CALGARY – The return of a sovereigntist government in Quebec is putting questions about national unity back in the spotlight, less than two weeks before Albertans vote on whether to remain in Canada or take another step toward a potential separation referendum. Mitch Sylvestre, CEO of the Alberta Prosperity Project and one of the people leading the push to leave Canada, said the Parti Québécois (PQ) victory shows Alberta separatists are not alone. “It doesn’t look like we’re standing by ourselves here. Quebec is going down the same path,” Sylvestre said. “Hopefully it’s going to start the conversation, and people will understand that there’s more than Alberta that’s not happy with Ottawa.” The Parti Québécois won 59 of 127 seats in Monday’s provincial election, returning to power but falling short of the 64 seats needed for a majority. The party captured about 28 per cent of the popular vote. PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has pledged to eventually hold another referendum on Quebec independence, although he has said it would not take place while U.S. President Donald Trump remains in office. But while both provinces are confronting questions about their place in Canada, the forces driving the two sovereignty movements are significantly different. Frédéric Boily, a political scientist at the University of Alberta’s Campus Saint-Jean, said Quebec sovereignty is rooted largely in language, culture and the preservation of francophone identity. In Alberta, he said, separatist sentiment is driven more heavily by economic grievances and dissatisfaction with the federal government. “The two movements are different, but I think it affects the separatist movement in Alberta because the Parti Québécois election yesterday night gave a legitimacy to the separatists in Alberta,” Boily said. Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney said some Alberta separatists may feel validated by the PQ victory, but argued the election results do not amount to an endorsement of another sovereignty referendum. “I would highlight that the PQ won a minority government with 27.5 per cent of the vote,” Kenney said. Kenney also pointed to polling he said shows between 75 and 80 per cent of Quebecers do not want another referendum on separation. “I would say to Albertans, if Quebec, which has been pushing separatism — or a portion of whose population has been pushing separatism — for 60 years, slammed the door last night on a new referendum, why in the world would we in Alberta be thinking about this?” Kenney said. Former Conservative MP Damien Kurek, who opposes Alberta separation, said the Quebec result is being watched closely in the province. “I think for many Albertans that are observing this, they’re looking at this with caution and evaluating the state of where our country’s at,” Kurek said. “There’s a concern about the unity of our country.” Kurek said the issue also presents an opportunity to focus on what holds the country together. “In the midst of those questions being asked, there’s a real opportunity to talk about how, despite our regional differences to use those differences to promote the strength of what the Canadian federation can be,” he said. Despite welcoming the PQ victory, Sylvestre said what happens in Quebec will have no bearing on the direction of Alberta’s separatist campaign. “I think just the optics of it, of having somebody else in Confederation that’s not happy is possibly the biggest benefit for us.” Sylvestre said the two provinces have different circumstances but says dissatisfaction with Ottawa is a common thread. “I think they (Ottawa) should pay more attention to what will benefit the people as compared to what will benefit themselves,” he said. With files from The Canadian Press
