Federal Conservatives Launch Campaign to Keep Alberta in Canada

The Conservative Party has launched a third-party group in Alberta to campaign for the province to remain in Canada ahead of the Oct. 19 independence referendum.

“From Sir John A. MacDonald to Stephen Harper, Conservatives have a proud legacy of fighting for our country, and that’s why I’m launching the Conservatives for Canada campaign,” Conservative MP Dane Lloyd said in a Sept. 4 statement.

The campaign’s website said it will “engage Albertans with a message of hope, respect and real change,” and make the case that the province is better off staying in Canada.

“Albertans don’t have a problem with Canada,” said Lloyd, who represents Parkland, Alta. “They have a problem with an Ottawa-knows-best attitude that has ignored Alberta’s contributions and values, and held our country back.”

Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie, who represents Calgary Midnapore, said in a statement that her province had seen “the rise of third-party groups which have been, at best, disingenuous with Albertans” on where the Conservatives stood on Alberta independence. Kusie said while the province had not been treated with the “respect that it deserves” by the federal government, the federal Conservatives still “choose to remain in the Confederation.”

“The time has passed where we will sit idly by allowing others to decide the fate of our resources and our people. We will continue to chart our path as a province of prosperity, tenacity and achievement. However, it shall be done within a strong and united Canada,” she said.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre had said earlier this summer his caucus would be campaigning against separation.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced in May that her government will include a question related to the issue of independence in the province’s upcoming referendum ballot. One of the questions on the Oct. 19 ballot will ask: “Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?”

A court had ruled that Elections Alberta improperly approved a citizen-led separatist petition, finding that the province had not met its constitutional duty to consult First Nations. Smith said the court had erred in its judgment and that, to uphold the democratic process, she would add a question related to the issue to the October provincial referendum.

The campaigners behind the original referendum question—which more directly asked about Alberta seceding from Canada—said they had managed to collect 301,620 signatures, which far exceeded the 178,000 signatures required.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he is opposed to the province’s referendum question on separation, saying in May that it could “backfire” like the United Kingdom’s Brexit vote in 2016.