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CALGARY, AB \u2014<\/p>\nCALGARY, AB \u2014<\/p>\n
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned Thursday that the United States is trying to break Canada so it can \u201cown us,\u201d as he urged oil-rich Alberta not to begin a process toward separation in Monday\u2019s referendum.<\/p>\n
The vote is not a direct referendum on independence. Alberta, which has the world\u2019s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, will decide whether to remain a province or instruct the government to begin the legal process toward a future referendum on separation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis referendum comes at the worst possible time,\u201d Carney told a large pro-Canada rally in Calgary. \u201cThe world has become more dangerous and divided. Some outside our borders are working to break us so they can own us.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not directly mention the U.S. or its President Donald Trump in that passage, but has done so in similar past speeches. Carney\u2019s warning came as U.S. President Donald Trump wages a trade war with Canada and after his repeated threats to make Canada the 51st U.S. state. Carney has argued that Canada needs to become more economically resilient and less dependent on the United States.<\/p>\n
Carney urged Albertans not to use the vote simply to send Ottawa a message, saying a decisive result could settle the separation question.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be fooled by the idea you can \u2018send a message\u2019 with your vote,\u201d Carney said. \u201cThis is not poker. A vote against Canada is a dangerous bluff that will lead to years of deep division and great uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carney makes the case for Canada<\/p>\n
Carney, who grew up in Alberta, spent Thursday campaigning in Calgary before addressing the Forever Canadian rally at the BMO Centre. His office estimated about 5,000 people attended, with some waiting more than two hours to get through security. Organizers were also holding a second rally with Carney in Edmonton on Friday.<\/p>\n
Video below: Will the US-Canada trade war sway elections in border state battlegrounds? Here’s what Michigan voters said<\/p>\n
Earlier Thursday, he pointed to the many Albertans who were born or educated elsewhere in Canada and to firefighters who come from across the country to help Alberta during wildfires as examples of the ties binding the province to the rest of Canada.<\/p>\n
At the rally, Carney also acknowledged the grievances that have fueled alienation in Alberta.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe frustrations that many Albertans have felt are real,\u201d he said. Carney said that while growing up, Ottawa made Albertans feel \u201clike our resources weren\u2019t our own\u201d and that more recently the province was made to feel its energy contributions were \u201cagainst the tides of history.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Liberal prime minister finds unlikely support<\/p>\n
The setting is striking for a Liberal prime minister. Alberta has spent decades feuding with Liberal governments in Ottawa, particularly over energy and federal power. But Carney has broken with some of the policies associated with his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, fast-tracked a proposed new oil pipeline to the Pacific and called Canada an energy superpower.<\/p>\n
Carney pointed to the Pacific Link pipeline as evidence of a changed relationship, saying it would create more than 140,000 jobs and generate revenue for social programs.<\/p>\n
His biggest cheer came when he said the pipeline would reduce Canada\u2019s dependence on the United States.<\/p>\n
Video below: U.S. trade rep says ‘there are gaps’ in negotiations with Canada as G20 meetings in Milwaukee wrap<\/p>\n
\u201cCareful, they might think that\u2019s election interference. A little touchy,\u201d Carney joked, drawing laughter. He was referring to U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra\u2019s warning to Canadian politicians not to interfere in the U.S. midterm elections.<\/p>\n
Tanya Clemens, co-chair of the pro-independence group Let Alberta Decide, acknowledged Carney presents a challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s formidable for sure,\u201d Clemens told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n
Clemens argued, however, that Carney\u2019s agreements with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith amount to \u201cpinky promises\u201d that do not resolve long-standing grievances with Ottawa.<\/p>\n
Keith Wilson, another leader of Let Alberta Decide, rejected Carney\u2019s argument that global instability made this the wrong time for the vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe worst timing for this, why? I don\u2019t understand what\u2019s the logic,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cThen it\u2019s the best time for him to get back to Ottawa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilson said Carney should ask Parliament to repeal federal measures that separatists say have hurt Alberta, including authority he says could be used to tax oil exports in retaliation against the United States. He predicted Carney would eventually impose such a tax despite Carney saying he sees no value in using Canadian energy exports as leverage against the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one cabinet meeting away,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cHe\u2019s gonna do it. He has to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith, who called the vote but supports remaining in Canada, cast her ballot Wednesday and said she voted for Alberta to remain in Canada. She has said support for separation remains too high for her liking.<\/p>\n
\u201cCanada can still work,\u201d Smith said after voting. \u201cWe just need to make some changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel B\u00e9land, a political science professor at McGill University, called Carney\u2019s popularity in Alberta \u201chighly unusual\u201d for a Liberal prime minister. He said Carney has also benefited from a \u201cTrump effect,\u201d as Trump\u2019s trade war and 51st-state threats have rallied Canadians around their leader \u2014 even in Alberta.<\/p>\n
From the political fringe to a provincewide vote<\/p>\n
The referendum marks a remarkable rise for a cause long relegated to Alberta\u2019s political fringes. After the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 Freedom Convoy, activists who had organized against vaccine mandates and other restrictions turned their attention to Alberta independence.<\/p>\n
The convoy began over vaccine requirements for cross-border truckers but grew into a broader protest against pandemic restrictions, paralyzing downtown Ottawa and blocking major Canada-U.S. border crossings. <\/p>\n
Clemens said COVID accelerated the movement by teaching people how to organize politically and become more involved in party politics. She said separatists also see Monday\u2019s vote not simply as a step toward independence but as a way to give Alberta leverage in negotiations with Ottawa.<\/p>\n
Advance voting runs through Saturday, with the final vote Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CALGARY, AB \u2014 Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned Thursday that the United States is trying to break…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":884037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2428,371116,4,450,103,144485,451,28615,109137,371113,3,16249,34587,337737,371115,371114,16597,452,453,21,19043,4398],"class_list":["post-884036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-alberta","tag-albertans","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-canada","tag-carney","tag-headlines","tag-independence","tag-keith-wilson","tag-mpnd-mark-carney","tag-news","tag-ottawa","tag-prime-minister-mark-carney","tag-referendum","tag-separation-path","tag-tanya-clemens","tag-thursday","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-united-states","tag-vote","tag-warning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/884037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}