Good morning everyone.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith kicked off her series of town halls this week, where she is looking for public feedback on concerns about the federal government, receiving strong support for her messaging in Red Deer, but pushback in Edmonton.

The Alberta Next panel, comprised of Smith and 15 others from a variety of fields, took to the stage in Red Deer on Tuesday evening in front of about 450 people looking to air their grievances.

According to a Canadian Press reporter who was at the meeting, the majority of attendees were supportive of Smith and her plans to force Ottawa to take Alberta’s concerns more seriously. They agreed the province should have more control over everything from resource development to old-age pensions to immigration.

“If you ask for permission for freedom, you’re never going to get it. If you declare your freedom, that’s where we can start,” said attendee John Sedore, who added that Ottawa is what stands in the way of Alberta independence.

In Edmonton, perhaps unsurprisingly, some of the sentiments expressed by the approximately 500 attendees were a bit different, although a reporter in attendance said the majority of people there supported many of the policies on the agenda.

“We sound like bratty children,” said Roberta Stasyk, speaking of her frustration with the series of grievances Alberta often has for Ottawa.

Smith, who has been advocating for a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada, has not spoken out forcefully in favour of keeping the country together, according to her critics, including newly sworn-in MLA and NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi.

Nenshi, who will finally get his chance to match wits with the Premier in the legislature this fall, announced the NDP would be holding their own town halls starting next month, called Better Together. On social media, the party described the series as “a movement that brings Albertans together, strengthens our communities, and defends against Danielle Smith’s separatist agenda.”

At the Premier’s meeting in Red Deer, a number of issues were clearly crowd favourites, including old standards like withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan and creating a provincial police force to replace the RCMP.

The topic of separation and a potential referendum were, of course, raised numerous times, with many voicing their support, and a handful wary of what it would ultimately cost the province. There was also a fair share of other issues raised by the crowd that are further afield from the Premier’s agenda and tread closer to conspiracy theories, including how carbon dioxide should be labelled a pollutant and concerns about the power of the World Health Organization.

The province will host another eight Alberta Next panels between now and the end of September.

This is the weekly Alberta newsletter written by Alberta Bureau Chief Mark Iype. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.