Doug Ford says Danielle Smith should denounce the Alberta separatist movement
“Either you’re with Canada or you’re not with Canada,” the premier told reporters
Earlier this week, Premier Doug Ford held court in an Etobicoke Pizza Nova and proudly declared, “At the end of the day, make no mistake about it. We are one country.”
Now he’s sending that energy west to Alberta, where conversations about a possible separation from Canada continue. Speaking to reporters in Ottawa today, Ford said that the province’s leader, Danielle Smith, should denounce the Alberta separatist movement.
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“This is an opportunity for Premier Smith to stand up and say ‘enough is enough.’ Either you’re with Canada or you’re not with Canada,” Ford said, according to the Toronto Star.
Smith recently had a meeting with the US ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, though details of their conversation have not been reported. Smith’s social media posts refer only to discussions about trade between Canada and the US.
A prominent Alberta separation activist also recently told the Star that there had been meetings between separatists and senior US officials, who the activist claimed were “very enthusiastic” about the possibility of Alberta separating from Canada.
“Going behind Canada’s back and negotiating is unacceptable,” said Ford.
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
