Carney tells Albertans Canada is worth fighting for

Prime Minister Mark Carney used his Thanksgiving message on Monday to urge Albertans to vote to stay in Canada, one week before the province votes in its Oct. 19 referendum on separation.

Carney said Canada is “worth fighting for” and that the country is “stronger together,” according to The Canadian Press. He said Ottawa is working on “big things” in Alberta, including a new pipeline to the West Coast, and argued those goals cannot be reached if the country is divided.

The prime minister also said Canada must stay strong against threats to its economy, security and culture, The Canadian Press reported. CTV News said he framed the message as a direct appeal to Alberta voters to choose unity and prosperity.

Albertans will decide whether the province remains in Canada or begins the process toward a second, binding referendum on leaving Confederation. The Canadian Press did not report the exact ballot wording in its story. Our voting explainer has the practical details on where and how to vote.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is scheduled to speak in Calgary on Friday, also urging Albertans to stay in Canada, The Canadian Press reported. That means the two largest federal parties are now both pressing the Remain case in the final stretch.

The message lands as the campaign enters its homestretch with speeches and rallies, and as turnout has become a central question. CTV News is also carrying commentary from former premier Jason Kenney, whose remarks are summarized in headlines as saying evidence of progress with Ottawa may reduce separatist support, and from a former premier warning that low turnout could swing the vote toward separatists. Canada News Media has not read the full text of either piece, so those characterizations are attributed to CTV’s headlines only.

Polling so far has favoured staying. An Ipsos poll for Global News, conducted online from May 28 to June 1 with 600 Alberta residents, found 72 per cent would vote to remain in Canada and 18 per cent would vote to leave in a hypothetical binding vote. That was down 10 points from 28 per cent in January. Angus Reid polling from May 22 to 24, as cited by Global News, found 60 per cent would vote to stay and 35 per cent would support beginning the separation process.

Those polls are several months old, and the Ipsos survey also found separation supporters were less certain of their choice than those who want to stay. Ipsos reported that 90 per cent of stay voters called their choice definite, compared with 70 per cent of separation voters. A referendum result depends on who actually votes, which is why the turnout warnings matter.

The vote is also running into administrative strain. Elections Alberta said last week that more than 3,000 mail-in ballot packages had been returned with errors that make them invalid, and that voters still had time to send corrected information by email. Our earlier report on the faulty mail-in ballots has more, and Calgary council’s backing of a unity motion is covered here.

The story is developing. Canada News Media was unable to read a direct transcript of the prime minister’s message, so the quotes above come from The Canadian Press. No response from Premier Danielle Smith to the message was found in the sources read.

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Via The Canadian Press (Chronicle-Journal) and CTV News. Poll figures via Global News and Ipsos.