The Cons thought they could coast on anti-Liberal sentiment, but it was a perfect storm of Trump opening his trap and the collapse the NDP that sealed the deal. Again I must stress that you should never underestimate the stupidity and laziness of Canadians. Most aren't going to bother looking beyond the surface or asking questions because our culture frowns on the notion that we are no better (if not worse) than the Americans.
I've pretty much embraced separatism as an Albertan, largely because I don't see Ottawa changing its attitude unless forced with an existential threat. The feathers can squawk all they want about treaty lands and all that, but they don't have the force of arms to impose their will. Canada let the armed forces degrade to the point where they couldn't even hold Prince Edward Island, the United Nations sits on the sidelines whenever there's a genocide so no one is coming to help them. Should there be a successful referendum (and that is a big "if"), they will have to sit at the table and recognize that they are in a poor bargaining position. They are only "sovereign" at the government's discretion, it would be a completely different situation when whitey stops feeling guilting over what happened nearly 150 years ago.