Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has appealed for national unity as Alberta prepares to vote on whether to begin the process of seeking independence from Canada.
In a Thanksgiving message released on Monday, Mr Carney warned that the country could not make progress while divided. “We can’t build big things on fault lines,” he said, adding: “We have to be strong, and we are stronger together.”
Albertans will vote on October 19 on a non-binding proposal that would start the legal process required to hold a future binding referendum on secession.
The question asks whether Alberta should remain a Canadian province or whether its government should begin the constitutional process towards a binding provincial vote on separation.
Alberta secession vote follows energy tensions
The separatist campaign has been driven by longstanding grievances over federal energy and environmental policies. Its supporters accuse Ottawa of unfairly targeting Alberta’s oil and gas industry, a central part of the provincial economy.
Most Albertans are understood to oppose independence, despite the increased visibility of the secession movement.
Mr Carney, who grew up in Alberta, recorded his message in a classroom at his former school, St Francis Xavier High School in Edmonton.
He said Alberta was again being used to build major projects, including thousands of new homes, high-speed rail and a new pipeline to the west coast. Those schemes, he said, would create “lasting opportunity and prosperity” for people in the province and across Canada.
The campaign is also being watched in the United States, amid strained relations between Canada and the country under President Donald Trump.
An investigation by The Globe and Mail reported that Republican operatives from the US had met Alberta separatist organisers to discuss campaign strategies. It said separatist leaders had offered access to the province’s water and oil royalties in return for American support for independence, allegations the leaders have disputed.
The Alberta vote comes after the separatist Parti Quebecois won the most seats in a provincial election in Quebec last week, returning to power after more than a decade. It secured 59 of the 129 seats in Quebec’s National Assembly, leaving it without a majority.
Elon Musk, the US technology entrepreneur, welcomed the result on social media and said Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan should separate. He has previously used his wealth and influence to support political causes, particularly on the far right.
