Canada’s Carney says Alberta is ‘essential’ as province mulls separation

Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith announces a referendum on whether to hold a referendum on leaving Canada.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says Alberta is “at the centre” of his plans for the country’s economy, hours after the province announced that it will vote later this year on whether to hold a referendum on separating from Canada.Speaking to reporters on Friday, Carney highlighted cooperation between the Federal government and various provinces and territories, repeatedly stressing the importance of Alberta.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Canada’s Carney travels to Alberta as separatists face legal setbacklist 2 of 3US suspends joint defence effort with Canada dating back to World War IIlist 3 of 3Western nations warn Israel to end illegal settlement expansion, violenceend of listHe did not mention the October referendum in the oil-rich province on whether to remain as part of Canada or hold a vote for separatism.“Canada is the greatest country in the world, but it can be better. And we’re working on making it better; we’re working with Alberta on making it better,” he said.The Canadian prime minister highlighted his recent visit to the province’s largest city, Calgary, where he announced several agreements, including an effort to fast-track an oil pipeline from Alberta to the West Coast.“We’re renovating the country as we go, and Alberta being at the centre of that is essential,” Carney said on Friday.A referendum on a referendumLate on Thursday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that the province would hold a referendum on whether to hold a separation vote.The decision came after a court blocked a petition to hold a vote on separation, citing lack of consultation with Indigenous groups that would be affected by the referendum.Smith emphasised that she opposes separation, but she rejected the judicial ruling.“Despite my personal support for remaining in Canada, I am deeply troubled by an erroneous court decision that interferes with the democratic rights of hundreds of thousands of Albertans,” she said in a video message.A group that calls itself Alberta" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="102420" data-entity-type="organization">Stay Free Alberta says it gathered more than 300,000 signatures to trigger a separation vote.