In Thanksgiving Message, Carney Urges Alberta to Stay: 'You Can't Build Big Things on Fault Lines'
On Thanksgiving Day, October 12, 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney used his holiday message to address Alberta's vote one week later. The Associated Press reported that Carney warned a vote to begin the process toward a separation referendum would start a long and uncertain process at a dangerous time for Canada. This year, Thanksgiving is a bit different, he said in the video message.
Filmed at his old high school, St. Francis Xavier in Edmonton, Carney noted he grew up in Alberta. He said the federal government is building big things in the province, including a new pipeline to the West Coast, but that Canada cannot achieve those goals if the country is divided. You can't build big things on fault lines, he said, adding that generations of Albertans helped build the country and that it is worth fighting for.
The October 19 ballot asks Albertans whether the province should remain in Canada or direct the provincial government to begin the legal process toward a later, binding separation referendum; the vote itself is non-binding and would not directly remove Alberta from the federation. Premier Danielle Smith, who called the vote, supports remaining in Canada and has said polling puts separation support at roughly 22 percent, a level she called still too high for her liking. Independence leader Keith Wilson urged a vote for the referendum path, arguing Alberta needs leverage and lasting change in its dealings with Ottawa.
The debate unfolds against U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and repeated talk of making Canada the 51st state, which has strained relations between the longtime allies. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was scheduled to speak in Calgary on Friday urging Alberta to stay, and B.C. Premier David Eby used his own Thanksgiving message to encourage unity. Léger's October 8 poll found 70 percent of respondents favoured remaining in Canada, versus 22 percent for starting the separation process.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 埃德蒙顿的阿尔伯塔省议会大楼。摄影：WinterforceMedia，CC0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
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