To date, an anti-Ottawa political perspective has transformed into an anti-Canada movement. Those of us who love this country need to understand that survival is not guaranteed. If we are not willing to fight hard for the survival of our country, Canada could be lost.
By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on June 29, 2026.
OTTAWA—Canada Day is usually an opportunity for people to weigh in on how much they love this great country.
But given the state of realpolitik in Alberta and Quebec, maybe it is time we thought about a new approach to nation building.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is rolling out major national projects as part of his campaign for “Canada Strong.” In the lead-up to Canada Day on July 1, three major projects were announced.
All were in northern parts of this country, and two involved transportation.
The Nunavut project is a 230-kilometre all-season road from the border of the Northwest Territories to the Arctic Ocean.
The second is another all-season road completion from Yellowknife to Inuvik, providing year-round access to remote northern areas.
The third is the construction of a deep underground nuclear waste storage facility in the Ignace/Wabigoon Lake area of northern Ontario.
Roads and rail link Canadians.
This country’s first prime minister saw the benefit of national transportation links, promising to link eastern Canada to the Pacific Coast by the way of a series of railway lines which ultimately became the government-owned Canadian National Railways.
Big infrastructure projects marked the beginning of Canada, and Carney obviously thinks they can revitalize the ties that bind us.
From high-speed rail to northern all-season roads, all are designed to grow the economy by building interregional links.
But the challenges faced by Sir John A. Macdonald pale in comparison to the global and regional tensions facing the current prime minister.
Big projects may be part of the answer. But the country needs to realize that we cannot simply take Confederation for granted.
In Alberta, separatists have followed a roadmap already drawn up for them by two referendums in Quebec.
In the last Quebec referendum, a convoluted question asked voters to give the government a mandate to negotiate a new deal with Canada and if they didn’t get it, start a new country.
The federal government needs to start making the case for Canada in Alberta.
Of course, there are some very strong supporters of Canada, including the “Forever Canada” team led by former Alberta minister Thomas Lukaszuk. In a few short months, he has been able to collect more than 400,000 signatures in a petition for Alberta to remain in Canada.
Canadians can take comfort from the number of people who signed the petition, but it would be a mistake to think the battle is over. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is using those very signatures to claim that she needs to have a referendum, a position which is not supported by the facts.
The pro-Canadian current messaging is falling into the same trap that almost cost us the last referendum.
The “No” campaign against leaving Canada made an economic argument while the “Yes” campaign ran an appeal of the heart.
Just this past week, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce published a survey making a strong economic argument in favour of Canada. Some 63 per cent of respondents said the discussion of separation is already costing them business, and almost half said they would relocate their businesses elsewhere if separation were to occur.
The chamber published a study which predicted that the Alberta economy would take a $62-billion annual hit, based on predicted job losses and reduction of business with other provinces.
The money argument makes sense.
But if we learned one thing from the Quebec referendum it is that voters don’t always listen to major macroeconomic arguments. At the time, the separatists claimed they would keep the Canadian dollar, the military, and even negotiate a passport.
The real story behind the last Quebec referendum was a survey done post facto which showed that 67 per cent of francophones who knew an anglophone who voted to remain in Canada. Some 92 per cent who did not know an anglophone who wanted to separate.
The main issue is not the economy; it is personal connection.
If Alberta feels isolated and belittled, the move to separate becomes that much easier.
The misinformation circulated by pro-separatist Albertans needs to be countered locally and aggressively.
The federal government needs to take the separation question seriously. Cabinet needs to develop an Alberta-based communications strategy that reaches into every rural Albertan community.
The story of Canada needs to be told in Alberta. To date, an anti-Ottawa political perspective has transformed into an anti-Canada movement.
Those of us who love this country need to understand that survival is not guaranteed.
If we are not willing to fight hard for the survival of our country, Canada could be lost.
Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.