‘I believe in Alberta’: Jann Arden stands by anti-separatist rant on ‘The Assembly’

TORONTO – Jann Arden says she stands by a fiery social media video she made earlier this year ripping into Alberta separatists.

The Calgary-based pop singer opened up to a group of interviewers for the upcoming CBC series “The Assembly,” saying that despite backlash, she doesn’t regret pushing back against the “very fringe group that wants to break up a brilliant country.”

In May, the Juno-winning musician made an expletive-fuelled TikTok post where she called Alberta separatists “wackos” and “an embarrassment to this country.”

Her choice words were brought up while she appeared as a guest on “The Assembly,” a CBC show adapted from a French TV program where notable public figures agree to face probing questions from a group of autistic adults.

Asked by one interviewer if she regrets her post, she stood her ground.

“I think you get to a certain age where you do have to stand up for what you believe in,” the 63-year-old performer said in an advance copy of the episode provided to the media.

“I believe in Alberta being much better as part of Canada, one of the best countries in the world to live in.”

“We have issues that we need to sort out, but we need to do that together,” she added.

Arden mentioned that she received “low-key death threats” after her post, with individuals trying to intimidate her by saying they knew where she lived.

“I don’t mind the hatred. It doesn’t really bother me,” she said.

“The Assembly” premieres Nov. 6 on CBC with a Howie Mandel interview, while Arden’s appearance airs on Nov. 13.  The episodes were shot over the summer in Vancouver.

The “Good Mother” singer is asked an array of other questions in the episode, including which animal she would shape-shift into, her memory of being robbed as a young busker, and about her freshly formed romantic relationship with Icelandic author and activist Thordis Elva.

She is also asked how she feels about her older brother being found guilty of murder.

Duray Richards was convicted in the 1992 of killing Carrie Louise Marshall, a mother from Creston, B.C., who was raped and beaten and found dead in the bush. 

Richards had a history of violence against women, but has maintained he did not kill Marshall. He was granted parole in 2019 to visit his younger sister and brother, and Arden says he now lives in a halfway house.

One interviewer wanted to know if Arden thinks he committed the crime.

“I don’t believe I can make any kind of a judgment on what did or did not happen. I think I would be foolish to try,” she responded.

“Obviously, (it’s) very heartbreaking to have a sibling that spent 28 years in prison for first degree murder,” she added. “It was like a wrecking ball that went through our family.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2025.