If the province of Alberta was to become a separate country from Canada, it would be the only landlocked nation in North America.

If Alberta was to become its own landlocked nation.

I hear, on CBC Radio, that some folks in Alberta want to leave Canada and possibly form an independent country. Others would want to join USA. I assume most Albertans would still want to remain in Canada.

It seems extra stupid to try and become independent without being swallowed, inevitably, by USA. Alberta would become the only landlocked nation in the North American continent. It would be like Mongolia; sandwiched between its two larger neighbors of Russia and China.

The Mongolia of North America?

Sending more Albertan oil to world markets is one motivation, but the pipelines from that landlocked land would still have to go through either Canada or USA. It might be more likely through USA, if Keystone Pipeline construction were restarted. That cancelled pipeline would have brought Canadian crude south toward the US Gulf ports. Trump probably wants to restart it.

Another pipeline, which would still have to go across Canada, seems unlikely.

Canada recently added capacity to its pipeline headed from Alberta to Vancouver, BC ports. Its the Transmountain Pipeline. A branch of that pipeline also serves oil refineries here in northwest Washington State, USA. That branch has been around for years. I know about these things due to my interest in geography.