Fact Check: Should Alberta’s referendum be cancelled?
Naheed Nenshi is urging Danielle Smith to cancel the October referendum amid the ongoing U.S.-Canada trade war.
NDP leader Naheed Nenshi has stated that Premier Danielle Smith must cancel or delay the non-binding referendum scheduled for October 19th in Alberta due to the current trade dispute with the USA. It’s a ridiculous and dangerous contention that threatens the underpinnings of democracy.
The referendum set for fall isn’t a notion or a plan. It’s a campaign which has been officially running since the order in council was passed by the Alberta government months ago. Thousands of volunteers have been working, and donors have cumulatively given well over a million dollars to third-party advertising groups for the campaigns. Possibly millions if Thomas Lukaszuk’s group ever reports its funding.
To suddenly cut the whole affair off would be a slap in the face to Alberta citizens participating in the process, not to mention the over 700,000 who signed petitions to put unity to the question.
Once a democratic exercise has dates, ballots, campaign rules, and voters already applying for special ballots, cancellation is not a minor scheduling change. It is an assertion that elites may reopen the question of whether the people are allowed to speak.
Nenshi is trying to take off from the Parti Québécois’ lead in deferring a referendum while Trump is in power. Those aren’t comparable situations, though. The PQ isn’t in power, and there hasn’t been a referendum scheduled, much less a formal campaign begun.
A citizen-initiative system that only counts when the opposition likes the timing is not a citizen-initiative system. What would Nenshi’s excuse be in a future referendum? An overseas war? An economic blip? Bad weather?
Canada managed to hold a general election during a pandemic. Alberta can manage a referendum while a trade dispute is active. Nenshi’s issue isn’t so much with the questions posed in the referendum as it is with the process itself. He doesn’t trust citizens with the power to make decisions on issues.
A segment of Albertans has questioned the benefits of staying in the federation for generations. For the last 18 months, the unity issue has been outright boiling. Cancelling the referendum would cause the issue to explode. If stability and clarity are to be seen, Albertans must be allowed to continue with the referendum. Otherwise, the unresolved issue will only fester further.
Cory Morgan
Cory Morgan is an Alberta-based columnist, political commentator, and longtime advocate for Western Canadian independence. He is the author of the recently updated book The Sovereigntist’s Handbook, a grassroots guide for independence supporters and political activists.
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