Carney and Smith rally for Canadian unity as Alberta referendum nears

Analysis

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith stood together at a federalist rally in Red Deer on Friday, urging Albertans to vote to keep the province in Canada in Monday’s referendum.

“But today we can all agree that on Question 10, that we are voting for Option 1 to remain in Canada,” Smith told a crowd of pro-Canada supporters.

READ MORE: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith votes to stay in Canada in separation referendum

READ MORE: Carney says Canada 'worth fighting for' as Alberta separation vote nears

The joint appearance came a day after Carney urged Albertans to vote “no to the nine,” referring to Smith’s nine other proposals on immigration and constitutional changes also on the ballot.

Smith stood her ground on her plan to wrest more control over immigration from Ottawa.

“I 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,” she told Carney in Red Deer, handing him Alberta government literature advertising her proposals.

Former Alberta premier Ed Stelmach, who co-authored an op-ed this week also calling for voters to reject Smith’s immigration questions, stood next to her.

Personal appeals for unity

Carney delivered similar speeches at rallies in Calgary on Thursday and Edmonton on Friday, making a personal appeal for a united Canada.

“This referendum is about something larger than any of us,” he said at an event organized by Forever Canadian, one of the province’s most prominent federalist groups.

He told thousands in Edmonton that it would be foolish to gamble with the province’s future, “just to send a message.”

“A vote against Canada is a dangerous bluff that will lead to years of deep uncertainty and lost opportunities for Albertans and for Canadians,” the prime minister said.

He acknowledged past grievances, saying Ottawa had made Albertans feel their resources weren’t their own.

“The frustrations that many Albertans have felt are real,” Carney said.

He touted the Pacific Link pipeline as a “nation-building” project and said Alberta is at the centre of his government’s plans.

Former premier Jason Kenney credited Carney with his campaign strategy, pointing to the prime minister’s push for an oil pipeline and his reference to himself as an Albertan.

“I think he’s played it just about right. He’s not been here constantly, and he’s not telling us, telling Albertans how to think or what to do,” Kenney said.

Divisions beyond separation

While united on the main separation question, politicians diverged on Smith’s nine other referendum questions.

Those questions propose restricting some newcomers’ access to social services and charging some non-permanent residents for their access to health and education.

Smith says she is seeking to fortify her mandate by getting the electorate’s approval on those questions, which she argues would provide leverage to gain more autonomy within Confederation.

At the Edmonton rally, Mayor Andrew Knack asked the crowd to also consider the nine other questions.

He argued those questions were meant to divide Albertans and said the referendum removes focus from “real priorities” like new schools or hospitals.

The audience responded to Knack, chanting “no to nine.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, speaking at a conservative conference in Calgary, made his case to Albertans to reject choosing a second, binding separation referendum.

He argued that many of the frustrations Albertans feel are no different from those shared by Canadians across the country.

“To 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,” Poilievre said.

While he didn’t mention Smith’s nine other referendum questions, he encouraged voters to “lock arms with Quebeckers who want to have full autonomy over their provincial jurisdiction, just like we Albertans do.”

Conservative MP Dane Lloyd, spearheading the party’s pro-Canada campaign, said the Conservatives’ 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’re still “overwhelmingly pro-Canada.”

Elections Alberta is expecting a strong turnout, estimating between 80 and 85 percent of registered voters will cast a vote.

As of Friday night, more than one million Albertans had cast votes in advance polls.

Voting stations open at 9 a.m. Monday and close at 8 p.m.

With files from The Globe and Mail, CBC News and Global News