{"id":936266,"date":"2026-10-17T09:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T09:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/936266\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T09:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T09:42:09","slug":"smith-carney-rally-support-for-alberta-to-remain-in-canada-ahead-of-referendum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/936266\/","title":{"rendered":"Smith, Carney rally support for Alberta to remain in Canada ahead of referendum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney attends a national unity rally in Red Deer alongside Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, and former premier Ed Stelmach, on Friday.John Ulan\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The campaign to keep Alberta in Confederation hit a fever pitch on Friday as politicians from across the country crisscrossed the province, aiming to drive up turnout and boost the pro-Canada vote ahead of Monday\u2019s referendum on secession.<\/p>\n

Premier Danielle Smith stood beside Prime Minister Mark Carney at a federalist rally in Red Deer. The two have shared a stage on numerous occasions over the past year in their bid to build a bitumen pipeline to the West Coast, a plan both leaders have endorsed as a sign that Canada can work for Alberta.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you know, we don\u2019t always agree on everything. We often disagree quite publicly on several things,\u201d Ms. Smith told a crowd of pro-Canada supporters decked in red and white.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut today we can all agree that on Question 10, that we are voting for Option 1 to remain in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

A day earlier, a crack appeared in the thawing relationship between Mr. Carney and Ms. Smith, when he urged Albertans to vote \u201cno to the nine,\u201d<\/a> referring to the Premier\u2019s nine proposals on immigration and constitutional changes also on Monday\u2019s referendum ballot.<\/p>\n

Explainer: What about Alberta\u2019s nine other referendum questions?<\/a><\/p>\n

But the Premier, who had responded on social media, stood her ground on her plan to wrest more control over immigration from Ottawa.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have bad news for you, Prime Minister: All of the premiers are interested in talking about immigration and how we might be able to reform it,\u201d she told Mr. Carney in Red Deer, handing him Alberta government literature advertising her proposals. <\/p>\n

Former Alberta premier Ed Stelmach, who co-authored an op-ed this week also calling for voters to reject Ms. Smith\u2019s immigration questions<\/a>, stood next to her.<\/p>\n

Ms. Smith says she is seeking to fortify her mandate by getting the electorate\u2019s approval on those questions, which she argues would provide leverage to gain more autonomy within Confederation.<\/p>\n

Those questions propose restricting some newcomers\u2019 access to social services and charging some non-permanent residents for their access to health and education.<\/p>\n

Opinion: Canada is strong, but it will be forever altered by Alberta\u2019s separation referendum<\/a><\/p>\n

The gathering in Red Deer was one of several events on Friday where politicians made the case for a united Canada.<\/p>\n

At a rally in Edmonton in the evening, Mr. Carney delivered a speech very similar to the one he gave the night before in Calgary, reminding Albertans to \u201cvote like Canada depends on it.\u201d He walked up to the lectern to We\u2019re all in this together by the Sam Roberts Band.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney told thousands rallying in Calgary on Thursday that Albertans should vote to keep the province in Canada.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The Prime Minister spoke of how the province and the city is his home, where he grew up and that the future of the country is \u201ctoo precious to play games with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis referendum is about something larger than any of us,\u201d he said at an event organized by Forever Canadian, one of the province\u2019s most prominent federalist groups. \u201cIt is about the province and country we love, and it\u2019s about what we can build together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Carney reiterated a point he made the night before, saying that recently Albertans were made to feel their \u201cenergy contributions were running against the tides of history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat should have brought us together began to divide us. Contributing to a half-century of politics that have too often pulled us apart.\u201d <\/p>\n

Mr. Carney went on to tout the plan to build the Pacific Link pipeline, which he described as \u201ctrue nation building.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow is the time to build, not break. Now it\u2019s our turn to stand up for Canada.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ms. Smith followed up her lunchtime appearance alongside Mr. Carney with a keynote address and on-stage conversation at the Canada Strong and Free Network conference, a conservative gathering, in downtown Calgary.<\/p>\n

Researchers find uptick in U.S. influence campaigns targeting Alberta referendum as vote looms<\/a><\/p>\n

Ms. Smith struck a positive tone on her relationship with Mr. Carney\u2019s government, saying that Alberta and Ottawa are \u201cmoving together,\u201d and spent much of the on-stage conversation discussing conservative party politics.<\/p>\n

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, at the same conference earlier in the day, made his case to Albertans to reject choosing a second, binding separation referendum.<\/p>\n

Mr. Poilievre argued that many of the frustrations Albertans feel are no different from those shared by Canadians across the country.<\/p>\n

He pointed to concerns about immigration, affordability and energy policy as the issues driving separatism.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch of this referendum debate has rightly focused on the flaws of the country. But while we focus on those things, we must not forget \u2013 and we must not ignore \u2013 what Canada has done for Alberta,\u201d he told the crowd of roughly 200 people.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut here\u2019s the thing: there are Canadians right across the country that wonder the very same things,\u201d Mr. Poilievre said. <\/p>\n

Some leaders in Alberta\u2019s separatist movement argue that Monday\u2019s referendum is a chance to voice dissatisfaction with Ottawa or use the threat of separation to extract concessions from the federal government.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Mr. Poilievre offered a patriotic appeal to voters, saying it was not the best vehicle for protesting policies from Ottawa.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo those people who are thinking about taking out their frustration on the current government by voting for separation, I say this: Canada is more than a government. It is a people, a flag, a land, a history, a promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Mr. Poilievre didn\u2019t mention Ms. Smith\u2019s nine other referendum questions, he encouraged voters to \u201clock arms with Quebeckers who want to have full autonomy over their provincial jurisdiction, just like we Albertans do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conservative MP Dane Lloyd, the man spearheading the party\u2019s pro-Canada campaign, told The Globe and Mail that the Conservatives\u2019 door-knocking campaign has met few big-city Albertans who are voting for a second referendum. Support for a separation vote is higher in rural areas, he said, but they\u2019re still \u201coverwhelmingly pro-Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Lloyd said he\u2019s expecting high turnout. He thinks that bodes well for the federalist camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to see a very decisive, high number. I think we need a very high number,\u201d he said on the sidelines of the conference.<\/p>\n

Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney, speaking to reporters at the conference, credited Mr. Carney with his campaign strategy leading into the referendum. <\/p>\n

He pointed to the Prime Minister\u2019s push for an oil pipeline to the West Coast, which was preceded by rolling back numerous energy and environmental policies implemented under former prime minister Justin Trudeau. Mr. Kenney added that it was \u201cpowerful\u201d to hear Mr. Carney refer to himself as an Albertan. (Mr. Carney was raised in Edmonton.)<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s played it just about right. He\u2019s not been here constantly, and he\u2019s not telling us, telling Albertans how to think or what to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s one of us; he\u2019s saying, \u2018Let\u2019s get this done together.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The crowd at Friday night\u2019s Forever Canadian rally in Edmonton brought roughly 5,500 federalist supporters, where people wrapped themselves in Canadian flags and danced to hits by one of Canada\u2019s biggest country stars, Shania Twain.<\/p>\n

Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack, speaking to the crowd before Mr. Carney took the stage, encouraged people to vote against the other nine referendum question. The crowd responded by chanting, \u2018No to the nine.\u2019<\/p>\n

Barb Anderson, a 56-year-old military veteran, wore a white sweater with \u2018Canada\u2019 emblazoned on it. She singled out the immigration questions, which, among other things, would restrict social services to certain classes of newcomers.<\/p>\n

Josue Hernandez, 20, a student in human geography and political science, said talk about separation is \u201coverall a horrible idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s extremely stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daisy Nellis, 19, a University of Alberta political science student, said she is from Grande Prairie, a conservative-leaning city northwest of Edmonton, and so she was \u201chappy to see that people are coming out.\u201d She hoped that Mr. Carney would speak out strongly not just about separatism, but also about the other nine questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time for him to step up and be a leader about the nine,\u201d Ms. Nellis said, prompting cheers from her friends.<\/p>\n

Albertans continued to vote at advance polls on Friday. Saturday is the final day of early voting before referendum day on Monday.<\/p>\n

Roughly a million Albertans had voted in the referendum as of 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night \u2013 about a third of all electors in the province \u2013 Elections Alberta wrote in an e-mail.<\/p>\n

With reports from Tyler Dawson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Prime Minister Mark Carney attends a national unity rally in Red Deer alongside…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":936267,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,44,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-936266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-news","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936266","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=936266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/936267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=936266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=936266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=936266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}