Carney Says Alberta Is ‘Essential’ to Canada After Separation Vote Announcement

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney championed the important contributions from Alberta a day after it was announced the province will a hold referendum on whether to remain in Canada.

“Canada is working. We’re working in a spirit of cooperative federalism to make the country better. We’re renovating the country as we go, and Alberta being at the center of that is essential,” Carney said Friday on Parliament Hill, where renovations are ongoing.

“Canada is the greatest country in the world, ​but it can be better… we’re working ​with Alberta on making it better,” he added, celebrating the “huge contributions of Albertans to this country in the past, in the present, in the future.”

Carney’s remarks echoed those made by Canadian Minister of Internal Trade, Dominic LeBlanc, shortly after the vote announcement on Thursday.

“Canada’s government strongly believes that the interests of Albertans and all Canadians are best served when we work together” LeBlanc had stressed, noting that the government remains “focused on building a stronger Canada for all, in full partnership with Alberta and to the benefit of all Albertans and all Canadians.”

Carney and his government’s promotion of unity comes against a backdrop of global geopolitical tensions, a tense tariff dispute with the U.S., and President Donald Trump’s repeated mentions of his desire to annex Canada.

Voters in the oil-rich province of Alberta are set to head to the polls in October to decide on whether a second binding vote on separation should take place.

Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith announced the decision on Thursday after a citizen-led petition calling for separation received over 300,000 signatures earlier this month, far surpassing the 177,732 threshold. 

A referendum already scheduled for Oct. 19, set to include immigration and constitutional questions, will now include the question: “Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?”

“It’s time to have a vote, understand the will of Albertans on this subject, and move on,” said Smith in a filmed address.

Smith assured voters of the 5 million-strong province that the “government will respect the outcome and direction received on all of the referendum questions being voted on.”

She did, however, add that her own personal vote will be for Alberta to remain in Canada, citing her hope to “work each and every day to restore and strengthen provincial rights under the Canadian constitution.”

Separatists have been campaigning for a vote in Alberta for many months, but met a roadblock last week when a judge ruled to halt the referendum petition in favor of a bid put forward by indigenous First Nations groups, who said they were not properly consulted.

Smith referred to the court decision as “troubling” and vowed to appeal the decision.

“It is unlikely the courts will permit Elections Alberta to hold a binding provincial referendum on separation until this incorrect ruling is overturned or clarified,” Smith said, offering the vote in October as a way to move forward and ensure people’s voices are heard.

Despite the volume of signatures gained in support of an independence referendum, a separate petition organized by Forever Canadian has received over 400,000 signatures in favor of Alberta remaining part of Canada. 

Citing both petitions, Smith said that she “will not have a legal mistake by a single judge silence the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans” and insisted “Alberta’s future will be decided by Albertans, not the courts.”

Some First Nation groups, many of whom welcomed the ruling to block the independence petition, responded with disappointment to Smith’s announcement. 

Andrew Knack, the Mayor of Edmonton, Alberta’s capital, vowed to fight against any separation efforts.