In my youth in the aftermath of the second Quebec referendum, I toyed with the idea of BC independence for about a nanosecond. Mostly from a throwaway line I read in a book I read about the national unity question where the authors stated that the only province that had the economic ability to go it alone was BC. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that BC would go from being a part of one of the wealthiest, most influential countries in the world, to New Zealand. Don’t get me wrong, NZ is great. But their Air Force doesn’t have fighter jets. An independent BC would have to pay for all the trappings of being a state including a credible military, foreign service with embassies, a national security apparatus, etc. These things aren’t cheap. Taxes will have to go up. There goes any economic advantage you thought you had over neighbouring jurisdictions.
As for Alberta and/ or Saskatchewan becoming an economic powerhouse once the chains are broken from Ottawa, I don’t think so. A landlocked country of 4 million people with a single industry dependent on world exports is not ideal. And swapping imperial overlords in Ottawa for imperial overlords in Washington is laughable. Alberta would go from being the wealthiest province in the country with 4 million out of 40 million people to Oklahoma, if the Yanks grace you with statehood which is not guaranteed. You would more likely become a territory like Puerto Rico with no voting rights or representation.
Much of this rhetoric is being boosted by Russia, China and Iran, because this only benefits our enemies.