Assets of Alberta separatist leader frozen in dispute with First Nation

EDMONTON — An Alberta court has temporarily frozen up to $8.5 million in assets held by one of the province’s most recognizable separatist leaders.

Justice Michael Marion granted an interim injunction last week preventing Jeffrey Rath and his law firm from transferring the assets until a Wednesday hearing.

It’s part of an ongoing legal battle between the Tallcree First Nation and Rath, the First Nation’s former lawyer, over control of a multimillion-dollar trust fund established in 2017.

Tallcree Chief Rupert Meneen alleges in a legal brief that there’s evidence Rath misappropriated about $6.4 million from the trust “in excessive and improperly taken fees which he concealed from the Nation and its beneficiaries.”

“The nation does not know where the funds are currently located,” says the application, filed June 24.

Marion wrote in the order that there are reasonable grounds to believe the assets would be “dissipated or removed” before the case is decided in court.

In a June 25 court filing, Rath says his fees were allowed under terms of the trust agreement approved by a majority of Tallcree members.

“The trust has been subjected to years of litigation and expense caused by Mr. Meneen including another application to remove the trustee which was refused by the beneficiaries and monitored by the court,” Rath wrote.

After Tallcree took the issue to court, Rath was ordered to pay back $8.5 million of the $11.5 million he had initially charged to act as trustee.

The chief’s application says Rath’s law firm charged more than $6 million in “unexplained and unexplainable charges” the same fiscal year, 2024, that the court ordered the $8.5 million be returned.

It also says recent financial reporting supports “an inference that he repaid the trust with its own money.”

The trust fund was estimated in 2025 to be worth almost $15 million, according to court documents.

It was established to hold and distribute about $57 million from a settlement between the northern Alberta First Nation and the federal government over agricultural benefits under Treaty 8.

The court order means Rath can’t spend more than $10,000 on living expenses and $100,000 on legal fees.

Rath declined to comment Tuesday, as the matter is still before the courts.

The allegations have been not been proven in court.

Rath forged a reputation representing First Nations, winning multiple court claims against the federal government, including for Tallcree.

For more than a year, he has been a prominent face of the Alberta separatist movement, drawing the ire of First Nations who opposed a succession referendum in the province.

A vocal advocate for independence, Rath represented the Stay Free Alberta group in court. Last month, an Alberta Court of Appeal judge ruled signatures on the group’s separatist petition calling for a referendum could be counted and verified by the province’s elections agency.

Previously, a judge ruled the petition shouldn’t have been issued and that the Alberta government neglected its duty to consult.

Before the issue could be settled, Premier Danielle Smith announced a referendum question on the issue.

The Oct. 19 referendum will ask Albertans whether or not they want to remain in Canada or to begin the process for a binding, second referendum on quitting the country.

Rath made headlines when he got a standing ovation last year at the United Conservative Party’s annual general meeting, after asking thousands of members if they were in favour of an independent Alberta.

The freezing of Rath’s assets prompted Opposition NDP whip Kathleen Ganley to demand Smith throw Rath out of the UCP for what Ganley called his outsized influence on government policy.

“The allegations, if they’re true, are extremely problematic,” Ganley told reporters in Calgary.

“The money that he has allegedly appropriated is money that belongs to the First Nation and, in particular, that belongs to the minors living on the First Nation.”

The UCP said in a statement that it doesn’t confirm who’s a current member. It also declined to comment on the case as it’s still before the courts.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2026.

— With files from Bill Graveland in Calgary

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press