As Alberta pushes ahead with a fall referendum to decide whether an actual referendum on separating from Canada is worth the effort, Canada’s former U.S. ambassador says she doesn’t think “serious Americans” will get involved in the debate.
“My understanding of this, when I left, was that there really wasn’t a serious interest in interfering in this very important domestic discussion happening in Canada,” Kirsten Hillman said in an interview with CBC’s The House airing Saturday morning.
“I don’t think this is something that rises to the level of people of influence in the White House,” Hillman told host Catherine Cullen.
Concerns over U.S. foreign interference in Alberta’s separatist movement hit a high mark in January, when the U.S. State Department confirmed it met with members of the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP), but “no commitments were made.”
That group was seeking a possible $500-billion US line of credit from the U.S. Treasury to help bankroll the new country if separatists come out victorious in a referendum.
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The blowback from some Canadian politicians was intense, particularly from B.C. Premier David Eby, who said such activities amounted to “treason.”
That saga also came right after the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared to speak encouragingly about the prospect of Alberta separating from Canada.
“They have great resources. Albertans are a very independent people,” Bessent told the conservative website Real America’s Voice.
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“Rumour [is] that they may have a referendum on whether they want to stay in Canada or not.… People are talking. People want sovereignty. They want what the U.S. has got.”
Hillman, who ended her term in February, said the idea of U.S. foreign interference in the looming fall referendum is “not something that is a big concern for me. I think it’s a fair way to put it.”
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After the January debacle, Prime Minister Mark Carney said he expected the White House to “respect Canadian sovereignty” — sentiments that were shared by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
In May, Smith said she’d been given top secret-level security clearance, a move she pushed for in order to receive briefings on issues related to national security and possible foreign interference.
Smith has also said the RCMP has told her government “there’s no credible evidence that we’re seeing any state actors who are interfering in our politics.”
Hillman, who grew up in Calgary and whose parents live in Lethbridge, Alta., said the province is a “dynamic, exciting, innovative, remarkable place … and I’m very proud to have grown up there.”
She told Cullen that there is “no question that Canada is stronger with Alberta and Alberta is stronger with Canada,” and she hopes all Albertans who feel that way will participate “as appropriate” in the ongoing debate over independence.
Hillman also acknowledged that Canada may need to do a better job of communicating its strengths.
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“One of the things that comes with diversity is the responsibility to have extensive, sincere conversations where you try hard to understand people within your community, this community being Canada,” Hillman said.
“I am definitely not putting this on any one region, any one leader provincially or federally — maybe we as a country need to just make sure we’re doing a better job of that,” she added.
Carney vows to defend Canadian unity ahead of Alberta’s fall referendum
On Thursday, Carney said he will spend part of the summer convincing Albertans that while Canada is already the “best” country, “we can get better” on some issues.
He pointed to his memorandum of understanding with Smith on these and other issues as a sign that things have changed in Ottawa under his leadership and that “co-operative federalism” now prevails.
“We’re seen as one of the most trustworthy, reliable, desirable countries to do business with and we shouldn’t mess that up,” Carney said.
