Canada faces foreign efforts to break nation, PM Carney warns in Alberta

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has cautioned that foreign forces are attempting to fracture the country, urging residents of Alberta to reject an initiative aimed at secession ahead of an upcoming provincial vote.

Speaking at a large pro-federation gathering at Calgary's BMO Centre, Carney told an estimated crowd of 5,000 people that the world had grown increasingly divided and unstable. While he did not explicitly mention the United States or President Donald Trump during that part of his speech, Carney has previously pointed to external pressures, including threats by Trump to turn Canada into a 51st state and an ongoing bilateral trade conflict.

Carney warned voters against viewing the ballot as a harmless protest against the federal government, describing a vote against Canada as a high-stakes gamble that could trigger prolonged national division and instability. He urged Albertans to deliver a decisive mandate to settle the separation debate.

Voters in Alberta, which holds the world's fourth-largest proven oil reserves, are not voting directly on immediate independence. Instead, the referendum asks whether the province should remain within Canada or direct the provincial administration to begin legal procedures toward a future separation referendum. Early voting continues through Saturday, with the final ballots cast on Monday.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who arranged the referendum, said she cast her early ballot in favor of staying in Canada, remarking that the country can continue to function if reforms are implemented. However, leaders of the pro-independence campaign group Let Alberta Decide dismissed Carney's arguments. Group co-chair Tanya Clemens described Carney's policy agreements with Smith as hollow commitments, while fellow organizer Keith Wilson rejected the claim that global turbulence made it the wrong moment for a referendum, asserting that the vote provides essential bargaining power against Ottawa.

Carney, who was raised in Alberta, has sought to ease long-standing regional grievances over federal oversight of natural resources. Departing from stances held by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Carney has branded Canada an energy superpower and expedited the Pacific Link pipeline project to the west coast, arguing it would lower economic reliance on Washington.

The movement for Albertan independence has expanded from fringe politics in recent years, gathering momentum after activists involved in demonstrations against pandemic measures and the 2022 cross-border trucking protests shifted their focus toward provincial sovereignty.