Prime Minister Mark Carney is coming to next week’s Calgary Stampede, and plans to reiterate that quitting Canada will not be the magic wand separatists think it is.
Carney, taking questions from reporters in Ottawa, says the fallout from the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union a decade ago should serve as a clear cautionary tale.
He says people are lured into believing that separation is easy, and that residents get to keep their passports and currency.
Carney says Alberta's vote could create years of uncertainty at a time when Canada is trying to be seen as a stable, reliable international trading partner.
Albertans are set to vote on Oct. 19 on whether to stay in Canada or trigger a binding referendum on separating from the country.
Premier Danielle Smith says she wants the province to stay in Canada but says she felt obliged to call the referendum given hundreds of thousands of Albertans have weighed in on the issue in petition drives.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
