Smith says Ottawa has the potential to snuff out Alberta independence movement
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Thursday that momentum for Alberta secession could be deflated should Ottawa deliver more economic projects to the West.
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Smith made the remarks at a news conference following the conclusion of the two-day Western Premiers Conference in Yellowknife, with the premiers of N.W.T., Yukon, Nunavut, B.C., Saskatchewan, and Manitoba all participating.
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Speaking to media, the leaders indicated they broadly agreed on the potential for the West to drive Canada's economy in the years to come, a message Smith said could tamper separatist sentiment in her province.
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'I think in fact, if Prime Minister Mark Carney acts on the ideas in our communique today, that it would take the wind right out of any effort.'
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She said the Western premiers had agreed on the need to increase domestic trade via economic corridors and find ways to get products from western Canada to more markets in light of continued American tariffs.
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'If we can find some support from the federal government on that, I think that's all that the people of Alberta have been looking for.'
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Smith and all of the other premiers from across Canada are slated to meet with Carney in Saskatoon in two weeks. Carney has pledged to end interprovincial trade barriers by Canada Day.
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Support for separation has grown in Alberta in the weeks following the election victory by the federal Liberals last month.
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Opposition New Democrats have accused Smith of stirring that sentiment, including through her government's legislation that lowers the number of signatures and increases the timeline to gather those signatures for a citizen-led referendum.
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Smith repeated Thursday that she believes in a 'strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada' and has previously stated her government itself has no plans to put the independence question to a vote.
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Local media outlet Cabin Radio reported that the Dene Nation organized a rally ahead of the start of the conference on Wednesday in support of treaty rights and in opposition to Alberta secession.
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The potential for a separation referendum has resulted in a backlash, most prominently from Indigenous chiefs who assert their own treaty sovereignty with Ottawa. Some of those leaders have called on Smith to abandon rhetoric they deem to be dangerous while the Onion Lake Cree Nation has revived a previously dormant legal challenge to the Smith government's signature sovereignty act.
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