"I 've been looking back at Brexit through the rear-view mirror of Alberta's runaway referendum train. And I've been studying David Cameron, the British prime minister who called for the Brexit referendum in 2013. Ran a re-election campaign on the promise of one. Was handed a majority government in 2015 in part on the basis of that promise. Ran a campaign to remain in the European Union in 2016. Lost. And then resigned the next day."
"Smith, in contrast with Cameron, has never promised a referendum to decide Alberta's place in Confederation, nor run an election campaign on that promise. On the contrary, she has always been coy and calculated with respect to her position on national unity. She says she supports a "sovereign Alberta within a united Canada." You don't need to be a scholar of public international law to know that if Alberta is sovereign, Canada isn't united."
David Cameron called for a Brexit referendum in 2013, campaigned on that promise, won a 2015 majority partly on its basis, campaigned to remain in the EU in 2016, lost, and resigned the next day. Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party have never promised a referendum on Alberta's place in Confederation and have maintained a coy, calculated stance on national unity. Smith asserts support for a "sovereign Alberta within a united Canada," a legal contradiction because Alberta cannot be sovereign and Canada remain united. A grandfather who commanded Canadian warships advised that "actions speak louder than words," prompting focus on actions over rhetoric.
Read at The Walrus
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