Kani draws lessons from the UK's Brexit and warns Alberta province to be cautious of referendums

Canadian Prime Minister Carney said voters in Alberta should be wary of separatists who are bluffing when they push for a referendum, and he called on voters to take his experience during the Brexit referendum in the UK—when he served as governor of the Bank of England—as a lesson.

He criticized separatists for often framing splitting the vote as a matter of “freedom of choice,” encouraging people to vote yes, when the real purpose is to use it as leverage in future negotiations to share power.

Using the UK referendum on Brexit as a lesson, he said that at the time, the prevailing view was that if you voted yes, it would all be easy—then you could just proceed with the negotiations. Now, ten years on, many are still trying to overturn the unexpected consequences that followed from that vote.

Alberta Premier Smith promised to hold a provincial referendum in October to decide whether this energy-rich province should stay in Canada or initiate a legal process that could ultimately lead to independence—hence the name “a referendum on the referendum.”