Canadian PM compares separatist forces in Alberta to Brexit

Carney served as Governor of the Bank of England when the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in 2016 and led the Bank of England through the complex process of completing the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.

He said Britons did not know the full consequences of their vote.

“I saw firsthand what was happening in the UK and the view was, vote for this, it would be soft and then we would negotiate,” Carney told reporters in Ottawa.

“Ten years later, they’re still trying to eliminate something that people think they didn’t vote for, but they ended up having.”

Separatists in Canada’s oil-rich province of Alberta say they have collected more than 300,000 signatures from supporters, which under Alberta law would be enough to force a referendum to leave Canada.

But an Alberta judge halted the process, saying the citizens’ initiative was invalid because the separatists had not consulted with Indigenous groups whose rights could be threatened if the province separated from Canada.

Alberta’s conservative Premier Danielle Smith called the judge’s decision “wrong” and said she would move forward with her own ballot question, structuring it so it did not violate the ruling.

In October, Smith said she planned to ask Alberta if it wanted her government to “initiate the necessary legal process to hold a binding referendum” on independence, emphasizing her personal support for the province to remain in Canada.

Asked about Smith’s vote on Monday, Carney reflected on Brexit and offered “empirical observations.”

“On these secession issues, it is often offered that voting for this is a free choice, voting for this will strengthen our hand in future negotiations. This is a very dangerous bluff,” the Prime Minister said.

Opinion polls show that about 30 per cent of Alberta’s 5 million people support independence, a record high.

The separatist camp accuses Ottawa of using excessive federal influence to stifle Alberta’s oil industry while blocking investment over what they see as unreasonable environmental concerns.

Even if the separatists lose the expected referendum, leaders from both parties say the process will permanently change Canadian politics.

FA/BS/PNB

This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.