Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday he expects the United States to “respect Canadian sovereignty” following reports that foreign ministry officials met with separatists from Alberta, the oil-rich western province.
A group called the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) has received permission to collect signatures for a referendum to make the western province an independent country. An independence vote could be held as early as this fall, although current polls suggest the separatists are unlikely to succeed, according to an AFP report.
The Financial Times reported that leaders of the Alberta Prosperity Project have met with US State Department officials in Washington on three occasions since April. The news follows remarks from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week that appeared to signal support for Alberta’s independence push.
American stand
Bessent last week referred to Alberta as a “natural partner for the U.S.” and emphasized the province’s wealth and “independent” nature during an interview with Real America’s Voice.
Read also | Prodapt announces expansion in Alberta through partnership with Invest Alberta
“Alberta has rich natural resources, but they (the Canadian government) won’t let them build a pipeline to the Pacific. I think we should let them come down to the U.S.,” Bessent mentioned in the interview, adding, “There is a rumor that they may have a referendum on whether they want to stay in Canada or not.”
Asked if he had any insight into the separatist push, Bessent said: “The people are talking. The people want sovereignty. They want what the US has.”
What did Carney say?
Carney said Thursday as he spoke to reporters alongside Canadian provincial leaders, including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, an oil industry advocate who earlier visited President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Read also | Carney, Mackle Congratulations to Warsh on his Federal Reserve nomination
In response to the Financial Times report and Bessent’s remarks, Carney said: “I expect the US administration to respect Canadian sovereignty.
Asked about the meetings in Alberta, a senior State Department official told AFP: “The ministry meets regularly with civil society types. As is typical in regular meetings like these, no commitments were made.”
Carney said Trump did not mention the issue of Alberta independence or the separatist movement in Quebec, the country’s French-speaking province.
Alberta’s push for independence has historically not posed a serious challenge to Canadian unity, unlike the long-established and organized separatist movement in Quebec. But frustration with Ottawa grew in the province during former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s decade in office.
Read also | Carney denies retracting Davos remarks in call with Trump, Bessent says he did
Many Albertans saw Trudeau’s climate policies as harmful to the oil industry that underpins their economy and accused his government of blocking key infrastructure projects sought by energy companies.
Meanwhile, Smith said Thursday that she “expects the U.S. administration to respect Canadian sovereignty,” adding that she would raise any concerns about interference in the referendum directly with Washington. She reiterated her support for a “sovereign Alberta within a united Canada” and accused Trudeau of stoking discontent in the province.
“For 10 years under Justin Trudeau, our province has been relentlessly attacked, our economy has been relentlessly attacked,” she said.
Smith suggested that Carney’s willingness to move forward with a new pipeline to the Pacific coast could help curb support for independence.
