Paper 7: The New Alberta Dollar

A nation's currency is the foundation of cooperation and trust. The most common way a nation fails is by issuing too much government debt, which leads to inflation and a lowering quality of life (as we see currently in Canada) 

To protect against excess government debt, we are launching the Alberta Dollar ($AD).

The current Canadian Dollar is managed by the Bank of Canada to serve the political needs of the federal government. Quantitative easing during 2020 to 2022 expanded the money supply by historic amounts . During this time I asked the Minister of Finance what impact she thought low interest rates would have on housing affordability and she was baffled - "I don't know if there is a correlation" is all she said. Inflation followed. Real wages fell. The currency lost purchasing power against the US dollar and against gold. 

An independent Alberta needs a currency designed to be impenetrable to debasement.

Fixed Supply

To avoid failing as western nations have before us, we are setting $AD to a fixed supply at $84 billion. The value is chosen to facilitate a stable transition to $AD as described in the following sections. No more $AD will ever be created. A fixed supply means no government can inflate the currency; even as the founders of $AD pass away, the map of the world as we know is redrawn, the country and currency we are building in Alberta will remain stable.

The $AD protocol is open source, for maximum trust. Anyone can audit the code, verify the supply, and confirm that the rules are being followed.

$AD is also private by design. No authority can infringe on privacy or see what you are spending your money on.

Issuance: Founding Members

$AD is distributed before independence, beginning with founding members. Issuance proceeds in tranches, with early believers being rewarded for their conviction; the price of entry rises as the chance of forming government de-risks.

Founding tranches of $AD

The founding member program distributes 5 percent of total supply and raises approximately $227 million CAD to fund the independence effort.

Founding Issuance

Founding tranches will be granted first-come first-serve, based on when eligible Albertans indicate their interest on AlbertaPapers.com

Additional Issuance: Public and Institutional

Ahead of forming government, two further issuance channels are available:

Public Offering

Up to an additional 2 percent of $AD may be issued to early supporters at a rate based on the market. 

Public offerings exist so that supporters can get in before the election victory. Every Albertan who believes in a free Alberta has the chance to buy below par and benefit from their early support the same way founding members do. The earlier the conviction, the greater the reward. Terms of each tranche are published in advance.

Institutional Sales

$AD may be sold to institutions to raise operating capital. This can not exceed 5 percent of total supply before a government is formed.

Together, founder offerings, public offerings, and institutional sales will make up no more than 12 percent of total $AD before government formation. The remaining 88 percent is held in reserve for the treasury of the new country.

Use of Funds

Funds raised through $AD issuance build companies that advance a Free Alberta. We are building an economy and a community. Each company advances the mission that makes a Free Alberta viable and inevitable: infrastructure, media, financial rails, and enterprises. The community benefits financially as more people join. A larger community signals genuine buy-in to independence. That signal increases the likelihood that $AD becomes the official currency of a Free Alberta. 

We are not a political party. We may choose to create one if that proves the most effective form to achieve a free Alberta operating on the Alberta Dollar - but the party would be an instrument of the mission, not the mission itself.

Transition to $AD: 1:1 on Election Victory

Upon an independent Alberta forming government, we commit to buying back $AD at 1:1 with the Canadian dollar and The Alberta Dollar is introduced as a payment option for people receiving money from the government (i.e., teachers, nurses). We will use a conversion window equal to the shorter of 1-year, or up to the time required to fully circulate $AD from government expenses, in which the government will recognize any request of $AD to $CAD at a 1:1 rate. During the conversion window we anticipate citizens to opt into receiving $AD with expectation of appreciation, which will shorten the window itself. After the conversion window $AD then finds its own market price against CAD on global financial markets (like Gold or Silver). 

Redemption at 1:1 is backed by government revenues. 

A gradual adoption, with a conversion window, minimizes wealth shock that a free floating conversion rate would create.

Every founding member, public purchaser, and institution that bought below par realizes the difference. The people who funded independence are the people who profit from it. This is the alignment mechanism: the currency's early holders are the movement's early builders and are rewarded for their effort.

Price Discovery

Ahead of the election, $AD may be traded openly on crypto exchanges. The market prices the probability and value of Alberta independence in real time. Holders are not locked in; skeptics can exit, believers can accumulate. An openly traded $AD is also a running referendum. A visible, liquid signal of confidence in the project that no poll can match.

The businesses built with $AD funds give $AD a floor, even before independence is won. For example, a media company built with $AD funds is an asset that stands behind the currency. Its value supports $AD, even before independence. 

Voting rights

$AD will also carry voting rights in an independent Alberta.

All citizens holding a minimum threshold of $AD will be entitled to one vote, in Alberta. This means people invested in the future of the country shape it. 

Voting is intentionally set to one vote per person, rather than per $AD, so that voting power is not concentrated by wealth. 

The stake required to vote is set high enough that voters are genuinely invested, and low enough that participation stays broad. The threshold will be set at implementation. It can be met by holding $AD directly or by holding $AD and land in Alberta that combined are in excess of the voting value threshold. 

A single piece of land can generate up to one vote, no matter how many names are on it. A family of three holds one vote if all property sits in one name. It holds three if each member directly owns a qualifying stake in land or $AD. 

Voting is restricted to Alberta. Outside influence is kept out. Eligibility, residency, birthright, and any future extension to allied prairie provinces, will be set at implementation. The mechanisms that verify identity and enforce these rules will be built to be secure.

Digital Infrastructure and Privacy

The $AD is digitally native and open source. Most transactions clear on open infrastructure auditable by anyone, but without personally identifiable data for the merchant or buyer. You can think of it as tractions, but without names. Privacy is built in. Transactions use zero knowledge proofs that allow validity to be verified without seeing transaction content. The network knows that valid currency moves between valid parties. The state does not see what was bought, by whom, from whom. The government has no back door into the ledger. The current Canadian approach of building back doors and routine surveillance is rejected.

Physical cash is also issued in denominations from $1 to $1000, once government is formed. Cash is legal tender for all debts public and private. No business or government agency may refuse cash for in person transactions. Cash usage is private by default. The state does not track cash movements between citizens. Cash is preserved deliberately. The trend in other Western central banks is to eliminate cash. New Alberta moves in the opposite direction.

Governance

There is no central bank. The currency supply is entirely auditable, like gold.

Long-term rate

The Alberta Dollar trades freely against major currencies. Inflation is structurally impossible on the supply side. Real wages grow. Savings retain purchasing power. The currency is one of the most disciplined and trusted in the world.

In Paper 8 we discuss the legal structures for operation.