Danielle Smith knows her government has failed to consult First Nations and Métis before the referendum. She will have a tough time convincing Albertans that she believes in Canada since she has been the main proponent of her party’s path to departure.
By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on June 8, 2026.
OTTAWA—Do Canadians deserve clarity on the separation question?
Separatists don’t think so.
Last week, the Bloc Québécois introduced a bill to repeal the 26-year-old Clarity Act.
Ironically, they tabled the bill in the very Parliament that they would like to exit.
Motivation for the move was a decision by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to promote a referendum on a potential secession process in her province.
At least the Bloc is consistent.
Along with its provincial counterpart, the Parti Québécois, the Bloc has never wavered in its commitment to leave Canada. However, referendum fatigue has kept the issue on the back burner.
As recently as last August, former separatist premier Lucien Bouchard called on the current PQ leader to drop his plan for a first-term referendum. Paul St.-Pierre Plamondon agreed to disagree with the PQ icon.
Meanwhile, Smith met with Quebec Premier Christine Frechette last week, ostensibly to discuss economic ties and strategies to create more provincial autonomy.
Frechette is opposed to another Quebec referendum, but Smith claimed the two provinces are so aligned that their names should be changed to Alberbec or Queberta.
Their brief discussion did not include any talk about the federal clarity rules.
Prime Minister Mark Carney made it clear that a single vote does not meet the conditions for separation.
The Clarity Act requires a clear question and a clear majority, but the Bloc thinks a simple majority of 50-per-cent-plus-one is enough. Former prime minister Jean Chrétien said a simple majority was so ridiculous that if a voter forgot their glasses, they could accidentally vote to leave Canada.
The Alberta premier claims support for Canada, but has used her powers to encourage the referendum. She has intervened on three occasions to promote the separation question.
Her party’s claim, included in a bill passed by the Alberta legislature, promotes a “Sovereign Alberta within a United Canada.”
Bill 1, passed in 2022, sets out the legal framework for the province to stop enforcing federal initiatives.
Smith is facing a political pickle. The majority of Albertans want to remain in Canada, but the same cannot be said for the members of the premier’s United Conservative Party.
The Republican Party of Alberta lists 18 separatist UCP members of the legislature.
Multiple polls place the percentage of UCP members who want to separate at about 60 per cent.
Smith has to satisfy those members to keep her job, but in doing so, she risks losing the rest of Alberta.
Smith’s plan to campaign in favour of Canada is based on the high costs of separation.
But her actions tell a different story.
Smith lowered the threshold for the number of signatures needed to launch a referendum. She also launched grievance panels, touring the province, and providing separatists with an official platform to air their complaints about the country.
Her party president, Rob Smith, has publicly stated the UCP would remain neutral on the separation question, while the premier has contradicted him.
She also defends the referendum by repeating that 700,000 Albertans asked for this vote. That statement is disingenuous at best, as 404,000 of the signatories signed the Forever Canada Petition, whose organizers explicitly opposed the holding of a referendum on the question.
The second problem with the 700,000 number is that the signatures to separate have not been verified by Elections Alberta because of a court decision that the push for separation violates Indigenous rights.
Smith’s government has appealed that decision, opposing the initial court judgment that cited a failure of the legal duty to consult with Indigenous Peoples as a reason to block the referendum.
She claims the duty to consult comes after a referendum triggers a separation process.
But Indigenous leaders have been clear that there was a failure by Smith to consult with the Athabaska Chipewyan First Nation, Blood Tribe, Piikani Nation, and Siksika First Nation.
Siksika chief Samuel Crowfoot was clear, “the Alberta government would do well to change their course in dealing with First Nations and engage with us in a respectful and meaningful way … we want to be part … (of) improving Alberta, not roadblocks in their efforts to appease a fringe majority.”
Smith knows her government has failed to consult First Nations and Métis before the referendum.
She will have a tough time convincing Albertans she believes in Canada since she has been the main proponent of her party’s path to departure.
New Democratic Leader Naheed Nenshi’s best chance of victory in next year’s Alberta election is the fight for Canada.
Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.