Carney warns Alberta independence vote from Canada could echo Brexit as a ‘dangerous bluff’
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday likened Alberta’s vote on whether to move towards independence to Brexit, calling it a potential “dangerous bluff.”
Danielle Smith, premier of Canada’s oil-rich province of Alberta, said last week there would be a vote on Oct. 19 on whether Alberta should remain in Canada or take legal steps under the Constitution to hold a binding referendum on secession.
Carney drew on his Brexit experience in his comments. Carney was governor of the Bank of England in 2016, when Britain voted to leave the European Union, and helped navigate the central bank through that process.
“I saw firsthand what happened in the UK when this view emerged: ‘Vote for this, it’ll be soft, then we’ll negotiate, etc.'” Carney said. he said. “10 years later they’re still trying to take back what people didn’t think they voted for but ended up getting.”
Smith’s party did not participate in or mention the referendum during the last state election campaign.
Carney said voting doesn’t work when trying to attract investment to Canada. He argued that this was undemocratic.
“The democratic will of Albertans? That’s what they voted for in the last provincial election? No, they didn’t. It wasn’t on the ballot,” Carney said.
Smith said he supports keeping Alberta in Canada. Some compared his stance to that of Britain’s then-Prime Minister David Cameron before the Brexit referendum; Cameron had embraced this as a way of managing a vocal faction of the ruling party while not wanting Britain to leave the European Union.
Carney is trying to build a new oil pipeline from Alberta to Canada’s Pacific coast. Many Albertans have long complained that Ottawa is not doing enough to deliver Alberta’s vast oil reserves to Asian markets.
“We have to be very careful about this. There is a very strong positive for Canada, a strong Alberta in a united Canada,” Carney said. “I look forward to making this available to many other Albertans and Canadians over the next 150 days.”
Responding to Carney’s comments on Monday, Smith said secession is an issue only Albertans can decide.
“Albertans’ frustrations have been fueled by Ottawa’s disastrous policies under Justin Trudeau over the last 10 years,” Smith said in a statement from his office, referring to the previous prime minister.
“I would also like to remind all Canadians that we should not ignore the legitimate grievances of Albertans. Instead, we should focus on solving these problems, restoring hope in Canada, and showing that our country can and does work.”
