Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s referendum question on whether to hold a future referendum on separation is “not helpful” and that votes like this are a “dangerous bluff” that could backfire, as it has in other places, including the U.K. with Brexit.
Speaking to reporters at an affordable housing announcement in suburban Ottawa, Carney was asked if he had counselled Smith against holding such a divisive vote.
“The premier doesn’t always take my advice,” Carney said in response.
“Is it helpful to ask these fundamental questions? No, it’s not helpful.”
Carney added that a referendum question wasn’t part of the United Conservative Party’s election platform and that there was no mention of it during the last provincial campaign.
“It wasn’t on the ballot, it wasn’t in the mandate or the platforms of the governing party or the official opposition.”
Carney says Alberta separation question is a ‘dangerous bluff’
Carney, who was the governor of the Bank of England when the U.K. crashed out of the European Union, said he has firsthand experience of how referendum questions like this can spiral out of control.
He said the results of a referendum on whether to hold another referendum can be interpreted as the final say on whether to leave or stay.
“In these separation issues, it is often advanced that, ‘vote for this and it is a free option,’ or ‘vote for this, and we will strengthen our hand in a future negotiation.’ That is a very dangerous bluff,” he said.
“I saw it firsthand in the U.K.” he said, adding that the country is “still trying to undo what people didn’t think they were voting for.”
The convoluted question in the 1995 Quebec referendum, which was interpreted by some as simply giving the provincial government a mandate to pursue a “a new economic and political partnership” and not outright independence, should also serve as a lesson, Carney said.
Carney said the federal government is reviewing Smith’s question to see if it triggers the Clarity Act.
Under that law, the House of Commons decides whether a provincial referendum question is clear before it can be put to voters.
“We have an obligation as a federal government to look at the question and decide whether it’s consistent,” he said. “That is underway. If there are questions about the clarity of the question, that will be a role for Parliament.”
Carney said he will actively campaign against any move to separate, making the case that the country is “stronger together.”
He said the recent Alberta accord he brokered with Smith, which could lead to a new oil pipeline to the Pacific, proves he is pursuing “co-operative federalism” designed to hold the country together and placate regional concerns.
The components will also be “wealthier together,” and Alberta’s citizens will be better looked after in a united Canada.
He pointed to federal programs like the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement, health-care transfers and affordable child care as reasons to avoid pulling out of the federation.
“Canadians take care of each other. It’s not perfect. We need to continue to work together, we are making progress,” he said. “We’re Canadian, we’ll come together.”
