Throughout this year’s long, drawn-out breakup with the United States, I’ve been heartened by the way Canadians have rallied together — like friends showing up with a chorus of assurance that “he wasn’t good enough for you, anyway.” We’ve changed our buying habits to support our local businesses, strung up Canadian flags and sworn off trips south of the border. But this past month has exposed some serious cracks in that united front.
Earlier this week, the Parti Québécois (PQ) — Quebec’s separatist party — secured a minority government in the province’s election. After winning just three seats in 2022, PQ now holds 59 and has promised to hold another referendum on whether Quebec should separate from Canada.
The result comes less than two weeks before Alberta’s own referendum (or “referendumb,” as one spoof website has dubbed it). Its focal point has been Alberta independence — an idea that feels peppered with treason, given recent reports that separatist groups have been courting American support, offering oil and fresh water in exchange.
While independence may be the showiest item on the ballot, it isn’t the main event. Half of the ballot’s 10 questions belong to immigration. As Josiah Neufeld writes on our website this week, Alberta’s Christians are deeply divided over both. To better understand what’s at stake, he spoke with faith leaders across the province.
“Right now, it feels very important that we’re speaking what I call good religion,” Rev. John Pentland, minister at Hillhurst United Church in Calgary, told Broadview. “Jesus has been usurped by the right wing. It’s not biblical.” You can read the full story about whose Christianity will shape Alberta’s future here.
The Alberta government’s attempt to blame its shortcomings on immigrants is, at worst, racist and, at best, unoriginal. It’s a rallying cry right-wing governments around the world have used to capitalize on real anxieties its citizens are feeling. Come Oct. 19, I hope voters remember the difference between addressing those anxieties and exploiting them.
The “referendumb” crowd offers a hopeful assessment: “Albertans aren’t dumb, but Danielle Smith thinks we are.”
Do you think Canada is more united — or more divided — than it was a year ago? Share your thoughts with me, and I’ll feature a selection of responses in next week’s newsletter. You can email me at n.schmidt@broadview.org.
“I received this message on Facebook from a friend about technology's takeover of the world: ‘A society that forces a ninety-year-old to use a smartphone in order to access basic rights is not modern; it is a society that has decided to cast aside its own elders. By 2026, everything has become an app, a code, a portal. Yet the very people who built this country with their own hands now find themselves illiterate in their own homes. If booking a medical appointment or paying a bill requires the help of a son or granddaughter — assuming there is one — then the system has failed. This is not innovation; this is exclusion. Technology should serve people, not determine who is still entitled to dignity.’ This senior citizen agrees.”
—Ruth Latta, Ottawa
“My current AI use is contained to Google searches. At first blush, this seems fine, but it is easy to be lulled into taking what comes back as being both accurate and true. However, is it? Do we readily set aside what should be our reaction to do a nominal fact check? It’s potentially dangerous complacency. That said, as with any tool or device, AI can be used for both good and evil. Guns for hunting, for example, can generally be considered good when the game is productively used as a food source. But they can also be used for nefarious reasons. AI suffers from that same issue. What is a growing concern is thoughts around AI becoming in control of itself. And if so, what might be the outcome if it gets out of control? Putting the genie back in the bottle is not going to be easy!”
—Jim Kells, Saskatoon
FROM OUR WEBSITE
The Focus - October 7, 2026
Churches are finding creative ways to adapt to smaller congregations and changing needs in their communities. (Illustration by Maya Nguyen)
Small Church Appreciation
By Janice Young
Jim Bakker died earlier this week. I’d completely forgotten about him and his ex-wife, the late Tammy Faye. In the 1970s and ‘80s, they were bona fide celebrities. Their televangelical ministry, PTL (Praise the Lord) Satellite Network, made millions of dollars through their Christian TV programming, and their Heritage USA theme park in Fort Mill, S.C., was the third most successful in the country. It all came crashing down in the late ‘80s amid fraud and sex scandals, leading to jail time and divorce for Bakker.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall — which is why I appreciate small churches. They’re not flashy, and they’re not trying to sell you anything. They’re simply grassroots and genuine. They are true communities of faith, where members are like family and congregants are active participants in the ministry, not just observers — where if one stumbles, others are ready with a steadying hand. That’s why their success stories are so much sweeter. Broadview’s current issue is devoted to small churches. Their value is beautifully expressed by journalist Julie McGonegal, whose article opens with: “I found my church community in a storefront. It wasn’t much to look at, merely an unassuming space with folding chairs and a kitchenette. But it held something rare: a place where, without fanfare or sign-up sheets, you could arrive tired — that particular tired unique to raising small humans — and simply be folded in.” You can read her full story, published online as What Small Churches Know, here. While there continue to be Christian media empires, evangelical celebrities and megachurches reaching millions — and making millions — every day, I would argue that small churches make a more significant impact on the communities around them. Let Me Know: What’s the best thing about your small church? Let me know what yours does best, and your praise might be shared in the next newsletter. Email me: j.young@broadview.org. LETTERS: In the last newsletter, I asked how you would mark National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. As these two responses show, there are big and small ways to be supportive, to be present and to honour the children and generations lost to colonialism. As perhaps only a small gesture, I plan to wear my orange shirt on both Sunday (to church) and Wednesday for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. I will likely also reflect on the story by a woman I know about her grandmother’s experience at a residential school and how that impacted her life and, in turn, the lives of her children and grandchildren. —Jim Kells, Saskatoon Here at St. Andrew’s United Church in Lacombe, Alta., the Living into Right Relations group will be leading the service on Sept. 27, remembering the children who attended the nearby Red Deer Indian Industrial School (1893-1919), run by our Methodist ancestors. One of those children was Ellen Hart, and her wooden headboard grave marker is preserved in the Red Deer Museum. Ellen was one of eight children who came from Nelson House, Man., one of three who died at the school. Beginning Sept. 29 at noon, as a member of the Lacombe & Area ReconciliAction Coalition, I will be co-hosting a weekly watch party of the six Lunch and Learn webinars produced by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. The Chinook Winds and Northern Spirit Inter-Region Being Good Relations Network is planning a gathering Nov. 6-7 with Dr. Fraser and Treaty 6 residential school support workers, about recognizing and responding to residential school denialism. It will be held at Sunnybrook United Church in Red Deer. I have had many Elders tell me “we must never give up” taking steps on the journey of truth and reconciliation (especially when the backwards ones happen). Thank you, Broadview, for your excellent coverage of the journey. —Rev. Cecile Fausak, Lacombe, Alta.
Christians on the Referendum
Referendum signs for and against separation mark the physical and political landscape in Calgary. (Photo by Josiah Neufeld)
As the country counts down to the Oct. 19th Alberta referendum on staying in Canada or going forward alone, journalist Josiah Neufeld talks to Christians on both sides of the issue about where their faith leads them.
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