Carney warns that push for Alberta separatism referendum could be 'dangerous bluff'

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney warned that Alberta separatists who think a referendum will provide the province more leverage are risking a “very dangerous bluff” and argued that it is “not helpful” to ask people to vote over secession.

Speaking to reporters from a residential construction site in Ottawa, Carney had a stark warning for Albertans ahead of Smith’s referendum question on provincial sovereignty in the fall: be wary of what you’re voting for.

“It is often advanced that ‘vote for this, and it’s a free option’, ‘vote for this, and we will strengthen your hand in future negotiation.’ That is a very dangerous bluff,” Carney said.

“I saw firsthand what happened in the United Kingdom when the view was, ‘vote for this, it will be soft, and then we’ll negotiate, etc.’,” Carney said of the U.K.’s Brexit vote to leave the European Union. “They’re still, 10 years later, trying to undo what people didn’t think they were voting for, but what they ended up having.”

Last week, Smith revealed that she would be putting a separatism question to Albertans via a referendum on October 19th.

The question on the ballot will read: “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?”

The question “does not trigger separation” but, if it passes, would trigger the legal process for a binding referendum on separatism if the vote passes, she argued. She added that she would be voting for Alberta to remain in Canada.

Smith said she was putting the first question on separatism in the province’s history to Albertans to avoid “kicking the can down the road” on the issue.

But Carney countered Monday that the move is in fact “not helpful” as he and Smith work to improve political and economic ties between the federal government and Alberta.

When asked if he had recommended against putting the question to a referendum during a recent meeting with Smith, Carney responded that “the premier doesn’t always take my advice.”

The prime minister also pointed to the fact that nobody in Alberta knew they were casting a vote for an eventual referendum on separatism during the last provincial election.

“Is it helpful to ask these fundamental questions? No, it’s not helpful, of course it’s not. Is it the democratic will of Albertans? Did they vote for this in the last provincial election? No, they didn’t,” the prime minister said.

“It wasn’t on the ballot paper, wasn’t in the mandates of or platforms of the governing party and the official opposition. It is what it is.”

Carney confirmed that he would be “certainly” be campaigning for Alberta to remain in Canada leading up to the October vote. He also noted that Parliament would be taking a look at an eventual referendum question to ensure it conforms with the obligations under the Clarity Act.

National Post

cnardi@postmedia.com

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