Get the latest news and updates from Dawn
OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday that Alberta’s planned vote on potentially breaking away from the rest of Canada, while not binding, could become “a dangerous bluff” and that asking such questions was “not helpful.”
The oil-rich province said last week it would proceed with a non-binding referendum in October on whether its residents want to remain part of Canada.
“I saw firsthand what happened in the United Kingdom ... They’re still 10 years later trying to undo what people didn’t think they were voting for, but what they ended up having,” Carney said, referring to the 2016 Brexit vote on leaving the European Union.
Albertans will be asked whether the province should remain a part of Canada or the government should start the legal process that is constitutionally required in order to hold a binding referendum on independence at a later date.
