World

Prime Minister Carney Urges Unity Ahead of Alberta’s Secession Referendum

By Al Jazeera Staff

Prime Minister Mark Carney used his Thanksgiving video message to Canadians to call for national unity a week before Alberta’s vote on a separatism referendum. In the message, Carney warned that Canada faces threats to its economy, security and way of life, saying, “We can’t build big things on fault lines…We have to be strong, and we are stronger together.” The referendum, scheduled for October 19, is non‑binding but would trigger a future binding vote on whether Alberta should secede. Voters will decide whether Alberta should remain a province of Canada or begin the legal process under the Constitution to hold a binding referendum on separation. The vote follows a growing push by separatists who cite grievances over federal energy and environmental policies and accuse the government of unfairly targeting Alberta’s oil and gas industry. An investigation by The Globe and Mail earlier this month reported that U.S. Republican operatives met with secession organizers in Alberta to discuss campaign strategies, with separatist leaders allegedly offering access to the province’s water and oil royalties in exchange for U.S. support for independence. Separatist leaders have disputed those claims. Carney’s remarks come after the Parti Québécois won the most seats in Quebec’s provincial election last week, allowing it to return to power after more than a decade, though it fell short of a majority with 59 of 129 seats. U.S. tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, known for supporting political causes, praised the Quebec result on social media, suggesting that Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan should separate. Carney, who grew up in Alberta, filmed the message from a classroom at his former school, St. Francis Xavier High School in Edmonton. He said, “I’m back home a lot these days because we are building big things again in Alberta: thousands of new homes, high‑speed rail, a new pipeline to the West Coast that will create lasting opportunity and prosperity for hundreds of thousands of people in this province and across the country.” Polls indicate that most Albertans oppose independence despite the movement’s growing visibility.