Conservative elder statesman Preston Manning says he’s baffled that some view Alberta Premier Danielle Smith as anti-Canada given her vocal support of Confederation.
Manning says he’s seen opinion polls outside Alberta that suggest many see her as a separatist.
“I can’t believe some of these polls that have been taken in Ontario, for example, that indicate 60 per cent of Ontario voters thought Danielle Smith was a separatist,” Manning said Wednesday as he discussed his upcoming “Alberta and the West” virtual forum, which begins Saturday.
“Despite the legislation that’s been passed here, despite speech after speech that has been given on this, how did that happen? Well because the secession angle, it’s controversial, it’s negative and it gets more play.”
Manning, who is 84, said Smith will discuss Alberta continuing to grow as a strong and sovereign province within Canada on the first day of the forum.
“I do think people do want more information on what are the pros and cons of these various options,” he said. “The premier presumably will expand on what exactly is meant by a sovereign province within the federation.”
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Smith has called a referendum for Oct. 19 on whether Alberta should remain in Canada or whether it’s time to hold a second, binding referendum on starting the legal process to separate.
Manning is the former federal Opposition leader and founder of the Reform Party. He is co-hosting the event, sponsored by the Manning Foundation for Democratic Education, with former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell.
The event is to hear from groups for and against secession, and is meant to inform Alberta voters looking for information about the referendum.
Alberta government referendum campaign urges Albertans to vote for specific answers
Manning said the organizers all have opinions on the future of Alberta, but aren’t stating them publicly and will let the public make up their own minds.
“We’re not taking a particular position even though we have one and we’ll vote by secret ballot on Oct. 19,” he said.
“At the end of the day, I’m a democrat before I’m a conservative, an Albertan or a federalist.”
The separation question is one of 10 that Albertans will vote on. The other nine focus on immigration and the Constitution.
Smith called the referendum earlier this year. She has said enough Albertans now view separation as a legitimate response to federal interference in provincial affairs and it’s time to put the issue to rest once and for all in a vote.
Critics, including the Opposition NDP, say Smith is inflating and legitimizing the grievances of a small sliver of discontented Albertans in order to mollify hardline separatists in her United Conservative Party.
Separatists dominating Alberta referendum conversation online: report
Manning, who helped create the Reform Party in 1987, with the slogan “the West wants in,” never advocated for separation when he was in office. But he understands there are some Albertans still unhappy about how things turned out.
“The fact that there was not a sufficient response from the federal government or Central Canada to the argument that the West wants in … when you reject that or ignore it, what you produce is this secession reaction,” Manning said.
“If getting the West in didn’t work, trying to get it out will get the attention.”
