Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Alberta on Friday to unveil a preliminary agreement for a crude oil pipeline alongside Premier Danielle Smith. The visit comes days after a provincial court dealt a major setback to the separatist movement seeking a referendum on secession.
The Alberta Prosperity Project, a group leading the secessionist push, has sought to capitalize on regional discontent with the Liberal government's regulations on the oil and gas industry. Earlier this year, members met with US State Department officials to discuss secession logistics.
On Wednesday, Justice Shaina Leonard ruled that the province's chief electoral officer was wrong to allow separatists to collect signatures for a referendum, as the process should have triggered consultations with Indigenous peoples whose rights might be violated by secession. "Alberta independence would fundamentally contravene" land treaties, Leonard stated.
Another group, Stay Free Alberta, claimed to have delivered a petition with over 300,000 signatures, enough to trigger a referendum. Premier Smith called the court decision "incorrect in law" and announced an appeal. While not personally supporting secession, Smith has enacted laws lowering the signature threshold for referendums.
Polls indicate about a third of Albertans support secession. Carney's Liberal government has pushed for national unity amid US tariffs and tensions with President Trump. The pipeline deal represents a compromise between Carney's environmental regulations and Smith's push for the project.
Carney stressed the agreement has "multiple preconditions," including stricter industrial carbon pricing and a new carbon capture project. Political analysts warn Carney must tread carefully on the separatist issue to avoid backlash.
"It could be dangerous for Carney if he steps into the conversation about Alberta and tries to dismiss the sovereignty idea," said Adrienne Davidson, a political science professor at McMaster University. "It could be seen as Ottawa just trying to run the show and could absolutely backfire for him."
Source: www.aljazeera.com