An independent Alberta would have to build its own military from scratch.
Claimed by: Raised in debates over an independent Alberta's viability
True: True as written according to the settled evidence. How we rate.
Summary
The Canadian Armed Forces are a federal institution, so a province that left Canada would not automatically take over a national military. An independent Alberta could inherit physical bases on its territory such as those at Edmonton, Cold Lake and Suffield through negotiation, but it would still need to recruit, train, equip and fund its own armed forces and air defence, and it would lose the protection of NATO's collective defence as a non-member. Analysts who have reviewed separatist defence costings find the proposed budgets far too low to stand up and sustain a credible force. Building a military is one of the larger and more expensive tasks a new Alberta state would face.
Evidence
Once separation took effect Alberta would no longer be under NATO's Article 5 collective defence, and reviewers find the proposed initial and ongoing defence budgets inadequate for a credible force.
An independent Alberta would have to establish or replace federal institutions and services it currently shares as part of Canada.