Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith has said Canada’s oil province will go ahead with a referendum on whether to remain in the federation or secede, stating that “Alberta’s future will be decided by Albertans, not the courts.”
“The fact is that between the “Forever Canada” petition requesting a referendum on Alberta remaining in Canada, and the “Stay Free Alberta” petition requesting a referendum on leaving Canada, approximately 700,000 Albertans have signed petitions requesting a vote on this issue,” Smith said, as quoted by Canadian media.
“And I, as Premier, will not have a legal mistake by a single judge silence the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans. That’s not the Alberta way. Alberta’s future will be decided by Albertans, not the courts.”
CBC reported earlier in the week that the outcome of the referendum, to be held in October, would not automatically lead to a change in the province’s status, should the vote go the secession way. What it would do is clear the way for another referendum, whose results would be binding.
Talk about a separation between Alberta and Ottawa has been growing louder over the past couple of years as the oil province grows increasingly frustrated with federal policies seen to put Albertans and their businesses at a disadvantage. Earlier this month, a judge even stopped a petition by a pro-cession group called Stay Free Alberta that called for a referendum on whether the province should become independent. The ruling prompted Premier Smith’s remark about “a legal mistake by a single judge”.
Alberta is a major contributor to federal budget revenues thanks to its oil and gas industry, which recently returned to the spotlight as a hero rather than villain, as Ottawa’s new cabinet changed the previous administration’s tune on emission reduction above all else, now prioritizing the profitable development of the country’s oil and gas wealth.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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