Former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper cautioned against the prospect of Alberta separation in a column Friday, writing that even voting just to “send a message” would represent a fraught approach.
“No one will be surprised to learn that I am against separation. That would involve much risk and be extremely difficult to bring about,” Harper wrote in the Calgary Herald.
“Besides, there is nothing resembling the credible leadership necessary to establish a new country.”
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Cory Morgan, who heads the third-party advertiser Pathway to Independence, said the former prime minister’s comments were unsurprising, given his reputation as a federalist.
But he added that recent developments, such as those tied to the West Coast oil pipeline, could be seen as the referendum already sending a message and getting results.
“It is getting attention from Ottawa for the first time in decades,” he said.
Separatists patting themselves on the back for Canada pivoting to take advantage of oil supply shortages resulting from the US-Israel-Iran war is a rickety bridge/connection too far. Delusional perhaps. Canadians don’t even agree that the West Coast oil pipeline is the answer.