Ontario Premier Doug Ford with New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt at a press conference in Ottawa on Wednesday.Keito Newman/The Canadian Press
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says it would be a disaster for Canada if the sovereigntist Parti Québécois is elected in Quebec’s scheduled fall election, given the need for the country to unite against the threat of the United States.
The PQ is leading in public-opinion polls and its leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has promised to hold a referendum by 2030 if his party forms government.
“It would be a disaster for our country if the separatists got elected. It’s as simple as that,” Mr. Ford said Wednesday when asked about the possibility.
He was at a news conference in Ottawa with New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt, convened to discuss an increase in Ontario goods moving through Port Saint John. The event was held outside a meeting of premiers held elsewhere in Ottawa later in the day.
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“We have to be a united Canada right now. There’s never been a more important time in our history to make sure that we stand shoulder to shoulder united,” Mr. Ford said.
Such unity, he said, would be good for Canada generally and Quebeckers specifically. “So, folks: Remember that,” Mr. Ford said, speaking to Quebeckers. “You want to thrive. You want to prosper. You’ll prosper a lot more as a united Canada.”
Ms. Holt, responding to the same question, said that Canada is stronger with Quebec included.
Other premiers also weighed in on the Quebec sovereignty issue.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said the only path forward for Canadians is a united Canada, with Canadians working together and respecting each other’s differences as they respond to the threat of the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.
“I would encourage, and I have encouraged, all premiers to strongly discourage separatist sentiment in provinces. Now is the time for us all to pull together and that’s the case whether it’s Alberta or Quebec or anywhere else,” Mr. Eby said.
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The possibility of sovereignty is also on the agenda in Alberta after the provincial government of Premier Danielle Smith amended legislation to make it easier for citizen-led petitions that might spark a separatist referendum.
The United Conservative Party government has said it supports a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham said Quebeckers will decide who represents them in their legislature and he can’t predict what will happen in the province.
“For me, it’s all about working together because I think when we work together, we are better,” he said.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and B.C. Premier David Eby in Ottawa on Wednesday.Patrick Doyle/Reuters
Asked about the rising issue of separatism in both Quebec and Alberta, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said he was hopeful the country could find its way through these situations.
“I like the country the way it is and those that are trying to dismantle it or break it up? I’m not on their side,” he said. “I think breaking up Canada, it would be a disaster.”
And Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said there has been unrest in his province, and in Alberta and Quebec, that he blames on the lack of a relationship built between those provinces and the government of then-prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Now he said there has been a change of tone with Prime Minister Mark Carney, and he hopes relations are improving in provinces that previously had grievances with Ottawa.
When asked to respond to Mr. Ford’s comments about the coming Quebec election, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said he would work with whomever Quebeckers elect as premier.
Speaking in French, Mr. Kinew said he would prefer to focus on the ties that exist among francophones across the country, including in Manitoba.
“Canada belongs to you,” he said. “There’s a place for the Québécois nation here in Canada.”
With a report from Bill Curry