{"id":722527,"date":"2026-06-08T07:03:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T07:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/722527\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T07:03:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T07:03:21","slug":"federal-policy-changes-needed-to-ease-separatist-concerns-poilievre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/722527\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal policy changes needed to ease separatist concerns: Poilievre"},"content":{"rendered":"

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre<\/a> is expected to argue a change in federal policies would ease separatist concerns in Alberta when he makes a speech in Calgary on Monday.<\/p>\n

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In an excerpt of that speech shared with Global News and The Canadian Press, Poilievre says separatist voices do not have an issue with their fellow Canadians, \u201cthey have a problem with the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not need a different country, Alberta. We need different government policies in Ottawa,\u201d the speech reads.<\/p>\n

The Conservative leader will argue in the address that Albertans could benefit from changes that prioritize unblocking resources, building pipelines, respecting provincial autonomy and relieving taxpayers.<\/p>\n

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said last month that her government will ask Albertans in October if they think the province should remain part of Canada or should begin the legal process for a separation referendum.<\/p>\n

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Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the Alberta referendum on separation could be a \u201cdangerous bluff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Poilievre said last month that he and his caucus will be campaigning across Alberta over the summer and encouraging people to stay in \u201cthe Canadian family.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sam Lilly, director of media relations for the Office of the Official Opposition, declined to provide more details on what that campaign would look like when asked Sunday. He deferred to Poilievre\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n

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In the prepared remarks, Poilievre says the answer for Alberta is to band together with other provinces to push for federal policies that advance shared interests and support industries that cross provincial lines.<\/p>\n

Repealing what he calls Liberal \u201canti-development laws\u201d like bills C-69 and C-48 would help both Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador, for example. Residents of Toronto as well as Albertan cities would benefit from a tougher criminal justice system, Poilievre argues.<\/p>\n

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He also calls for Alberta to \u201clock arms with Quebec\u201d to regain provincial control over federal policies like immigration.<\/p>\n

\u201cLocking arms with other provinces is the practical, realistic path to a stronger Alberta within a united Canada,\u201d the speech reads.<\/p>\n

Carney said a referendum campaign isn\u2019t helpful when Alberta is trying to woo investors for a pipeline. He pointed out that voters did not give Smith\u2019s government a mandate to take this step.<\/p>\n

Smith said in a televised address last month that not asking the question in a referendum would amount to \u201cmuzzling the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans,\u201d something she said would be \u201cunjustifiable\u201d in a democracy.<\/p>\n

A petition to trigger a referendum on Alberta separation was thrown out earlier this month by a judge, who cited the provincial government\u2019s failure to consult Indigenous communities on the effect separation would have on their treaty rights. The Alberta government is appealing that ruling.<\/p>\n

Carney said he plans to campaign for national unity and to show that co-operative federalism can work.<\/p>\n

He pointed to a deal he signed with Smith earlier this month, which commits the two levels of government to working toward building a new oil pipeline to the Pacific coast, so long as industrial carbon price targets are met and carbon capture projects move ahead.<\/p>\n

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