Quebec sovereigntists distancing themselves from Alberta referendum

Longtime Quebec sovereigntists are distancing themselves from Alberta separatists ahead of Monday’s referendum in that western Canadian province, which focuses in particular on Alberta’s independence. 

The tenth question out of ten on the Oct. 19 referendum ballot asks whether Alberta should remain in Canada or whether the government should begin the legal process to hold a subsequent binding referendum on separation.

Early voting began on Tuesday and continues on Saturday.  

Quebecers may experience a sense of déjà vu after voting on a similar question in 1980, when René Lévesque’s Parti Québécois government asked whether the province should begin negotiations to leave the Canadian Confederation. Nearly 60 per cent of Quebec voters opposed Lévesque’s proposal.

A second referendum followed in 1995, narrowly won by the “no” vote. 

However, fervent sovereigntists in Quebec see profound differences between these two movements.

Marie-Anne Alepin, president of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal (SSJB), a leading Quebec nationalist group, believes that Alberta is using the threat of separatism as leverage in its negotiations with Ottawa. She sees this referendum as a way to pressure the federal government rather than as an expression of a genuine desire to form an independent entity, a country.

“They want to play a bigger role in Canada, while we want to leave it,” she said. “They want more control over oil and gas resources… We don’t want pipelines.” 

This does not prevent some leaders of the Alberta separatist movement from claiming a common cause.

Quebec voters elected a minority Parti Québécois (PQ) government on Oct. 5th, which has promised a third referendum on Quebec independence. Leading figures in the Alberta separatist movement quickly rallied behind Premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and presented him as a potential ally. 

“Quebec rejected the status quo today,” wrote columnist Cory Morgan—a founding member of the Alberta Independence Party in 2001—on social media after the PQ victory. “Alberta can do the same in two weeks by choosing to send a message with Option 2 to Question 10.”

Lawyer Jeffrey Rath, a leading figure in the Alberta separatist movement, also took to social media the day after the Quebec election, stating that “for the first time in history, Alberta’s independence will have the support of Quebec’s elected government.” He also congratulated St-Pierre Plamondon and “the people of Quebec.”

Both, along with lawyer Keith Wilson, lamented that Quebec’s quest for independence is considered legitimate, while, according to them, Albertan separatists are ridiculed.

During a visit to Calgary last year, St-Pierre Plamondon stated that he would recognize an independent Alberta if the province voted in favour of separation. Rath indicated that he met with the PQ leader during that visit.

Two different realities

Although they believe in the democratic process of a referendum, many Quebec sovereigntists do not identify with Albertan separatists.

Former Parti Québécois leader Jean-François Lisée did not mince words during an interview with The Canadian Press.

“It’s mostly a waste of time, because defeat is certain,” he said. “There’s really not much to be gained from observing the Alberta independence movement, except perhaps some negative lessons.”

This sentiment is shared by other well-known sovereigntists.

Louise Harel, who was a minister in Jacques Parizeau’s Parti Québécois government during the 1995 Quebec sovereignty referendum, shares Lisée’s opinion. Both assert that the sovereignty movements in Quebec and Alberta are fundamentally different. 

According to them, Quebec sovereigntists are motivated by the preservation of their cultural and linguistic identity, while Albertan separatists are driven by economic considerations and political libertarianism. They also perceive in Alberta a desire to move closer to the United States, whereas Quebecers are wary of assimilationist rhetoric.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has repeatedly stated that she opposes secession, while PQ leaders have openly called for sovereignty.

“In Quebec, the challenge is to give a nation unique in North America, which… has valiantly resisted assimilation, the powers it needs to survive in globalization,” said Harel. “There isn’t such an identity-based, cultural issue in Alberta. It’s an economic issue,” Harel observed.

While Quebec sovereigntists also feel economically disadvantaged within Canada, Lisée indicated that this sentiment is not central to the movement. He also pointed out that Quebec’s sovereigntist parties have always been social-democratic, whereas the movement in Alberta appears to be linked to conservatism.

Daniel Turp, a law professor at the Université de Montréal who represented both the Bloc Québécois in the House of Commons and the Parti Québécois in the National Assembly, sees differences in the referendum process itself. Both referendums on Quebec independence contained a single question on sovereignty. 

As a result, mass mobilizations took place for weeks, both on the federalist and sovereigntist side. 

Public support for independence also varies considerably between the two provinces.

On the eve of the 1995 referendum, public opinion was evenly divided in the polls. Three days before Quebecers went to the polls, Canadians from across the country travelled to Montreal to urge them to vote against independence. 

According to the polling aggregator 338 Canada, support for Alberta leaving Canada was less than 25 per cent as of Oct. 11.

“There hasn’t been a ‘love-in’ yet in Alberta, like there was in Quebec,” Turp pointed out. “We may be less worried because the polls suggest that the ‘remain’ option will prevail.” 

More than 90 per cent of registered voters had voted in the 1995 referendum, which the federalists won with 50.58 per cent of the vote.

“This is the kind of turnout rate we see in countries where voting is compulsory,” Harel pointed out. “I would be extremely surprised if the turnout rate for the Alberta referendum was the same.” 

However, these public figures of the Quebec sovereignty movement do not entirely reject the Alberta separatist movement. All four have stated that they understand the desire for autonomy and self-determination.

“If Alberta voted ‘yes’ and Ottawa then responded, ‘Well, you can’t leave,’ we would be on Alberta’s side,” said Lisée. 

Harel added that, even though she saw no ideological similarities between Quebec and Alberta separatists, the democratic process had to be respected. She felt that the Alberta referendum could lend legitimacy to the one promised by the Parti Québécois. 

When asked if they were worried that a “no” vote on Monday could affect the referendum promised by the PQ, all four answered in the negative. 

Alepin believes that the two movements are too different for Albertans to influence Quebecers’ appetite for sovereignty.

For his part, Lisée predicts that “the defeat of the ‘yes’ camp in Alberta will be a negative, but very insignificant, factor in the debate on the referendum (in Quebec).”

If Alberta remains in Canada, Turp believes the province could take inspiration from Quebec’s approach to negotiate more autonomy with Ottawa. 

“Then she can organize a second referendum, as we did in 1995,” he added.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews