Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney declared Alberta 'essential' to the country's future, just hours after the province's leader took a step toward bringing the oil-rich region closer to an independence referendum.
Separatists in the western province have spent months collecting signatures to trigger a binding vote in October on leaving Canada. On May 4, they submitted a petition to provincial officials, asserting they had gathered enough signatures to force a vote under Alberta law.
However, an Alberta judge blocked the process, ruling the citizen initiative invalid because the separatists had not consulted with Indigenous groups, whose rights could be threatened if the province seceded from Canada.
In a speech on the evening of May 14, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called the judge's ruling 'wrong' and accused it of 'interfering with the democratic rights of hundreds of thousands of Albertans.' Smith, a conservative whose political coalition includes separatists, stated she supports 'Alberta staying in Canada.' Nevertheless, she insisted she would not let 'a legal error by a single judge' quash a necessary debate. 'It's time to hold a vote, understand the will of Albertans on this issue, and move forward,' she said.
In October, Smith plans to ask Albertans whether they want her government to 'begin the legal process necessary to hold a binding referendum' on independence. Smith said she designed the question to avoid violating the judge's ruling, as it 'does not directly trigger secession.'
In response, Prime Minister Mark Carney, who spent much of his childhood in Alberta, issued a statement in a video recorded from Parliament Hill. 'Canada is the greatest country in the world, but it can be better, and we are working to make it better. We are working with Alberta to make it better,' he said. He further emphasized that Alberta 'is essential' to Canada's future.
Polls indicate about 30% of Alberta's 5 million residents support independence, a record high. Separatists accuse the federal government in Ottawa of strangling Alberta's oil industry through excessive federal power, while blocking investment due to what they consider irrational environmental concerns.
Prime Minister Carney and Premier Smith are cooperating to advance a new oil pipeline, a move Carney's predecessor Justin Trudeau opposed. Smith expressed hope that increased federal support for the oil industry could help soothe separatist anger.
