Mark Carney makes case against Alberta separatism to his boomer base

RED DEER, Alta. — Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday made his final plea to Albertans to vote against separating from Canada, part of his ongoing tour of the province aimed at swaying public opinion just days before Monday’s independence referendum.

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At a brief stop in Red Deer, Alta., Carney told a gathering of supporters that the country must remain united at a time when it faces “threats to our sovereignty,” claiming also that the days of a fractured relationship between Alberta and Ottawa are no longer.

“We as a country, we are co-operating again, Canada is working again,” Carney said. “We are coming together, we are taking advantage of all of what we have.”

The prime minister’s address comes as Albertans were voting this week in advance polls for the referendum, with the official voting day on Monday. Voters are asked to respond to 10 questions on the referendum ballots, including one that asks whether they wish to remain in Canada or commence the process of officially separating from the federation.

Carney supporters in attendance crammed inside the Red Hart brewery in Red Deer to hear the address, while others waited outside the venue. More than 100 people, many of them seemingly aged 60 or older, waved miniature Canadian flags and wore red. When Carney arrived at the venue, they belted out the national anthem in unison.

In a brief speech to the crowd, Carney sought to play up his Alberta bona fides, saying that many people in the province have distinct memories of the catastrophic federal energy policies from decades past that had severely handicapped its oil and gas sector. Without naming former prime minister Justin Trudeau, Carney also appeared to suggest that similar policies had been introduced by his Liberal predecessor.

“I want to acknowledge that there have been times within the federation where that trust was put to the test,” he said. “In my lifetime, when I was growing up… we as Albertans were made to feel that sometimes our resources weren’t our own. We were later made to feel that we were developing those resources against the tides of history.”

Carney appeared alongside Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who also gave a brief speech. A collection of other political hangers-on, including Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas and Liberal MP Matt Jeneroux, also attended the event.

The prime minister talked about what he called a “tough collaboration” with Smith, with whom Ottawa has announced a flurry of major projects and investments in the months leading up to the vote. Those include Alberta’s proposed Pacific Link pipeline to the West Coast, a proposed high-speed rail line between Edmonton and Calgary, and $8 billion in military spending at Alberta bases, among other things.

Carney and Smith were chummy at the event, exchanging light-hearted jokes and talking about all the policy ambitions they have in common. Smith claimed that the federal government’s support on major projects is just one example of how the province is working with Ottawa to support Alberta’s economic priorities. Like many Albertans, Smith said she was at first hesitant to believe that the prime minister was truly prepared to spend political capital to advance the province’s interests.

“When people do ask me if it’s real, and if it’s changed, I say ‘well he did grow up in his formative years in Alberta, and he remains an Edmonton Oilers fan,’” Smith said to laughter from the crowd.

The premier also addressed the other nine questions on the ballot, many of which ask voters whether Alberta should work with other provinces to restrict immigration rates or cut public services to some non-permanent residents.

“I have bad news for you, prime minister, all of the premiers are interested in talking about immigration and how we might be able to reform it.”

Standing outside the event and wearing a Maple Leaf-shaped hat, Tom Gwin, 74, said he disagreed fundamentally with the Smith government’s decision to hold a referendum on independence, and wanted to show his support for the prime minister.

“I think Alberta should stay in Canada, and I think Canada is too fabulous a place to be riven by this kind of referendum, which in lots of ways is completely unnecessary,” he said.

Asked why the gathered supporters skewed toward older generations, Gwin said young people likely didn’t show up because they were busy at work or school, or because they were getting their information from unreliable sources.

“In some instances, youth are apathetic and uninformed,” he said.

Karen Gardiner, 61, said she is sympathetic toward some aspects of the Western resentment toward Ottawa, but ultimately finds the claims put forward by separatists are untenable.

“I don’t disagree with some of it,” she said. “There is some validity to some of the things, but not to the extreme that has been taken. I think what gets people most is because of the population and the voting happening out east, the government is decided before [the electoral result] even gets here.”

Elected members of Smith’s United Conservative Party, she notes, did not properly present themselves as pro-separation before the last general election in Alberta.

“I disagree with the fact that we have people within the party that were voted in, that are now coming very forward as separatists. They didn’t campaign on that platform. That’s just totally wrong.”

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