Canada

This is not entirely unlikely. And I would not prima facie be against this approach.

Except for the fact that the common people don't get nuance like this, and it just makes the division infinitely worse. The rest of Canada is going to consider Alberta to be traitors, and the part of Alberta that are traitors are going to get fired up with false hope, further stoking their hatred when they are inevitably let down.

Maybe this is the only way to get east west pipelines. Maybe there are pieces in place behind the scenes. Unfortunately I think it's unlikely to be this sophisticated, because Smith doesn't come across to me as a sophisticated thinker. I'm inclined to think the simpler explanation is that Smith is self serving and we really have rural Albertans who have grown up knowing nothing but hatred for eastern liberals, and they've been sold a bill of goods that they don't question and wouldn't understand if they did.