Two former Alberta political foes are joining forces to make the case for the province to stay in Canada.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says former premiers Jason Kenney and Rachel Notley are co-chairing its campaign to keep the country united.
Kenney was a premier under the United Conservative Party, defeating Notley’s NDP government in 2019.
The chamber says the pair will lead the campaign in demonstrating that a prosperous Alberta includes Canada.
The chamber says campaign details are still being worked out but it will be driven by discussions between the co-chairs and members.
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Albertans are set to vote in an Oct. 19 referendum on whether they want the province to remain in Canada or to hold a second, binding vote on quitting the country.
“With geopolitical and economic uncertainty reshaping global trade and investment, Canada will be only better off with greater economic co-operation — not less,” chamber president Candace Laing said in a statement.
Kenney has been outspoken all summer in condemning the separatist push in Alberta.
He says separatism has been a fringe movement in the province and it threatens to undermine the resolution of legitimate provincial grievances with the federal government.
Notley has blamed Premier Danielle Smith’s UCP government for foisting what Notley calls a separatist agenda on Albertans.
In a statement to The Canadian Press, she said she and Kenney disagree on plenty of things but agree the referendum is bad for business in Alberta and bad timing during a trade war with the United States.
“We’ll no doubt be standing shoulder to shoulder on this up until we can put it to bed once and for all,” Notley said.
“Then we can get back to respectfully debating issues from opposing sides in a healthy democracy, which is kind of the whole point we’re making here.”
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