Prime Minister Mark Carney talks to reporters as he takes part in an event at a new housing development in Orleans, Ont., on May 25, 2026. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s decision to add a referendum question to the province’s Oct. 19 referendum ballot could “backfire,” comparing it UK’s Brexit vote a decade ago.
Carney told reporters in Ottawa on May 25 that separation votes can be presented as a way to “strengthen your hand in a future negotiation,” but that this can be a “very dangerous bluff.”
