{"id":946654,"date":"2026-10-26T07:32:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T07:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/946654\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T07:32:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T07:32:16","slug":"canadian-unity-is-a-marriage-worth-fighting-for-the-hill-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/946654\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian unity is a marriage worth fighting for – The Hill Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

HALIFAX\u2014In a marriage where one spouse consistently brings up divorce, the time has probably come for a decision.\u00a0To be or not to be.<\/p>\n

And so it is with countries like this one.\u00a0Quebec and Alberta have factions that keep\u00a0saying they want to leave Canada. Quebec nationalists believe that they are distinctive enough to warrant their own country.\u00a0Go-it-aloners\u00a0in Alberta think Ottawa is giving them a raw deal, and that they could do better on their own.\u00a0It\u2019s a democracy, so people are entitled to their opinions and\u00a0beliefs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But there is another side to separatism that is rarely mentioned. Every time the prospect of a diminished Canada is\u00a0raised, it hurts the country\u2014and the vast majority of citizens who abhor the prospect of separation.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I think it\u2019s time for those factions to bring some intellectual honesty to their avowed separatism.\u00a0There are lots of\u00a0ways to do that, but the simplest and most effective way is that both parties to this never-ending debate resolve this situation one way or the other.<\/p>\n

Why is such a resolution needed?\u00a0Because those who do business here\u00a0require\u00a0the same assurance that Canada is a\u00a0solid, sovereign,\u00a0unified,\u00a0and reliable trading partner.\u00a0The same goes for prospective investors.\u00a0No one wants to put their money in a place that may not continue to exist.<\/p>\n

And there is another reason Canadian unity is paramount.\u00a0If the country descends into grievance and dissonance, it will encourage territorial predators who see this country as a rich prize.\u00a0United States President Donald Trump has already cast acquisitive eyes on Canada\u2014a resource-blessed and strategically invaluable place that he believes will one day become America\u2019s 51st state.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Every Canadian should be concerned that officials from the Alberta government have already travelled to Washington, D.C., for talks with their American counterparts.\u00a0Both sides have said that nothing nefarious was on the agenda, and that may be true.\u00a0But no one really knows what was actually discussed at those meetings.<\/p>\n

One politician who knows the separatist issue must be put to rest is Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, whose United Conservative Party and government are full of separatists. The premier recently delivered a message to them in the wake of the Oct. 19 Alberta referendum, which saw the vast majority of Albertans\u2014approximately 75 per cent\u2014expressing their support to remain in Canada.\u00a0Smith invited the separatists in the political party to either accept the results of the referendum, or leave it and set up their own party.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The vote in Alberta provides a model of what could be done to resolve separatism in this country: a national referendum where all Canadians could vote on the relative merits of separation versus national unity.\u00a0The results of that vote should be binding.<\/p>\n

Such a binding vote will never, of course, take place.\u00a0The groups who favour separation would never agree for one very good reason.\u00a0They would not only lose such a vote, but their separatist option would be crushed.\u00a0And, in an important way, that would mean that separatism itself would be delegitimized.<\/p>\n

So where does that leave us?\u00a0In a marriage whose nagging problems can only be handled by the astute stewardship of our political leaders.\u00a0Separatism will never be defeated in one big battle. It can only be contained in a series of smaller skirmishes that depend on the wisdom of the federal government.<\/p>\n

In the past, Ottawa has not always been up to the task.\u00a0Parts of Western Canada did not feel comfortable with Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and later, Justin Trudeau, at the helm.\u00a0Fairly or unfairly, their leadership was seen as skewed toward Quebec and\u00a0Ontario.\u00a0There was a sense that the Trudeaus didn\u2019t understand the West or even really tried to.\u00a0In one form or another, that distrust exists to this day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n


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\n \n <\/p>\n

Enter Mark Carney.\u00a0This prime minister clearly understands\u00a0that Canada\u2019s future depends on making all parts of the country feel valued and appreciated.\u00a0He also knows that demonstrating that this country works is a never-ending task for every Canadian prime minister.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Consider his recent moves in Alberta.\u00a0Carney and Smith met recently in Calgary to announce a pipeline deal that will deliver one million barrels of oil per day for export to Japan, South Korea, China, and India.\u00a0Commentators have noted that this represents a \u201cmajor shift\u201d in Liberal\u00a0energy policy in line with Alberta\u2019s decision to increase oil production and export.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t his only move. Carney is also not ruling out giving Alberta additional authority on immigration matters.\u00a0Up until now, the only province that\u2019s been granted such authority is Quebec.\u00a0In 1991, Ottawa signed an agreement with Quebec that allowed the province to set its own immigration levels.\u00a0That will doubtless sit well with the one million Albertans who expressed the desire for more control over immigration in a recent referendum question.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

All this doesn\u2019t mean that separatism in Alberta has been handled any more than it has been in Quebec.\u00a0The issue is an emotional one in both provinces, and can reignite at any time. That said, the prime minister\u2019s\u00a0bold initiatives will definitely make it harder for pro-separatist advocates to make the case\u00a0that Canada isn\u2019t working.\u00a0As Carney himself put it, he is for \u201ca Canada where\u00a0our differences are strengths to be nurtured and respected, not risks to be managed.\u201d<\/p>\n

If that isn\u2019t a marriage worth staying in, what is?<\/p>\n

Michael Harris is an award-winning author and journalist. <\/p>\n

The Hill Times <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \n <\/p>\n

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