Sask. premier says he’ll work with Alberta to strengthen Canada in wake of referendum

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said he looks forward to working with Albertans to create a stronger Canada after the majority of Albertans voted to remain in Canada in Monday’s referendum.

While speaking to reporters in Saskatoon on Tuesday, Moe said there’s still work to be done by Canadians outside of Alberta to give those who voted in favour of separation a reason to stay.

“The nation is worth it. Canada is worth that work. It is worth that effort. And for those of us that are in duly elected positions like we are, we’re committed to doing that work,” Moe said.

Roughly 75 per cent of Albertans voted to stay in Canada in the province’s referendum on Monday.

The other nine questions about immigration and constitutional issues have a much tighter margin, with all but one of them leaning toward “yes” as of Tuesday afternoon. The votes are still being counted and the official results are not scheduled to be published until Oct. 29.

University of Regina political science professor Tom McIntosh said this gives Alberta Premier Danielle Smith a mandate to bargain with Prime Minister Mark Carney about giving Alberta more control over which immigrants are allowed into the province, how many of them and which provincially funded social programs they’d be able to access.

“If these margins hold, then the mandate is there, but it’s a weak mandate to act too decisively,” McIntosh said on CBC Saskatchewan’s Blue Sky.

Tom McIntosh, a political science professor at the University of Regina, said Alberta likely won’t be the only province interested in having more say in immigration policy. (Nazima Walji/CBC)

He said that weak mandate could create uncertainty about Danielle Smith’s leadership within the UCP.

“She could wind up spending her next year before the provincial election fighting for control of her own political party,” McIntosh said.

As for Saskatchewan, Moe said he would be interested in seeing the provinces take more control of immigration policies.

“Anytime we’re talking about immigration across Canada and Saskatchewan, it should very much be focused on economic immigration, very clear with respect to our position on immigration as a whole. But it’s an ongoing discussion,” Moe said.

McIntosh said it’s likely Moe won’t be the only premier interested in exploring the question of provincial control over immigration. 

“I think you may see not only Moe, but other premiers sort of say, ‘yeah, you know, we might want more say in this,'” McIntosh said.

Albertans were also asked about whether the Alberta government should work with other provinces to amend certain areas of the Canadian Constitution, including abolishing the federally appointed Senate.

Moe said he doesn’t support abolishing the Senate, but he’s not opposed to the conversation.

“Senate reform is never a bad discussion for us to have as Canadians, certainly,” Moe said.

Gerald Aalbers, the mayor of Lloydminster, a city on the Saskatchewan-Alberta border, said his residents on both sides of the border had a mixture of opinions.

“There was certainly people on all sides of the spectrum on this, from the perspective that they were forever Canadian, others leading the separation,” Aalbers said.

Lloydminster sits on the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan. (Trevor Bothorel/CBC)

He said the vote gave people an opportunity to express their frustrations with the federal government about issues like immigration and pipelines.

Aalbers said he is relieved he won’t have to navigate an international border running through his city.

“I’m glad that we don’t have to wrestle with that decision today.”