The West has been pushed to the edge: Alberta's referendum is a warning Ottawa can't ignore
Mark Carney barnstorms three cities as Alberta's first-ever secession ballot opens. Advance polls show a province that's engaged and angry. The old pattern of ignoring the West has to end.
By Grant HalePrairie affairs columnist
On Oct. 19, Albertans will walk into polling stations and face a ballot unlike any the province has seen. Ten questions, including one asking whether the province should begin the process of holding a binding vote on separating from Canada. It is the first time such a question has been put to voters in Alberta. And it is happening with the country under pressure from tariffs and annexation talk from the United States, and with a separatist government taking power in Quebec.
Prime Minister Mark Carney spent the final days of the campaign barnstorming through Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton, urging Albertans to vote to remain in Canada and to reject the other nine questions. His message, according to reports, was blunt: the stakes are high, and the referendum comes at the worst possible time. He is right about that, though perhaps not for all the reasons he would emphasize.
