TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday he’s determined to build a better Canada after the leader of the country’s oil-rich province of Alberta announced a public vote on whether to move toward independence.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Thursday a vote would be held Oct. 19 on whether Alberta should stay in Canada or take legal steps under the Constitution to hold a binding referendum on leaving. That fell short of the wishes of activists who have been seeking an immediate referendum on separating from Canada.
Carney, in his first remarks since Smith’s announcement, said Albertans have made huge contributions to Canada.
“Canada is the greatest country in the world, but it can be better and we are working on making it better. We’re working with Alberta on making it better,” Carney said while touring the Parliament buildings which are under renovation.
Carney noted his government is working on getting a new oil pipeline built from Alberta to Canada’s Pacific coast. Many Albertans have long complained that Ottawa hasn’t done enough to get Alberta’s vast oil reserves to Asian markets.
Smith reiterated Friday that she supports Alberta remaining in Canada. Some have compared her stance to the one of Britain’s then-Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of the Brexit referendum, which he embraced as a way to manage a vocal faction of his ruling party while not wanting the U.K. to leave the European Union.
“I believe Canada is working better everyday and that it can work even better in the future,” Smith said.
“I have seen enough from the directional change that we have with the new prime minister who is prepared to work with us. He is prepared to give Albertans hope again.”
A “yes” vote in a referendum would not trigger independence. Negotiations with the federal government would have to take place.
Ian Brodie, a former chief of staff to ex-Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper and now a political science professor at the University of Calgary, said Smith appears to be proceeding very carefully.
“A vote to see if people even want a vote. It’s a good way to let the swing voters swing against separation,” Brodie said.
Jeff Rath, the lawyer for Stay Free Alberta, the group that collected signatures to try to force a separation referendum, called the move an insult to those seeking independence. Cam Davies, leader of the pro-independence Republican Party of Alberta, agreed and called Smith’s referendum question “spineless.”
Smith said separatists who are upset that a binding vote on quitting Canada has been put off should focus on the fall referendum rather than campaigning to force a review of her job.
Smith said calling a binding referendum this fall just isn’t feasible. Last week, a judge threw out the Stay Free Alberta petition, and Smith promised an appeal.
“With the recent court ruling there is no legal way to hold a binding separation referendum,” Smith said. “It would have been struck down in a matter of weeks.”
Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal, said a possible future referendum is likely to lose as support for separation is slightly less than 30%, but he said campaigns do matter.
Béland noted Smith’s party didn’t run on or mention a referendum in the last provincial election campaign.
Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, criticized Smith’s decision, saying businesses across Canada, including in Alberta, need predictability to invest, particularly when there is an ongoing trade war with the United States.
“Prolonged uncertainty around constitutional or political separation brings real risks for investor confidence, economic growth, and Canada’s global competitiveness at exactly the wrong time,” Laing said in a statement.