Rallies across Alberta found divided political figures uniting ahead of a referendum vote that could lead to a dramatic reshaping of Canada.
“This is not a game.”
As part of President Donald Trump’s Donroe Doctrine, reasserting American dominance of the Western Hemisphere, his administration has been working to correct imbalances in trade with Canada. Numerous remarks about the Great White North becoming the 51st state could, in part, bring it one step closer to a reality, prompting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to a series of last-minute pitches against Alberta’s bid to separate from its sister provinces.
“Don’t let anyone tell you this is already decided. Turnout will determine the outcome,” Carney said while addressing a crowd in his childhood home city of Edmonton. “This is not a game. This is not poker. A vote against Canada is a dangerous bluff that will lead to years of deep uncertainty and lost opportunities for Albertans and Canadians.”
His appeal to voters comes ahead of a vote scheduled for Monday, October 19, set to determine if the province will begin the legal process toward its separation.
At another event held in Red Deer, Alberta, on Friday, Carney was joined by United Conservative Party leader and Premier of Alberta Marlaina Danielle Smith, in opposing the referendum.
“I think what we can agree on is that we have had some real change in the last 18 months,” said Smith, responsible for calling the referendum in the first place.
It also includes nine other questions the leaders disagree on, including matters of provincial powers, election security, and restricting taxpayer-funded services based on immigration status. Smith is in favor of all but the independence issue, while Carney opposes the lot.
Speaking of Carney, Smith made a point of emphasizing that he grew up in Alberta and is an Edmonton Oilers fan: “He can’t be all bad, right?”
Of course, given ongoing trade disputes with a particular focus on tariffs, it should come as no surprise that Carney leveled shots toward his neighbors, telling one crowd, “Some outside our borders are working to break us so they can own us. Never. Never.”
While in Calgary, he was met with cheers as he promoted the Pacific Link pipeline to add a new route for crude oil between Alberta and British Columbia.
“It will create more than 140,000 jobs. It will reduce our dependence on the United States,” said Carney to raucous applause before offering a dig, “Careful, they might think that’s election interference. They’re a little touchy down there.”
“We’re not,” claimed the politician who’d embraced the “elbows up” campaign that spread across Canada, defending against the suggestion the country be folded into the United States of America.
Should Alberta separate from the rest of Canada, it would take with it the fourth-largest proven oil reserve in the world. Also uniting against the referendum, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre said, “Don’t leave your fellow Canadians behind. Lock arms with them.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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