OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Mark Carney is using Thanksgiving Monday to deliver a direct message to Alberta voters: choose unity and prosperity.
With one week to go before a consequential referendum on Alberta’s future in Canada, Carney is making one of his strongest appeals yet for the province to remain part of the country.
In a video message released to social media Monday morning, the prime minister says Canada is facing growing threats in a changing world.
“You can’t build big things on fault lines. And we should recognize that the world has changed. Canada is facing real threats to our economy, to our security, to our way of life,” Carney says.
“We have to be strong and we are stronger together,” he adds. “Generations of Albertans helped build this country. It’s yours, it’s ours, and it’s worth fighting for.”
The remarks are some of Carney’s most direct comments yet on the Oct. 19 referendum.
Until now, the prime minister has largely focused on policy changes aimed at addressing longstanding Alberta grievances with Ottawa and the government of former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Those changes include scrapping the Trudeau-era consumer carbon tax, backing a pipeline to the West Coast and moving to address environmental regulations that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has blamed for discouraging investment and costing jobs.
“He’s changed aspects of his economic policy, his climate policy… all of those things that Danielle Smith used to complain about,” says Lori Turnbull, a political science professor at Dalhousie University.
She adds, “Carney has dealt with those things, even as others, including within his party, have raised questions about his commitment to climate goals.”
Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney echoed the economic message in an interview with CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos on Sunday.
Kenney says he is urging Albertans to “lean into the momentum of these new pipelines, new LNG, new investment that’s happening, and a federal government that finally seems to be listening to Alberta.”
‘Viable alternative’
Next week, Albertans will vote on 10 referendum questions, some constitutional and others not.
The 10th question is drawing the most attention. It asks whether voters support Alberta remaining a province of Canada or would prefer to hold a referendum on separation.
Polling suggests most Albertans would choose to stay in Canada. But there are concerns that so-called “frustrated federalists” or “soft separatists” — voters who do not necessarily want independence but want to send Ottawa a message about how the province’s concerns have been treated — could influence the outcome.
Thomas Lukaszuk, Alberta’s former deputy premier and head of the pro-unity Forever Canadian campaign, rejects the idea that a referendum is needed to deliver that message.
He says Ottawa has already heard Alberta’s concerns, pointing to the national attention the Alberta issues have received, Carney’s increased presence in the province and recent co-operation between Alberta, other provinces and the federal government.
“The fact that we are discussing this issue on national news,” Lukaszuk says, “the fact that the prime minister is spending more time in Alberta than any previous prime minister probably within our lifetimes, and some great achievements are being right now garnered by Alberta collaboratively with other provinces and with Ottawa.”
“So that is the last thing we want to do is jeopardize that particular relationship,” he says.
But Alberta separatists say it would be more advantageous for the province to choose the second option, which would pursue a referendum on separation.
“I would think that after we win a majority vote on option two on Oct. 19, that Ottawa is basically put on notice that Albertans have an actual credible, viable alternative, which we’ve never had before,” says Tanya Clemens, co-chair of Let Alberta Decide.
“We will have an option on the table, and that should compel them to come with a very serious offer of wanting us to remain within Confederation,” she says.
With just seven days left before the referendum, CTV News has learned that Carney will be in Alberta this week.
As will Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who announced Friday that he would deliver his own speech on Canadian unity at a conference hosted by the Canada Strong and Free Network on Oct. 16.
