I always find it so interesting how little the topic of Californian independence comes up online. You would think there would at least be a decent amount of organic content around that, never mind external interference.
1) we're a genealogically different ethnic group from the rest of the country
2) we're better than the major ethnic group of the rest of the country
Both bits are absolutely essential. I can't recall a single instance of a separatist movement based on purely political differences gaining serious ground, Alberta included.
Again, I don't consider de-colonization movements to be separatism. A rough criteria would be that you must be physically contiguous to the state that you're trying to separate from.
Also heed my second criteria: a people who perceive themselves to be inferior to the majority group will never, ever develop ambitions of separatism. It usually goes like: "we're better than these other guys but they keep us under their thumbs, hence we want our own country."