Hello, welcome to Politics Insider. Let’s look at what happened today.
Alberta is an essential part of the country, Prime Minister Mark Carney said today, as he pressed the case for making Canada better by working together rather than breaking it up.
Carney lauded the “huge contributions” of Albertans to the country and said his government is focused on building it up.
Marieke Walsh reports that Carney’s remarks were delivered after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that she will include a question on separation in a referendum this fall. Albertans will be asked whether they want Alberta to remain in Canada, or instead, if they want to start the legal process to hold a binding, second referendum on separation.
“Canada is the greatest country in the world, but it can be better. And we’re working on making it better. We’re working with Alberta on making it better,” Carney said from the Library of Parliament in Ottawa.
“Canada is working and working in the spirit of co-operative federalism to make the country better.”
Smith’s announcement triggers a five-month campaign before the Oct. 19 vote. While talk of a separation referendum has simmered in Alberta for months, Ottawa had taken a muted approach on the issue until it was made clear whether a vote would actually take place.
Today the Prime Minister made his most forceful comments yet on the need for Canada to stay united.
Carney spoke from the historic centre of Parliament Hill, which is currently closed to the public for a years-long heritage renovation project. He linked that rehabilitation work to the efforts his government is making to build Canada up.
“We’re renovating the country as we go and Alberta being at the centre of that is essential," Mr. Carney said.
In other news, Carrie Tait and Matthew Scace report that Smith’s plan to put a convoluted question about secession to a provincewide vote in the fall has united her detractors on the left and right flanks of the political spectrum in anger.
Naheed Nenshi, Alberta New Democratic Party Leader, has pledged a spring and summer campaign aimed at Smith and Alberta’s independence movement.
Mitch Sylvestre, a prominent leader of the separatist campaign, said he felt the Premier betrayed him and his allies.
And two First Nations that fought to thwart a citizen-led effort to get independence on a referendum ballot said they will not back down after Thursday’s announcement.
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks in the Library of Parliament in Ottawa on Friday.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
What else is going on
China’s Foreign Minister to visit Canada for the first time in 10 years: Wang Yi will visit Canada in late May, Beijing announced today as both countries work to cement a new partnership struck in January after a bitter trade war and years of strained relations.
Canada introduces enhanced border-screening measures as Ebola outbreak spreads: At a virtual press conference today, Chief Public Health Officer Joss Reimer said travellers now face additional questions when arriving to Canada, including whether they have travelled to the regions affected by the outbreak.
Canada-Israel relations are the worst they have ever been, ambassador says: Iddo Moed, Israel’s ambassador to Canada, described a “long impasse” in ties strained during his country’s war with Hamas.
Foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes can delay deportation process under new tribunal policy: Guidelines issued by Immigration and Refugee Board chairperson Manon Brassard, coming into force on June 1, broaden the criteria for considering whether convicted foreign criminals can delay formal proceedings on “admissibility” to Canada, which would precede deportation.
U.S. froze joint defence board over Canada’s lack of progress on military spending, official says: A Pentagon official also said the U.S. government was concerned about Canada’s reconsideration of a plan to purchase American-made F-35 fighter jets.
Poilievre vows to make the case for unity to Albertans: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said while he has a role to play in convincing Albertans not to separate from Canada, it is the job of the Prime Minister to keep the country together.
Where the truth is buried in Tk’emlúps: Five years after a grim announcement in B.C., uncertainty gives rise to doubt and denialism over suspected graves near a former residential school.
On our radar
Commons on a break: The Commons has been on a two-week break that ends Monday. Meanwhile, the Senate has also been on a break that ends on Tuesday.
Prime Minister’s Day: No public events for Mark Carney. However, the Prime Minister made brief comments at the Library of Parliament on the Alberta sovereignty referendum.
Party Leaders: In Surrey, B.C., Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre made an announcement. On Saturday, Poilievre will hold a town hall on property rights in Vancouver. Via Zoom, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May attended a forum of representatives from British Columbia and Washington State. Later, in Vancouver, she attended a benefit concert in honour of the 90th birthday of environmentalist David Suzuki. No schedules released for other party leaders.
Ministers on the Road: With the House of Commons on a break for the past two weeks, ministers have been travelling across Canada and around the world.
In the Swedish city of Helsingborg, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand attended a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
In Sault Ste. Marie, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, announced a federal investment of $76.2-million in efforts by Tenaris, a Luxembourg-based supplier of steel pipes and petroleum-industry services, to help modernize and diversify its steel production in the city.
In Iqaluit, Defence Minister David McGuinty made an announcement on the Canadian Coast Guard’s new security provisions.
Governor-General: In the final ceremony of her mandate, Mary Simon presented honours to 43 members of the Canadian Armed Forces at the Governor-General’s Citadelle residence in Quebec. There’s a list of appointees here.
Quotes of the Day
“Canada is the greatest country in the world, but it can be better, and we’re working on making it better. We’re working with Alberta on making it better.” - Prime Minister Mark Carney, in Ottawa today, comments on the separation referendum in Alberta.
“I am not afraid of the judgment of Albertans. I think that anyone who has citizens’ initiative referenda legislation should be prepared that sometimes the people will want to ask a question that you may disagree with, but you have to be prepared to have the debate, and you have to be prepared to defend your position and you have to be prepared to convince people. That’s what I am prepared to do.” - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, at a news conference in Calgary today, on the separation referendum.
“If we don’t have a resounding, massive vote against separatism, that means this will just continue. The way that Danielle has written this it’s just going to continue anyway, but, at least, let’s send her a message by, number one, giving her the thumping defeat in this referendum that she deserves and, number two, giving her the thumping defeat in the next election that she deserves.” - Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi, in Calgary today.
“She wants to, I guess, protect her 30-per-cent base. It’s not going to win as far as I am concerned. It would be a disaster for Alberta to split away from our country. We have the greatest nation from coast to coast to coast. I am proud to be Canadian. Everyone in here is proud to be Canadian.” - Ontario Premier Doug Ford, at an announcement in Sault Ste. Marie today, responds to Smith’s referendum move.
Question period
Forty-seven years ago today, the Progressive Conservatives under Joe Clark won power in an election over the federal Liberals led by Pierre Trudeau. How many years had it been since the PCs governed Canada?
Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for the answer.
Perspectives
Danielle Smith has called a quasi-referendum on secession. It’s best understood as a gambit to preserve her career
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith hasn’t quite set Alberta up for a secession referendum. She’s just coming really, really close – about as close as you can get – and nobody, not the separatists, not the federalists, is all that thrilled about it.
— Tyler Dawson is an Edmonton-based editor in The Globe and Mail’s Opinion section. He is the author of The Republic of Alberta: An Idea That Won’t Go Away.
The World Cup is a party, not an economic windfall
Vancouver and Toronto effectively signed blank cheques when they agreed to be host cities for the FIFA World Cup. Now, at this sober moment before the first Canadian matches kick off next month, it’s clear that while the costs have risen dramatically, the benefits will be slimmer than promised.
— The Globe and Mail Editorial Board
Mark Carney’s oil policy isn’t a political gambit. It’s an economic imperative
Can Mr. Carney get a pipeline built and attract hundreds of billions of dollars in investment in new oil-sands production while holding on to progressive voters? It won’t be easy.
— Tony Keller, Columnist
Go deeper
- The Decibel - Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, sat down with The Globe’s editorial board for an interview last week. Patrick Brethour is the editorials editor at The Globe, and he’s on the Globe and Mail podcast to discuss what they learned in this exclusive interview
- Follow along for our stories on Canada-U.S. relations as news develops
- Get the latest insight and analysis from our political opinion writers
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The answer to today’s question: Sixteen. The PC government led by John Diefenbaker was defeated by the Liberals, led by Lester Pearson, in April, 1963.