Canada has chosen Canada. The unofficial result of the referendum on Alberta secession is an overwhelming defeat for separatists — and their supporters in Washington. With about 86 percent of the ballots counted on Tuesday, about 76 percent of voters favored remaining in Canada.
This completely expected result has thrown up the question that has haunted the process from the beginning: Why were we doing this in the first place? The answer seems to be the need of Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith, to assuage the extremists within her party, the United Conservative Party of Alberta. Ms. Smith has claimed that she is “very pleased” with the outcome of the vote — she explicitly campaigned against separation — but the referendum was nevertheless a handy diversion from the corruption and incompetence scandals that have roiled her government since she took office in 2022. Albertans paid roughly 130 million Canadian dollars ($92 million) for the distraction. By trying to please everyone, she has enraged everyone.
Only a third of voters who said yes on the referendum question favored the idea of an independent Alberta. Their reasons included to “get a better deal” on federal-provincial relations and “to send a message” to Ottawa. In May, an Alberta court declared the referendum to be invalid, on the basis of its incompatibility with First Nations rights.
American officials have understood the Alberta referendum as a useful tool for their predations from the beginning. Alberta separatists met with Republican operatives associated with 10X Votes. The U.S. Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has supported the separatist cause, calling Albertans “very independent people” who would make a “natural partner for the U.S.” He has also described Canada as a “little yipping dog.”.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing