Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada’s expectations that foreign governments, including the United States, will stay out of Alberta’s referendum are “absolutely clear.”
Speaking to Global News in Calgary Thursday morning, Carney said that it’s “fundamental” for Canada to ensure the integrity of elections at all levels of government — including the Oct. 19 referendum that will decide if Alberta will hold a vote on separating.
“Our expectation is, to be absolutely clear, on foreign governments, United States included, is we don’t get ourselves involved in their elections, they don’t get themselves in our elections,” Carney said.
“Fundamental point: the way to ensure there’s no foreign interference in an election is to get out and vote in the election, and let’s have the voices of Albertans heard.”
The prime minister was in Alberta ahead of the Oct. 19 vote, which includes a question on whether Albertans want to begin the legal process to hold a binding referendum on separation from Canada.
The issue has dominated Albertan politics for more than a year, and been tinged with concerns about foreign actors supporting the separatist cause.
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Leading figures in the separatist movement have claimed to have traveled to the U.S. to appeal for assistance from the State Department.
Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has openly mused about Alberta being a “natural partner” for the U.S. and Howard Lutnik, Trump’s commerce secretary, has accused Carney of collapsing trade talks to somehow gain “leverage” over the separatist movement.
Carney told Global News that Canada’s national security agencies are actively watching for covert foreign interference in the referendum, but said he could not speak to specifics.
“It’s fundamental to ensure the integrity of all our elections, whether it’s municipal, this referendum, national, provincial elections … Our national security agencies are very active in monitoring potential foreign interference,” Carney said.
“Ultimately … there’s a limit to what I can say, given the codes, but there’s active involvement in that.”
Carney appealed directly to Albertans to vote against a formal separation referendum, talking up his government’s recent announcements of federal projects — including a new pipeline, the Pacific Link, to the B.C. coast — in the province.
Carney also pointed to the aftermath of the Brexit referendum — which took place while he was governor of the Bank of England — as something Alberta should want to avoid.
“It wasn’t clear what Brexit meant at the time people made that vote. And for the next few years, while that was being determined, there was huge uncertainty, investments stopped, the economy started to underperform,” Carney said.
“Now the economy is at least 10 per cent lower than it would otherwise be. We’re taking thousands and thousands of dollars of earnings that people are giving up, higher taxes, higher debt on the government.”
Instead, Carney said Alberta has an opportunity to “boldly move forward” as a province within Canada.
“The world’s opening up to Canada. Let’s take advantage of it. Or take another path, which is not the one I recommend, which is (to) subject ourselves to uncertainty, slower economy, higher debt, higher taxes, and missed opportunity,” Carney said.
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