TORONTO (AP) 鈥� Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday compared Alberta鈥檚 vote on whether to move toward independence to Brexit, calling it a potential 鈥渄angerous bluff.鈥�
Danielle Smith, the premier of Canada鈥檚 oil-rich province of Alberta, said last week a would be held Oct. 19 on whether Alberta should stay in or take legal steps under the Constitution to hold a binding referendum on leaving.
Carney drew on his experience with Brexit in his comments. Carney was the governor of the Bank of England in 2016 when Britain voted to leave the European Union, and he helped navigate the central bank through it.
鈥淚 saw firsthand what happened in the United Kingdom when the view was, 鈥榁ote for this, it鈥檒l be soft and then we鈥檒l negotiate, etc.,鈥� Carney said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e still 10 years later trying to undo what people didn鈥檛 think they were voting for, but what they ended up having.鈥�
Smith鈥檚 party didn鈥檛 run on or mention a referendum in the last provincial election campaign.
Carney said the vote is not helpful when he鈥檚 trying to attract investment to Canada. He suggested it is undemocratic.
鈥淚s it the democratic will of Albertans? Did they vote for this in the last provincial election? No, they didn鈥檛. It wasn鈥檛 on the ballot paper,鈥� Carney said.
Smith has said she supports Alberta remaining in Canada. Some have compared her stance to the one of Britain鈥檚 then-Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of the Brexit referendum, which he embraced as a way to manage a vocal faction of his ruling party while not wanting the U.K. to leave the European Union.
Carney is working on getting a Many Albertans have long complained that Ottawa hasn鈥檛 done enough to get Alberta鈥檚 vast oil reserves to Asian markets.
鈥淲e have to be very careful about this. There鈥檚 a very strong positive case for Canada, a strong Alberta in a united Canada,鈥� Carney said. 鈥淚 look forward to making that case with many, many other Albertans and Canadians over the course of the next 150 days.鈥�
Responding to Carney鈥檚 comments Monday, Smith said separation is an issue for Albertans alone to decide.
鈥淎lbertans鈥� frustrations have been fueled by the last 10 years of disastrous policies from Ottawa under 鈥� Justin Trudeau,鈥� Smith said in a statement from her office, referencing the previous prime minister.
鈥淚 would also remind all Canadians that we should not dismiss the legitimate grievances of Albertans. Instead, we should focus on addressing these issues, restoring hope in Canada, and demonstrating that our country can work and is working.鈥�
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