In a stark admission of the nation's fragile economic and political fault lines, former Bank of England and Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney has declared Alberta 'essential' to Canada, a statement that lands with particular weight as the province gears up for a non-binding referendum on secession. Carney, speaking at a conference on national unity, urged both Ottawa and the western provinces to recognise the mutual dependency that binds the federation together.
But for many in Alberta, where unemployment is low but resentment of federal environmental policy runs high, Carney's words ring hollow. The province's 'Fair Deal' panel, which proposed the referendum, was born from a deep seated conviction that Ottawa's emissions cap and tanker ban are strangling the primary industry that pays the country's bills.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, a long time advocate for a 'firewall' around the province, said: 'When a financial celebrity like Mark Carney says we're essential, it's nice to be acknowledged. But essential doesn't mean respected. Essential doesn't mean consulted. It means being used for the wealth we generate while they lecture us on our values.'
The comments come as a poll this week showed support for independence among Alberta voters at 25 per cent, with a further 25 per cent undecided. A majority still favour staying within Canada, but the sentiment is enough to make Ottawa uneasy.
Carney's intervention may be a case of too little, too late. He called for a new deal on equalisation, a reformed Senate, and a genuine partnership on energy transition. But at kitchen tables in Fort McMurray and Medicine Hat, the talk is of pipelines blocked, jobs lost to lockdowns, and a federal carbon tax that feels like a penalty for living in a cold, resource rich land.
'This is about bread and butter,' says Diane Webber, an oil sands worker who lost her job last year. 'It's not about flags or fables. It's about whether I can feed my family. When they say we're essential, I think of the price of groceries, the price of petrol. They need our oil, but they don't want us.'
The referendum, planned for the autumn, is non-binding. But its political weight could crack the federation. Carney, seen by some as a potential future Liberal leader, may be positioning himself as a unifier. Yet his call for 'shared sacrifice' missed the mark for those who feel they have sacrificed enough.
'I worry about a country that lets regional grievances fester until they become fault lines,' Carney said. 'Canada without Alberta is not Canada. But Alberta without Canada is not Alberta either. We need to find a way to make the union work for everyone.'
That plea for unity may be lost on the thousands who will vote in the coming months. For them, the union has already failed. The question now is whether Carney's words can mend what is broken or whether they are just another speech in a long line of platitudes. As one farmer in Lethbridge put it: 'Stop telling us we're essential. Start treating us like it.'
