International law gives Alberta a right to self-determination that lets it secede.
Claimed by: Commonly stated by Alberta independence advocates
False: False as written according to the settled evidence. How we rate.
Summary
The Supreme Court addressed this directly in the 1998 Secession Reference. It held that the international-law right to self-determination is normally exercised inside an existing state (internal self-determination), and that a right to break away (external self-determination) arises only for peoples under colonial rule, foreign occupation, or denial of meaningful participation in government. The Court found those conditions plainly did not apply to Quebec, and the same reasoning applies to Alberta, which is fully represented in Canadian institutions. So international law does not supply a right to secede here.
Evidence
The Court held a right to external self-determination arises only for colonial or oppressed peoples, or those denied meaningful access to government, and that such circumstances are manifestly inapplicable.
Supreme Court of Canada, Reference re Secession of Quebec (1998)
International law does not grant component parts of sovereign states a right to secede unilaterally; peoples are expected to achieve self-determination within their existing state.