Voter ballot boxes to be used for the 2026 Alberta Referendum in Edmonton, Sept. 3.James Maclennan/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney suggested Thursday his government will not send funds to cash-strapped groups fighting to keep Alberta in Canada and played down the need for more money.
Provincial rules strictly limit Ottawa’s spending in the lead-up to Alberta’s Oct. 19 referendum on separation. But local federalist groups working to identify pro-Canada voters and get them out to the polls are struggling to raise the cash needed to run a full-scale campaign.
Against that backdrop, and with the future of Canada on the ballot, some federalists have argued that Ottawa should circumvent the rules, while others believe such a move would backfire.
Asked twice on Thursday whether his government would put money toward the get-out-the-vote campaigns, Mr. Carney instead pointed to other ways they are supporting the federalist effort.
“I’ll be here, ministers will be here, we’ll be doing our jobs. People will be observing what we do,” the Prime Minister said.
“One of the strengths of the system we have in Canada is it’s not a money game. Yes, a certain amount is required, but it’s about people. It’s about participation.”
Mr. Carney said his responsibility is to deliver for Albertans and show that Canada can work for Alberta. He urged them to vote on Oct. 19 and fight for the country.
JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
The referendum question will ask voters whether they wish to remain in Canada or trigger a binding secession vote. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said that the formal separation referendum, if approved by voters, would happen within months.
Public-opinion polls show that separatist voters are in the minority in Alberta – but they are also highly motivated. That means that how many people show up to vote on Oct. 19 could be the determining factor between a nail-biter and a decisive win for the federalist side.
Former Alberta NDP MLA Shannon Phillips disagreed with Mr. Carney’s view that money is not a necessity in the campaign. Ms. Phillips, the province’s former environment minister, said the October vote is too existential a matter for the federal government to leave resources on the table.
“The risks here are too high to be whistling past the graveyard,” Ms. Phillips said. “And in my view, the federal government does have the tools that it is not using to ensure that we consign these questions of national unity to political oblivion.”
Ms. Phillips said Mr. Carney’s office should be rolling out a specific, provincewide advertising campaign. Just visiting Alberta and leaning on his ministers to do the same won’t be enough, she said, adding that Mr. Carney should use his current popularity in the province to his advantage.
“Is anybody going to be persuaded by a finance minister from Quebec? I don’t think so,” she said. “If they’re a swing voter flirting with separatism, what will help is people like Mark Carney making the case and making the case beyond pipelines.”
Meanwhile, the Alberta government is spending $4-million on its referendum campaign, Sam Blackett, Ms. Smith’s spokesperson, wrote in a statement to The Globe and Mail.
In Depth: The cash-strapped, disorganized fight to keep Alberta in Canada
But the secession question is one of 10 to be put to voters on Oct. 19; the others cover topics such as immigration and the future of the Senate. It is unclear whether Ms. Smith will use the $4-million budget to explicitly advertise against separation.
Her office said the province will urge voters to support “a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada.”
The first provincial online and billboard advertisements appeared this week. However, one of those ads, seen by The Globe, sidelines the federalist argument.
“Stand up for a stronger Alberta” is emblazoned across the top in large capital letters. The poster does not expressly state that separation is on the ballot, and the line “a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada” only appears at the bottom in much smaller print.
Mr. Blackett did not respond to follow-up questions about whether the province will explicitly encourage Albertans to vote to remain in Canada.
The Premier has said she will vote against separation, but has stopped short of saying she would campaign for Albertans to vote that way.
Public-opinion polls show that separatist voters are in the minority in Alberta – but they are also highly motivated.Todd Korol/Reuters
Donations have trickled into the coffers of federalist groups. For example, as of Sept. 3, Vote to Stay had raised $97,791. (Let Alberta Decide, a separatist group led by lawyer Keith Wilson, is the best-funded third-party advertiser, receiving nearly $485,000 in donations since June.)
Monte Solberg, the former Conservative cabinet minister behind Vote to Stay, said in an interview that he believes he can still run an effective campaign.
“At this point, we’re not expecting a bunch of money to come in, but we’re still in the game,” Mr. Solberg said.
The provincial rules prevent co-ordination between the approximately half a dozen federalist campaigns that have launched over the summer.
Ken Boessenkool, who is involved with Lead Not Leave, a pro-Canada think tank, said “it is crazy” that no single entity is running the federalist campaign. He said he is concerned about how effective the campaigns can be without more co-ordination and funding.
“The reality of politics is the best campaigns are centrally co-ordinated and centrally run,” he said. “Canada is too important to leave this to multiple entities doing their own individual work.”
