Prime Minister Mark Carney came to Alberta’s capital city Friday evening to say what he had to say about why Albertans need to vote to remain in Canada at a standing-room-only Forever Canadian rally in the old EXPO Centre hockey rink, which was pretty much the same thing he’d said the night before to a capacity crowd in Calgary.
It didn’t matter that there wasn’t much about the prime minister’s message that was new, though. The enthusiastic crowd of 6,000 souls in Edmonton may have heard it all before, but they wanted to hear for themselves what the prime minister had to say. They cheered him lustily throughout the event organized by former Alberta Progressive Conservative deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk’s Forever Canadian organization.
Indeed, the only reason there were fewer in the Edmonton audience than at the BMO Centre inside Calgary’s Stampede Park – where about 8,000 Albertans turned out to hear Mr. Carney’s message – was fire regulations. Both venues were filled to capacity and people had to be turned away at the door both nights.
On Friday in Edmonton, the city where he grew up, Mr. Carney’s primary message was delivered in a dramatic call and response. “Show your pride,” said the prime minister, pausing between each word. “Wear the maple leaf!” (Loud cheers.) “Wear the sweater!” (More applause.)
“Tell your friends, your family, your co-workers, why you’re voting for Canada!” (Loud applause.) “If you haven’t already voted, bring a friend, and vote like Canada’s future depends on it. Because it does!” (Cries of agreement.)
“And don’t, please don’t, let anyone tell you that this is already decided.” (From where I stood, you could hear many shouts of NO!) “Turnout will determine the outcome!” (A shout of, That’s right!) “And don’t be fooled by the idea that you can send a message with your vote.” (More shouts of NO!)
“This is not a game,” Mr. Carney continued to more applause. “This is not poker. A vote against Canada is a dangerous bluff that will lead to years of deep uncertainty and lost opportunities for Albertans and Canadians. Our country and your futures are too precious to play games with.”
“The stakes are high,” he had warned the crowd a few moments before. “This referendum comes at the worst possible time. The world is becoming more dangerous and divided. … There are some outside our borders who are working to break us, so they can own us.” Everyone knew who he had in mind.
And inside our borders too, alas, it must be noted. One of whom, Alberta’s premier – who has lately taken to describing herself as being in favour of remaining in Canada despite months of doing everything she could to enable Alberta separatists who want to break up the country – appeared beside Mr. Carney earlier in the day at a smaller pro-Confederation event in Red Deer.
Come what may, it is Danielle Smith who owns the disruption and division caused by tomorrow’s separation referendum and its noxious nine referenda on immigration and the constitution. I’m pretty sure that if Premier Smith had shown up in Edmonton Friday night, the passionate crowd, many dressed in red and white and waving our Maple Leaf Flag, would have booed her.
“But we know that we can give ourselves more than anyone else can take away,” Mr. Carney concluded that section of his speech. “And we know that when we are united, we become even stronger, fairer, and freer. At this pivotal moment, Albertans have a choice: we can build a stronger Alberta and an even greater Canada to leave for our children, or we can burden them with years of deep divisions and great uncertainty. A decisive result on Monday will settle this question.”
Speaking of heckles, there were very few. From the podium, the prime minister, sounding momentarily irritated but hardly rattled, asked one persistent but unintelligible shouter to show some respect for the Canadian soldiers he was describing in his speech. .
My sense Friday night in Edmonton was that a far larger percentage of this audience than usual was made up of what the late Alberta premier Ralph Klein used to call “severely normal Albertans,” proud Canadians and Albertans who viewed the prime minister with respect and even affection. That is to say, not the usual denizens of political events.
Was there any unexpected news, other than the crowd size and its enthusiasm for the PM’s message? Not really, although in reference to the proposed Pacific Link pipeline project, Mr. Carney described how its revenues would “protect the social programs Albertans rely on every day, including health care, dental care, and child care.”
Does this mean Ottawa is committed to ensuring that public health care survives in Alberta, despite the depredations of Ms. Smith’s United Conservative Party Government? Was there a suggestion in this that Ottawa’s dental care and child care programs will be expanded, or at least preserved? One can hope.
As for the other speakers at the professionally choreographed event Friday – Mr. Lukaszuk, Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack, retired Edmonton Oilers star Kevin Lowe, and, via video recording, former NDP premier Rachel Notley – their remarks were short and to the point. It was nice to see former CBC host Mark Connolly back at the mic as the master of ceremonies.
Still, the production was designed to feature Mr. Carney’s message.
“Let’s show the rest of Canada that Alberta is not the weak link in Confederation,” said Mr. Lukaszuk in his introductory remarks. “Friends, we are making history over here, and I know that 50 or 100 years from now, our children and grandchildren will be studying about this moment in their social studies classes, and they will be looking back at us in 2026 and judging us for who we were.”
“How much do we care about Canada? Do we care about Canada enough to go out and vote?”
“They will be judging us on all the other remaining questions,” Mr. Lukaszuk added. “I say to you, let’s set a record and show up at the ballot boxes in unprecedented numbers. Let’s show the rest of Canada, let’s show our Alberta Legislature, and let’s show the rest of this world that this country cannot be broken apart, that we will always be together from coast to coast to coast, because that is our strength.”
In his report on Friday’s event, my blogging colleague Dave Cournoyer has included a transcript of Mr. Lukaszuk’s remarks.
“Let’s talk about those other nine questions for just a moment,” said Mayor Knack in his short remarks. “I think it’s important to say that everyone – and I mean everyone – deserves the same access and opportunity to important public services, like getting to see a doctor or sending their kids to school. This referendum removes focus and resources from addressing these real priorities, and that’s why I will be resoundingly be voting no to the nine!”
More than a million referendum ballots have already been cast by Albertans by mail and in advance polls. Advance polls closed last night. All Election Day voting places will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow.
“A massive voter turnout will shut down damaging and divisive separatist discussion, secure our economic future, and restore stability once and for all,” said Mr. Lukaszuk, echoing the prime minister, in a statement after Friday’s rally.
For their part, Alberta secessions vowed to fight on regardless of the referendum result at a rally yesterday in front of the Alberta Legislative Building. The event was sparsely attended compared to the same group’s rally in October 2025.
