Carney warns Alberta voters: Canada’s PM says forces outside US want to break the country

Carney campaigns against separation

Speaking at a pro-Canada rally in Calgary on Thursday, Carney said the referendum was arriving during a dangerous and divided period. He warned that some outside Canada were working to break the country so they could own it.

Carney did not name the United States or President Donald Trump in that part of his speech. However, the warning came amid a trade dispute launched by Trump and repeated threats from Washington to make Canada the 51st state.

A vote with lasting consequences

Carney urged Albertans not to use the referendum as a symbolic protest against Ottawa. He said a decisive result could settle the separation question for years and warned that voting against Canada could bring prolonged division and uncertainty.

The prime minister, who grew up in Alberta, pointed to connections between the province and the rest of Canada. He cited residents born or educated elsewhere in the country and firefighters who had come from across Canada to help fight local wildfires.

Energy and federal policy tensions

Carney has argued that Canada should strengthen its domestic economy and rely less on the US market. His comments on reducing that reliance drew the loudest applause at the Calgary rally.

Separatists challenge Carney’s pitch

Tanya Clemens, co-chair of Let Alberta Decide, called Carney formidable but described his commitments to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith as “pinky promises.” She said they did not address long-standing grievances. Wilson questioned why Carney considered the timing of the referendum especially poor and argued that Parliament should repeal federal measures separatists say harm Alberta. Premier Smith, who called the vote but supports remaining in Canada, voted early on Wednesday to stay and acknowledged that support for separation was higher than she wanted.

Support for vote has expanded

Political science professor Daniel Béland of McGill University said Carney’s reception in Alberta was highly unusual for a Liberal prime minister. He said trade tensions and statehood comments from Washington had helped unite Canadians behind federal leadership.

The separation push grew from a fringe movement into a provincewide vote after the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 Freedom Convoy. Activists who first organized against vaccine mandates later turned toward provincial independence.