Federal policy changes needed to ease separatist concerns: Poilievre

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is expected to argue a change in federal policies would ease separatist concerns in Alberta when he makes a speech in Calgary on Monday.

In an excerpt of that speech shared with The Canadian Press, Poilievre says separatist voices do not have an issue with their fellow Canadians, “they have a problem with the federal government.”

“We do not need a different country, Alberta. We need different government policies in Ottawa,” the speech reads.

The Conservative leader will argue in the address that Albertans could benefit from changes that prioritize unblocking resources, building pipelines, respecting provincial autonomy and relieving taxpayers.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said last month that her government will ask Albertans in October if they think the province should remain part of Canada or should begin the legal process for a separation referendum.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has said the Alberta referendum on separation could be a “dangerous bluff.”

Poilievre said last month that he and his caucus will be campaigning across Alberta over the summer and encouraging people to stay in “the Canadian family.”

Sam Lilly, director of media relations for the Office of the Official Opposition, declined to provide more details on what that campaign would look like when asked Sunday. He deferred to Poilievre’s speech.

In the prepared remarks, Poilievre says the answer for Alberta is to band together with other provinces to push for federal policies that advance shared interests and support industries that cross provincial lines.

Repealing what he calls Liberal “anti-development laws” like bills C-69 and C-48 would help both Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador, for example. Residents of Toronto as well as Albertan cities would benefit from a tougher criminal justice system, Poilievre argues.

He also calls for Alberta to “lock arms with Quebec” to regain provincial control over federal policies like immigration.

“Locking arms with other provinces is the practical, realistic path to a stronger Alberta within a united Canada,” the speech reads.

Carney said a referendum campaign isn’t helpful when Alberta is trying to woo investors for a pipeline. He pointed out that voters did not give Smith’s government a mandate to take this step.

Smith said in a televised address last month that not asking the question in a referendum would amount to “muzzling the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans,” something she said would be “unjustifiable” in a democracy.

A petition to trigger a referendum on Alberta separation was thrown out earlier this month by a judge, who cited the provincial government’s failure to consult Indigenous communities on the effect separation would have on their treaty rights. The Alberta government is appealing that ruling.

Carney said he plans to campaign for national unity and to show that co-operative federalism can work.

He pointed to a deal he signed with Smith earlier this month, which commits the two levels of government to working toward building a new oil pipeline to the Pacific coast, so long as industrial carbon price targets are met and carbon capture projects move ahead.

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