was granted an injunction that database be taken down.[21] The Alberta RCMP has launched an investigation and is collaborating with other law enforcement partners in the province to determine if any other laws were broken.[21]

Ideology

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As the Buffalo Party, the party did not call for Alberta independence but rather more autonomy from the federal government.[22][23] After becoming the Republican Party, it shifted towards a separatist stance, describing itself as being "at the forefront advocating for Alberta independence".[24] It proposes holding a binding referendum on Alberta independence and a subsequent non-binding referendum on Alberta joining the United States as a state or territory.[25]

Aside from the independence movement, the Republican Party also supports firearm ownership and abolishing the restrictive federal regulations.[26] It supports stricter immigration laws and the restriction of temporary foreign worker permits.[27] The party supports freedom of speech and the free market. The party advocates a melting pot society after leaving Canada.[28]

Membership

[edit]

The Republicans announced that 48 hours after the 2025 Canadian federal election, the party grew by 11,394 members.[29] In mid-May 2025, the party said it had given out 20,000 free memberships.[30] As of June 2025, the party claims to have reached 24,000 members.[31]

Leaders

[edit]
Leader Term in office Notes
John Molberg January 20, 2022 March 2024 Founder[32]
Andrew Jacobson March 2024 April 11, 2025 Interim
Cameron Davies April 11, 2025 Incumbent

Election results

[edit]
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
Election Banner Leader Candidates Votes % Seats +/- Position Status
2023 Buffalo John Molberg
1 / 87
 106 0.01
0 / 87
 New party 13th No seats

By-elections

[edit]
Banner By-election Date Candidate Votes % Position Status
Republican Edmonton-Strathcona June 23, 2025 Ravina Chand
65
0.67
Decrease 5th[n 1]
 No seats
Edmonton-Ellerslie June 23, 2025 Fred Munn
291
3.42
4th
 No seats
Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills June 23, 2025 Cameron Davies
2,705
17.66
3rd
 No seats

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Parties". Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 5, 2025. Republican Party of Alberta (RPA)
  2. ↑ "Republican Party of Alberta Principles: 6. National and Global Engagement". Republican Party of Alberta. January 24, 2025. Retrieved June 8, 2026. We will support a binding referendum on ending Alberta's unfair and unhealthy relationship with the confederation experiment, ensuring a future that prioritizes Alberta's interests. We will hold a referendum to gauge the will of Albertans to seek U.S. statehood or territorial status.
  3. ↑ Mohamed, Rahim (January 7, 2026). "Alberta's independence movement is a global rarity: right-wing separatists". Yahoo News Canada. Retrieved August 30, 2026. While the (mostly) centre-left Parti Québécois and democratic socialist Québec Solidaire have long fronted Quebec's separatist movement, Alberta separatism is an almost entirely right-wing phenomenon. ... Cameron Davies, leader of the separatist Republican Party of Alberta, said in a recent interview that he'd be focusing future outreach efforts exclusively on right-leaning partners, and not centrist and centre-left groups like the U.S. Democratic Party.
  4. ↑ Resler, Glen (November 2022). "2021–22 Report (The Forty-fifth Annual Report)" (PDF). Elections Alberta. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  5. ↑ Cournoyer, Dave (February 6, 2022). "The Buffalo Party of Alberta becomes an official registered political party". Daveberta. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  6. ↑ Simmons, Taylor (May 13, 2022). "As Premier Kenney's leadership goes to a vote, Buffalo Party of Alberta emerges". CBC News. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  7. ↑ Fletcher, Robson (May 24, 2023). "Here's a searchable list of candidates in the 2023 Alberta election". CBC News. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Parties". Elections Alberta. Retrieved February 19, 2025.
  9. ↑ Snell, James (February 19, 2025). "Conservative political party rebrands in Alberta". The Winnipeg Sun. The Klein Group. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  10. ↑ Hodgson, Jen (March 28, 2025). "ALBERTA REPUBLICANS: Independence party launches rebrand". Western Standard. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  11. ↑ Davies, Cameron (June 22, 2025). "An interview with Alberta separatist leader Cameron Davies". Canadian Affairs (Interview). Interviewed by Forster, Sam. Retrieved October 4, 2026.{{cite interview}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ↑ "2025 Leadership Contest – Republican Party of Alberta". Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  13. ↑ Heidenreich, Phil (April 29, 2025). "Smith says many Albertans frustrated by federal election, wants to 'reset' relationship with Ottawa". Global News. Corus Entertainment. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Republican Party of Alberta Announces New Leader". April 29, 2025. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  15. ↑ "Alberta's Republican and Independence parties join forces, react to Smith and separatism". rdnewsNOW. Pattison Media. May 6, 2025. Retrieved July 12, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Republican Party of Alberta Announces Fred Munn as Candidate for Edmonton Ellerslie By-Election". twitter.com. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Separatists, socialists, conservatives: Race to replace Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA heats up". The Albertan. Great West Media. May 20, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Republican Party of Alberta Announces Ravina Chand for Edmonton Strathcona by-election". Twitter. Republican Party of Alberta. May 27, 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  19. ↑ Mohamed, Rahim (June 21, 2025). "In Alberta, separatism is on the ballot in a rural byelection on Monday". National Post. Postmedia Network. Retrieved September 2, 2026.
  20. ↑ Snowdon, Wallis (April 30, 2026). "Salted Names". CBC News. Retrieved April 30, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. 1 2 "Alberta separatist group ordered to take down list of voters, RCMP investigating alleged privacy breach | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved May 1, 2026.
  22. ↑ Lachacz, Adam (May 13, 2022). "New provincial political party says it represents 'overlooked' Albertans". CTV News Edmonton. Bell Media. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  23. ↑ Senger, Emily (May 24, 2023). "From communists to separatists, meet the other Alberta parties in this year's election". CBC News. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  24. ↑ "5 Steps to a Strong & Free Alberta". Republican Party of Alberta. January 26, 2025. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  25. ↑ "Republican Party of Alberta Principles: 6. National and Global Engagement". Republican Party of Alberta. January 24, 2025. Retrieved June 8, 2026. We will support a binding referendum on ending Alberta's unfair and unhealthy relationship with the confederation experiment, ensuring a future that prioritizes Alberta's interests. We will hold a referendum to gauge the will of Albertans to seek U.S. statehood or territorial status.
  26. ↑ "FAQ | Republican Party of Alberta". April 7, 2025. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  27. ↑ "Republican Party of Alberta Principles : 4. Social Policies". January 24, 2025. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  28. ↑ Martens, Kathleen (May 23, 2025). "Alberta separatist party pitching melting pot society". APTN News. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  29. ↑ "Thousands have already joined the movement — and we're just getting started". Twitter. Republican Party of Alberta. May 1, 2025. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
  30. ↑ Stovka, Riley (May 13, 2025). "Alberta Republican Party gathers supporters". The Albertan. Great West Media. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  31. ↑ Bruch, Timm (June 4, 2025). "Alberta separation becoming the focus of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills byelection". CTV News. Bell Media. Retrieved June 5, 2025.
  32. ↑ "Buffalo Party | You created it, now become a part of it". buffalo.elloco.ca. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  1. ↑ Down from the results of the Buffalo Party, which rebranded to the Republican Party in 2025.
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