It doesn’t get much more Canadian than an ice hockey watch party at a sports bar in Olds, a small town in the middle of rural Alberta that could not be further from the political elites who run the country from the Far East.

Cam Davies, the leader of the recently renamed Republican Party of Alberta, slaps backs and shakes hands as he signs up new supporters for the cause of independence, even among those keeping one eye on the biggest game of the season.

“Alberta has a very different mindset. We are a unique culture, farming, ranching, oil and gas sector, mining, forestry,” he says, sipping on a Diet Pepsi and explaining why the province is different to the rest of Canada.

“The people who settled Alberta at the turn of the century left the safety and security of downtown Montreal and Toronto embracing literally nothing. They embraced the risk. They embraced the opportunity in pursuit of freedom and a better life for their families.”

‘I’d like to toast that man’

The province has long felt unfairly treated by leaders in the capital Ottawa. Its oil and gas fields make it a key contributor to the national economy but those industries have chafed against new environmental regulations.

Now, the Republican Party of Alberta, buoyed by Nigel Farage’s success at breaking through an older party’s monopoly on rightwing voters, is pursuing its goal of splitting from Canada with renewed enthusiasm.

Hopes of a more friendly government were dashed in April when the Liberal Party came from behind to win its fourth general election in a row.

But Mark Carney’s arrival as prime minister triggered a surge in interest in independence as the only way to improve Alberta’s prosperity. The Liberal leader may have done more than any other politician in recent history to promote the cause runs the local joke. “I’d like to toast that man,” says Miles Myers, who is Mr Davies’ campaign manager.

The separatists face their first test on Monday when voters go to the polls in a provincial by-election.

‘So focused on woke ideologies’

Mr Davies is running to represent the riding of Olds-Didsbury-Hills (an area the size of Belgium, he says) in the Alberta legislature.

He is an unlikely standard bearer for an independent Alberta at a time when tensions with the US are running high over Donald Trump’s plan to make Canada his 51st state. The 34-year-old politician is a joint US-Canadian citizen, and he spent four years in the US Marines.

He says he and his friends looked at joining the Canadian army. “Under Justin Trudeau, they were, they were so focused on woke ideologies, gender quotas, tampons in the men’s room,” he says.

‘We have the same problem in Canada as the UK’

After four years of service, he is now a full-time politician. Earlier this year he left the United Conservative Party, which runs Alberta, to join the Republicans, which had recently changed its name from the Buffalo Party.

Victory here, he explains, would be the first step towards a referendum on breaking away, much like the UK’s Brexit vote.

“We have the same problem in Canada as the UK had with a bunch of brainless socialists and spineless conservatives,” he said. “What we want to make sure happens is that we have a successful referendum, and there’s no five years of foot-dragging like what it took for Brexit. Rip the Band Aid off, get it done.”

Behind him, the big TV screens show the Edmonton Oilers (about two hours up the road) going two early goals down in their Stanley Cup final game against the Florida Panthers.

‘We are being taxed to death’

The atmosphere in the bar is muted, in part because this is Calgary Flame territory (an hour down the road), explains Richard Lefaivre, who has one eye on the action.

He has signed up Mr Davies’ campaign and bought a $20 hat, emblazoned with a map of Alberta and an “R” for Republicans.

“We work hard and we are being taxed to death,” he said.

One of the key issues in the general election was a cost of living crisis that has sent house prices spiralling beyond the reach of young people.

Pierre Polievre, the Conservative leader, presented himself as the candidate of change but eventually lost to Mr Carney, who it turned out was just enough of a change from his Liberal predecessor Mr Trudeau to eke out a narrow victory.

Danielle Smith, Alberta’s premier, is pushing Ottawa for legislative reform and infrastructure projects, such as an oil pipeline, to boost the province’s economy and mute calls for separatism.

‘Give Mark Carney a chance’

She has offered a referendum if a petition gathers enough support.

But Mr Davis and his supporters say she has not gone far enough and is giving Mr Carney too much credit.

“You have a Conservative government here in Alberta that wants to give Mark Carney a chance,” he said. “And my message to folks is Mark Carney wrote the book on how to be a socialist. Trudeau just read it.”

The hated Mr Trudeau may have been dumped out of power, runs the argument, but his replacement is much cleverer and much more dangerous.

Their argument faces an uphill battle. Analysts suggest Ms Smith’s United Conservative Party is the favorite to win the seat.

‘Our voters are enthusiastic’

For Mr Davies, the campaign is about demonstrating a growing movement.

“We started at zero,” he says. “What I can tell you is that our voters are enthusiastic.”

Even if they are not always totally on the same page.

“I’m hoping Carney says something about us becoming the 51st state,” Sue Carney, who describes herself as a farm wife, says with a broad smile in contrast to the anxious grimaces she triggers among the party officials at the table beside her.

“Anything is better than what we have got.”