As part of a televised address aired Tuesday night, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government was committed to pursuing reforms as part of a mandate delivered by Albertans on referendum night.
But the premier committed to doing that “within the political and legal institutions of our nation.”
“I am well aware that not every grievance Alberta has with Ottawa has been resolved. There are still many political and constitutional battles ahead of us,” Smith said as part of her remarks.
“But I am also convinced that the federal government is no longer targeting and trying to phase out and eliminate Alberta’s largest economic sectors as they attempted to do under the previous prime minister.”
The premier has previously praised the federal government for its new approach to major projects, such as the Pacific Link pipeline.
Smith had also demanded that Ottawa address what she called the “nine bad laws,” seven of which the province now considers to be “scrapped or reformed.”
“Today, we begin the next chapter. Let us move forward not as a people divided by how we voted yesterday, but as neighbours, friends, Albertans and Canadians,” Smith said.
Smith also reiterated that she would “not be holding another referendum on this issue” as long as she is premier, something she told CBC News earlier this month.
Those comments come as the original citizen’s initiative petition that called for a vote on separation remains stalled before the courts, pending an appeal.
Jeffrey Rath with the Alberta Prosperity Project is pictured during a rerendum watch party in Edmonton on Oct. 19. (John Ulan/The Canadian Press)
After Monday’s referendum results became clear, Alberta Prosperity Project co-founder Jeffrey Rath said they wouldn’t mark the end of the province’s independence movement.
And Rath said that would include evaluating whether Smith should remain head of the United Conservative Party.
“There needs to be a serious discussion within the party as to whether or not we want to continue to be led by a federalist,” said Rath.
Results still pending
The Alberta referendum saw about three-quarters of voters wanting to remain in Canada, according to preliminary results.
But the margins for the nine other referendum questions, which were concerned with immigration and constitutional changes, are far closer as ballots continue to be tallied.
Smith, who said throughout the campaign that she was in favour of remaining in Canada, had advocated for Albertans to deliver her a mandate on the other nine questions.
She has also said that she would seek “majority rule” to act on those questions, meaning a 50 per cent plus one threshold. As of 6:45 p.m. MT, the lone question below that threshold was the constitutional question tied to opting out of federal transfers.
“We will be pursuing the reforms approved by Albertans through this referendum in the coming months and years ahead,” Smith said.
Some of the questions that received “yes” votes face an uncertain road toward ever being implemented, such as abolishing the Senate. That change would require the support of all 10 provinces, as well as the House of Commons and the Senate itself.
After the vote, Prime Minister Mark Carney noted constitutional change would be a difficult and lengthy process.
But, he said disputes tied to areas such as immigration could be accomplished without constitutional change.
Asked about some Albertans voting in favour of immigration reforms for Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney says reductions in the numbers of asylum seekers, temporary foreign workers and foreign students show Ottawa is moving toward a ‘more sustainable pace’ on immigration. Carney also said he’s open to finding ‘more solutions’ with provinces.
Nenshi dismisses referendum as a ‘political exercise’
The Opposition NDP has suggested that in advancing the referendum, the premier showed that she is more focused on self-preservation than the interests of Albertans.
Speaking in Calgary on Tuesday prior to Smith’s speech, NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said the Alberta referendum had come at a “tremendous financial and mental cost.”
Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi says the Oct. 19 provincial referendum vote was costly, and didn’t deliver a strong mandate for UCP Leader Danielle Smith. Elections Alberta continues to count ballots. The final results on all 10 questions are expected to be announced by Oct. 21.
“[The money] could’ve been spent on building more schools; it could’ve been spent on hiring doctors and nurses,” Nenshi said.
“Instead, it was spent on a political exercise to save Danielle Smith’s political skin, and to pay back a debt that she owed the separatists who got her into power.”
In response to a request for comment, Elections Alberta said it had not yet released a budget for the referendum.
The elections office added it will submit the budget to the Standing Committee on Legislative Offices in November.
Federalists, separatists weigh in on speech
Monte Solberg with the pro-federalist campaign Vote to Stay called Smith’s remarks “refreshing,” including what he viewed as an olive branch to separatists.
“The province is divided. There’s no question that the polarization that you see online has helped divide families, organizations, companies, and certainly politics,” said Solberg, who was also an Alberta MP from 1993 to 2008 for the Reform Party, Canadian Alliance and the Conservatives.
“Seeing that leadership from the top, I think, can help heal the rift to some degree.”
While Alberta separatists may not have gotten the result they hoped for in the referendum, it’s clear that many constitutional and immigration reforms will need to be addressed by the provincial and federal governments. For Ted Morton, executive fellow at the University of Calgary School of Public Policy, the ideal solution is still greater independence safe within Confederation. Power & Politics speaks with the former Alberta cabinet minister who co-authored the ‘Firewall Letter’ 25 years ago.
Kathy Flett, leader of Alberta Women for Independence, said the premier’s words were “nothing surprising.”
She said Smith’s commitment to not hold a second referendum on independence wouldn’t “silence” the conversation.
“It might go on the backburner for a little bit. I’m not sure. We’ll see,” Flett said. “But it’s not done.”
