Prime Minister Mark Carney took his campaign for a united Canada to its largest audience yet on Thursday night, addressing more than 7,000 people at the Forever Canadian rally inside Calgary’s BMO Centre, four days before Albertans vote on the province’s future.
“Vote like Canada depends on it, because it does,” Carney told the crowd, in his most direct appeal of the campaign so far. He warned that outside forces are “working to break us so they can own us,” without naming United States President Donald Trump, whose suggestion this week that Canada should become the 51st American state has electrified the unity campaign.
Carney argued the referendum comes “at the worst possible time,” saying the world has grown more dangerous and divided. He urged supporters to deliver “a decisive result on Monday to settle this question,” and cautioned: “Don’t let anyone tell you this is already decided. Turnout will determine the outcome.”
The Trump factor
The prime minister’s warning about outside pressure landed one day after Trump, speaking in Arizona, revived his 51st-state rhetoric. Carney did not name the president, but the implication drew one of the loudest cheers of the evening. He has previously pushed back against foreign voices weighing in on the referendum, including his rejection of outside commentary on the vote.
The rally, organised by former Alberta deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk, is the first of two Forever Canadian events the prime minister will headline. Registration was free, and the campaign says it invited Carney because the question concerns the country, not just the province.
What comes next
Carney heads to Edmonton today for the second Forever Canadian rally at the EXPO Centre. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is also in Calgary today, keynoting the Strong and Free conference with an address titled “The Canadian Drift: Reclaiming Confidence, Abundance, and Freedom for Alberta” — the same conference Premier Danielle Smith has addressed this week.
Separatist campaigners plan a rally in Edmonton on Saturday, while advance polls stay open through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mountain time. Smith cast her ballot early on Wednesday to remain. An early-October Leger poll put support for remaining at 70 per cent, but Carney’s closing message was that the margin must be unmistakable — with the separation question to be counted first, according to reports from the Calgary rally.
