An early look at Poilievre’s speech rallying Alberta to stay in Canada

A billboard in the town of Taber is gaining attention for displaying a pro-separatist message that reads, “Send Ottawa a message! Choose Alberta.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is set to kick off his campaign to promote a “stronger Alberta within a united Canada” in a keynote speech in Calgary on Monday.

In an excerpt shared with CTV News ahead of the speech, Poilievre is expected to promote Alberta staying in Canada, while also calling for new government policies to address separatist concerns.

“We do not need a different country, Alberta. We need different government policies in Ottawa,” the excerpt reads.

“Unblocking resources and pipelines, respecting firearms owners, locking up criminals, relieving taxpayers, respecting provincial autonomy, unlocking free enterprise—we know that these are the things Albertans have been demanding.

“The best news of all: It is not a zero-sum game. These steps would make every province better off. All Canadians want these things.

“The answer is not to pull away from our friends in other provinces but to lock arms with them to make the changes we need,” the excerpt goes on to say.

The Carney government has signed an MOU with Alberta on a potential pipeline, but Poilievre has argued the agreement doesn’t go far enough.

Alberta is set to hold a referendum on Oct. 19 that will include several questions, including one related to independence.

The question will not, however, ask Albertans whether they want to stay a part of Canada or separate. Instead, the question will ask Albertans whether they want to remain a part of Canada, or if the province should “commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?”

“Mr. Poilievre is starting to signal to both Albertans and folks in other parts of the country how a better version of federalism could benefit everybody,” said Lori Williams, a political analyst at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

She says the more voices advocating for “team Canada” the better.

“The majority of Albertans who do think that Alberta has been treated unfairly, that it doesn’t get the respect for the contribution it makes to the country, to have someone speak to that could change the minds of those who we call soft separatists.”

Poilievre has previously described himself as a “strong Canadian federalist” and pledged he will campaign to the people in his home province to stay in Canada.

Since last August, the Conservative leader has represented the Alberta riding of Battle River-Crowfoot after losing his Ottawa-area riding in last year’s federal election.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, meanwhile, has explicitly said she wants Alberta to stay within Canada, but has faced criticism for enabling the referendum to go forward in the first place, namely by changing the law to make it easier for petitioners to trigger one.

In an interview with CTV Question Period last month, Smith promised she will not hold a separation referendum if the remain side wins in October.

With files from CTV News’ Spencer Van Dyk