Prime Minister Mark Carney makes a statement in the shuttered Library of Parliament on Parliament Hill last week. Mr. Carney says Albertans had no say in whether an independence referendum should be held when they voted in the last provincial election.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney cautioned Alberta not to repeat the mistakes of Britain’s Brexit referendum, calling the pitch for separation from Canada a dangerous proposition.
Mr. Carney on Monday made his strongest criticism to date of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s plan to hold a vote on whether the province should remain in Canada or launch a formal secession referendum this fall.
“Is it helpful to ask these fundamental questions? No, it’s not helpful. Of course it’s not,” he said. “Is it the democratic will of Albertans? Did they vote for this in the last provincial election? No, they didn’t.”
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At a brief press conference in an Ottawa suburb, Mr. Carney also suggested Ms. Smith had not heeded his advice on the matter.
“The Premier doesn’t always take my advice,” the Prime Minister told reporters.
Mr. Carney noted that the Ms. Smith’s United Conservative Party did not campaign on this in the last election and did not have it as part of their election platform.
He also warned against believing separatists who say that a “yes” vote would strengthen their hands in future negotiations.
“That is a very dangerous bluff,” he said twice.
“I saw firsthand what happened in the United Kingdom when the view was, ‘Vote for this, it’ll be soft, and then we’ll negotiate, etc.’ They’re still 10 years later trying to undo what people didn’t think they were voting for, but what they ended up having.”
Former British prime minister David Cameron held a referendum vote on leaving the European Union in 2016, responding to demands from some in his political base. When the vote was called, it wasn’t expected to succeed but it passed narrowly with 52-per-cent support.