The premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan publicly reiterated their opposition to separating from Canada, rejecting a suggestion from billionaire Elon Musk that both provinces should pursue independence.
The two publicly restated their position after Musk, a former adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, suggested on X that the two Prairie provinces and Quebec would benefit from independence.
“Quebec should separate,” the owner of SpaceX, Tesla, and X Corp. said in an Oct. 7 post following the election of the separatist Parti Québécois earlier this week.
His comment referenced a headline that said Quebec’s premier-elect, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, had voiced a desire for Québécois independence to “be realized one day.”
“They would be better off,” Musk said in a subsequent post. “Alberta and Saskatchewan should separate too.”
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe replied with a single word: “No.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith didn’t respond on X, but released a media statement opposing Musk’s suggestion.
“Our government, our Caucus, and our party support Alberta remaining in Canada,” she said.
Moe has repeatedly described himself as a “true Canadian” and emphasized his government’s commitment to a unified Canada. He has attributed discussions about Western Canadian separation to grievances over a decade of federal policies that he says failed to adequately consult or consider the affected provinces, rather than to a genuine desire to leave Confederation.
Meanwhile, Moe has said he would not block a formal citizen-led petition or plebiscite on the matter if it legally met the threshold under Saskatchewan’s referendum and plebiscite legislation.
He has also defended Smith’s handling of separation-related questions in Alberta’s upcoming provincial referendum.
“My perspective of what I see Premier Smith doing here—she’s following the law,” Moe told reporters this spring while attending the annual meeting of Western premiers.
“We have plebiscite legislation in Saskatchewan. B.C., I believe has a plebiscite legislation as well,” he added. “Those are the three provinces that have citizen initiatives, initiative questions that can be put forward and so if that was met in Saskatchewan, we’re a government that would follow the law in that space.”
Smith has said she will vote for Alberta to remain part of Canada in the province’s Oct. 19 referendum because “Canada can work.” The vote will decide if the province should stay in Canada or whether there should be a second binding referendum on separation.
“I have been clear with Albertans from the start that I support remaining in Canada and that has and will continue to be the position of my government and my caucus,” she said during a May press conference. “I believe Albertans should remain in Canada, and I would ask that all Albertans join me in voting to remain a province of Canada.”
Smith has said the referendum should move forward to give a voice to the hundreds of thousands of Albertans that are both for and against separation. She has said she hopes the vote will finally put the question of separation to rest.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
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