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.” “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.”
