Sask., Alberta premiers reject Elon Musk's call for provinces to separate from Canada
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe offered a short, one word response to Musk: "No." Alberta's Danielle Smith also disagrees with Musk's suggestion.
Elon Musk suggested Alberta and Saskatchewan would be better off separating from Canada
Alexander Quon · CBC News
·
Listen to this article
Estimated 2 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
The premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan have rejected a suggestion by one of the world's richest men that the two provinces should separate from Canada.
Musk, a trillionaire tech businessman who was formerly an advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, weighed in on his social media platform Twitter, now known as X.
Musk said Quebec would benefit from independence, as would Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The tech tycoon was responding to a quote from Quebec premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who said the province's independence "will be realized one day."
Premier Scott Moe offered a short, one word response to Musk in his own social media post: "No."
Moe was not available for an interview on Thursday and his office said he had nothing more to add to the post.
According to the Canadian Press, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she also strongly disagrees with Musk's opinion.
The state of play in each province
On Oct. 19, Albertans will head to the polls to decide if the province should stay in Canada or whether there should be a second binding referendum on separation.
Smith has said she plans to vote to stay in Canada in the upcoming provincial referendum.
Moe believes Saskatchewan is stronger within a united Canada, but has previously said he would not stop a plebiscite if Saskatchewanians were able to secure enough signatures to trigger a referendum.
Moe has also enjoyed a much better relationship with Prime Minister Mark Carney than with his predecessor Justin Trudeau.
WATCH | Why Saskatchewan's premier says Trump's potash threats are 'not realistic':
Why Saskatchewan's premier says Trump's potash threats are 'not realistic'
September 22|
Duration
8:40
U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York that his country would stick with Canada as its potash supplier for the time being, while claiming Belarus is offering the U.S. potash at a much lower price. Power & Politics speaks to Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe about whether he thinks it's worth going back to the negotiating table with the Trump administration.Moe has at various times refused to say Trudeau's name even after his departure from federal politiccs.
In Quebec, the sovereigntist Parti Québécois is back in power after a securing enough seats to form a minority government in Monday's provincial election.
Soon-to-be premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has vowed to hold a referendum.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexander Quon is the provincial affairs reporter for CBC Saskatchewan. He has been a reporter with CBC Saskatchewan since 2021 and is happy to be working in his hometown of Regina after half a decade in Atlantic Canada. He has previously worked with the CBC News investigative unit in Nova Scotia and Global News in Halifax. Alexander specializes in freedom of information requests and data reporting. He can be reached at: alexander.quon@cbc.ca.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.