Let’s have a referendum on Alberta’s separation from Canada.

Bring it on.

No more playing footsie under the table with Alberta separatists while claiming to be part of “Team Canada”. No more winking and nodding to them with changes to thresholds that will make it easier for their organizers to get a referendum on the ballot.

And don’t go down in history as a Premier who took a page from the Quebec separatist playbook of 1995 with a weasel-worded question that makes a ‘Yes’ vote much easier.  

Albertans appreciate straight talk and straight answers. Give it to us. If you aren’t willing to back off the threat of an “unprecedented national unity crisis” on your own, ask us one clear and unequivocal question:

“Do you want Alberta to separate from Canada? Yes or No.”

We are 100% opposed and will vote ‘No’. 

But what we hate even more than the idea of Alberta separation is the lack of clarity on a question that has huge implications for our country and our province.

In the face of monumental challenges at home and abroad, the chaos created by this game of footsie hurts Canada, and every single Albertan. As long as flirtation with a national unity crisis continues, there will be a real impediment standing in the way of progress on reducing interprovincial trade barriers, building national consensus on needed energy and infrastructure projects, working with our Indigenous treaty partners, and showing a united Canadian front to the world.

There’s been a lot of winking and nudging going on here. And you have masterfully been able to create political hay with certain corners of your base – not coincidentally, the corners that have a habit of turning on incumbent conservative leaders – because of it. 

So, let’s end this once and for all. If you aren’t going to tone down the rhetoric on your own, call the referendum. No more winking and nudging. No more flirting. We’re in or we’re out.

If a majority of Albertans are dissatisfied enough to want separation, even with all the obvious problems that going it alone would bring, a referendum will signal so and the Government can act accordingly. 

If, instead, Albertans make clear that we are proud Albertans and proud Canadians, with a willingness to balance the interests of our province and the interests of our country, the “unprecedented national unity crisis” will have been thwarted before it can really take flight. You would have a clear mandate to work collaboratively to build a stronger Alberta and Canada.

A referendum would provide immediate certainty, and it would encourage the federal government to come to the table with Alberta-friendly actions that ensure the minority separatist movement stays a minority movement. 

As we set off into largely uncharted economic waters, certainty would benefit Alberta and it would benefit Canada. It is, after all, nearly impossible to map out a plan to tackle the great challenges of our time when such an important part of potential solutions (i.e., Alberta) is flirting with the idea of leaving the table. 

The only people who benefit from the uncertainty are those cashing in on it for political gain. There’s no reason not to signal a clear answer from Albertans to such an existential question. You were hired to represent us, after all.

So, Premier Smith, it’s time. Either back off the threats of a national unity crisis or show some courage and schedule the referendum. There are no doubt legitimate issues that the federal government must address vis-à-vis Alberta and the West, but we’re confident that they can be resolved as part of Team Canada – and there’s no better time than now with a new Prime Minister, especially one with strong roots in our province 

Now is the time to show us if you prefer to tease separatists, or show leadership for all of Alberta. 

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. 

Rick Peterson and Michael  Stuart are Edmonton businessmen.