Elections Alberta is overwhelmed<\/a>, and the Globe and Mail has published a sweeping investigation into key separatist leaders\u2019 ties to Republican operatives in the United States. <\/p>\nAlberta Premier Danielle Smith, meanwhile, has repeatedly said she is on the side of Alberta staying within Canada, though she\u2019s faced criticism for not actively campaigning for the stay side of the referendum question, and has dodged questions on whether she bears any culpability if the vote does not go the federalist way.<\/p>\n
Kenney was asked what his message is to the federalists who are considering staying home on referendum day because they\u2019re looking at the polling numbers and thinking the vote is a foregone conclusion for the \u201cstay\u201d side. He said if anyone wants to move past the issue \u201cdecisively,\u201d they need to put out a \u201cstrong statement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most persuasive argument of the separatist side is use this to send a message,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to say to pro-Canada folks: yes, we need to send a message, a message that this province is a stable place in which to invest.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cYes, we are going to fight for a stronger deal for Alberta within Canada, but we are not going to tolerate going through a decades-long, hugely divisive and destructive debate over whether or not we are Canadian. That has not served Quebec well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hardcore separatists \u2018angry with modernity\u2019: Kenney<\/p>\n
Kenney said a decisive victory for federalists is crucial in this referendum because separatists are already signalling they won\u2019t accept the results if it\u2019s a win for the stay side.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re prepositioning that this will be rigged because that\u2019s the script they\u2019ve learned from MAGA, who inspires them. And they\u2019ve already said they will carry on regardless of the result,\u201d Kenney said. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to understand for the most hardcore separatists, like the hardcore activists, this is not just a vote on their Alberta\u2019s place in Canada, but in the world,\u201d he added. \u201cThese are folks who are angry with modernity, with globalization, automation, diversity, immigration, modern medical science, vaccines, the ostrich farm cull, chemtrails, the World Economic Forum.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenney also said the \u201chardcore\u201d separatists are not fighting against the environmental policies of the former federal Liberal government, or for any other \u201clegitimate\u201d grievance. Rather, he said, \u201cthis is a vote against what they see as remote global elites who are manipulating their lives, and for them, that\u2019s a headspace they\u2019re in, and nothing will get them out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
You can watch former Alberta premier Jason Kenney\u2019s full interview on CTV Question Period Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.<\/p>\n
With files from CTV News Calgary\u2019s Michael Franklin<\/p>\n
Related Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney is calling on Albertans to vote in next week\u2019s referendum on separation in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":928925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[712,49,48,44],"class_list":["post-928924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-apple-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=928924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/928925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=928924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=928924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=928924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}