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Or sign-in if you have an account.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew wearing their Team Canada jerseys during the Western premiers conference in Kananaskis, Alberta on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. Photo by Gavin Young/PostmediaAs the Western premiers pulled on Team Canada soccer jerseys at the close of their meeting in Kananaskis on Tuesday, some kind of barbed comment was inevitable.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorWab Kinew obliged. “I just want to tell Premier (Danielle) Smith, that she looks great in a Team Canada jersey,” the Manitoba premier said, pointedly.As host of the conference, Smith may have expected some kind of deference from her colleagues, despite their hostility to her decision to hold a referendum this fall on pursuing separation.Instead, she was made to look uncomfortable in public.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againAt the closing press conference, Smith attempted to explain why she put forward the question, which will ask Albertans if they want to stay in Canada or hold another vote to consider separation. She said the issue is the courts, which have quashed a petition for a proposed independence question from the separatist Stay Free Alberta group because it didn’t properly consult with First Nations.Smith said she thought the court erred in judgment in an “anti-democratic decision” that creates confusion about what constitutes the “duty to consult.”She had barely finished when Kinew interjected: “I’d like to respond …” The camera panned to the Manitoba premier from his Alberta counterpart, who looked like she wanted to chew broken bottles.“A lot of what you have said is not correct, Premier Smith,” he said. “It is not up to the petition gatherers to fulfil the duty to consult, it is up to you and the Alberta government.”He said he agreed with the judge’s ruling that the prospect of new national borders being erected would infringe on rights, thus requiring a duty to consult.But Kinew is the most popular premier in the country for a reason: he didn’t confine his argument to the narrow sectional confines of Indigenous rights; he made the case for Canada.He appealed to Albertans frustrated at the lack of progress on pipelines by pointing out that there is movement on big projects like LNG in British Columbia, the Port of Churchill in Manitoba and on northern trade corridors.“This is the moment to get big things built,” he said. “Why don’t we hold off on this referendum talk for a year or two and see if we get these pipelines under construction?… Let’s work together to show Albertans how appreciated they are in this country.”Kinew doubtless carries baggage in Alberta: he’s not from the province; polling shows he is relatively unknown to most Albertans; and, many who do know him see him as a socialist who is hostile to non-Indigenous rights.But he has persuaded two-thirds of voters in his own province of his worth. This campaign is about persuading Albertans about the benefits of Canada through a combination of reason, character and feeling, tapping into their values, beliefs and emotions. Kinew has instinctively mastered Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle: logos, ethos and pathos.The campaign for Alberta to remain in Canada is still taking shape. Mark Carney said at a press conference on Monday that he will be making “a very strong, positive case for Canada and a strong Alberta in a united Canada.”But, by definition, the prime minister embodies Ottawa, the land of shadow for many Albertans, and it is unlikely he will be the leading voice of federalism. He is already on the defensive over comments made on a hot mic on Monday.As he walked away from the press conference, he appeared to be referring to the Alberta premier in a conversation with housing minister, Gregor Robertson, when he said: “What are you doing? This is stupid. You have an off-ramp — take it.”That is the kind of derisory comment from Central Canada that could harden Alberta’s soft separatist voters.Other federalist forces are stirring. The Lead, Not Leave campaign has emerged, led by academics, former politicians and policy experts such as veteran Conservative thinker Ken Boessenkool.Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney and Harper-era Conservative minister Monte Solberg have put their weight behind a grassroots Vote to Stay advocacy group.Two former Alberta finance ministers — Jim Dinning and Travis Toews — have called on the government not to hold the referendum.Dinning told the Calgary Herald that it will force people to spend energy, time and money on politics, rather than on fixing economic problems.Toews said a full-blown independence referendum — namely, the one that would follow a successful vote-to-leave campaign this fall — would create a business environment “drenched in uncertainty.”The most important political campaign in the province’s history is underway.It would benefit the Remain side to co-ordinate. Things start to unravel when political egos collide. I recall during the Scottish independence campaign in 2014, John Prescott (Tony Blair’s former Labour deputy prime minister) said a visit north of the border by Conservative prime minister, David Cameron, would probably do more harm than good. They were meant to be on the same side.The question about who should speak for Canada is like asking who should sing tenor in the quartet. As Henry Ford famously responded: “Obviously the man who can sing tenor.”Dan Arnold, chief strategy officer at polling firm Pollara, said he surveyed Albertans’ attitudes about political figures in March and found there is net positive sentiment in the province for both Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.Others who polled strongly were Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner and Jeromy Farkas, the mayor of Calgary.Arnold suggested that mayors may be less polarizing than well-known partisan figures such as Kenney, provincial NDP leader Naheed Nenshi, or former premier Rachel Notley.But he said in an email to National Post that more recent polling shows Kinew’s net positive polling in the province is higher than for all the Alberta politicians tested in March, including Carney, Poilievre, Kenney or Farkas.“It would need to be an Albertan leading the ‘Canada’ campaign since, ultimately, it’s a vote about Alberta. But there’s a role for voices from the rest of Canada to be part of the dialogue, and it’s hard to think of a better voice than Wab Kinew,” Arnold said.Whoever takes the reins of the Remain campaign would be well advised to employ the political skills of the Manitoba premier.He has already shown that few are more comfortable wearing the Team Canada jersey than he is.National Post Get the latest from John Ivison straight to your inbox Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.