Braid: Will 'yes' vote on independence force Premier Smith to act? She won't say
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If Albertans vote 'yes' to separation in a referendum, would she proceed to pull Alberta out of Canada?
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The premier did not say no. Neither did she say yes.
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'Until I see an actual question with 177,000 signatures of Albertans that are supportive of it, it's difficult for me to know what that looks like,' she said at Tuesday's news conference.
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'I did say (Monday) in my commentary that I will respect the wishes of Albertans, and at the moment, they're a bit undefined about what it is Albertans want to do.
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'I think if an election were held today, it (Alberta independence) would get about 30 per cent support.
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'So that's why I want to make sure that those numbers do not get higher and . . . end up going lower because we're successful in negotiating a new arrangement with Canada.'
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Smith is setting up the referendum idea as a pressure valve for angry Albertans. She'll let them get signatures while she tries to get a deal with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
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Her personal view is clear — she's no separatist, yet. She seems to follow the Free Alberta Strategy that sees independence as a last resort.
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But her referendum vote could be the best thing that ever happened to Alberta separatism.
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The signature drive will motivate our separatists to organize, raise money and work hard. They'll pick up sympathizers along the way. They have Smith's full approval to give it a try.
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Postmedia's Rahim Mohamed asked a crucial question — would she allow her MLAs and ministers to campaign for one side or the other in a referendum campaign?
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Smith said the UCP was founded in 2017 with a declaration of 'loyalty to a united Canada and a commitment for Alberta to be a leader in the Canadian Federation.'
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'All I can do is try to convince people that my view is right, that it's worth giving it a try, it's worth doing the negotiation and it's worth trying to find some way for the federal government to compromise.'
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