EDMONTON — Alberta's Official Opposition Leader, Naheed Nenshi, says he will go door-to-door and actively campaign against Alberta independence if a referendum is called. "We should have people of every political stripe who love this nation standing up for this nation," said Nenshi in a press conference on Thursday. "I will play a very large role in these conversations going forward. I have to. I'm a proud Canadian, and someone has to stand up for Canada, because Danielle Smith sure as hell isn't doing it."Nenshi's comments came in response to a question about whether the Alberta NDP would be willing to form a partnership with the Forever Canada group as Alberta approaches a potential referendum. He went on to state that there is ambiguity about what a political party or TPA can and cannot do during that time, but he hopes "all of us who love Canada will find a way to work together and make sure that that message gets out to all Canadians.".However, when asked again about how he would campaign in a referendum, Nenshi said he has learned from the example of Brexit and other major votes and the importance of campaigning, even when you believe the polls are on your side. "So that means that folks like Tom Lukaszuk and Jason Kenney, as well as myself, will be out there," Nenshi said. "We're going to have volunteers door-knocking. We're going to share information. We're going to probably have lawn signs and get out the vote campaigns, and so on and so on, because we have to. We cannot rely on this just going away.".Premier Danielle Smith was later asked by the Western Standard whether she would follow Nenshi's example and actively campaign for Alberta to remain in Canada. Smith, who has long said she is in favour of a "sovereign Alberta within a united Canada," did not say how or whether she will campaign once an independence referendum is called, but she did reaffirm her goal of securing a better deal for Alberta within Canada. "Well, I have been from day one, from the moment I saw the federal Liberal government get elected again for a majority mandate and the frustration of Albertans," said Smith in her press conference. "I've been working tirelessly with our federal counterparts to identify the very significant pressure points that have caused Albertans to lose hope, and that's why we signed an MOU in November. It's why we're having trilateral conversations with British Columbia to get a new bitumen pipeline built in the Northwest BC coast."Shen then said Nenshi could be constructive by speaking with the federal NDP leadership candidate Avi Lewis to stop speaking against the oil industry, or telling BC Premier David Eby to support a Northwest BC pipeline. "That, I think, can go a long way to making sure that Albertans feel that they're being heard and that they're being respected by our patterns in Confederation," Smith said. .Also, on Thursday, Nenshi said Smith’s independence approach has unleashed issues beyond her control for three reasons.Nenshi claimed that referendums are inherently unpredictable, that economic investments freeze during the process because no one wants to invest in an uncertain future, and that this naturally causes a divide among Albertans. "The UCP is not interested in repairing the divisiveness," Nenshi said. The UCP is interested in more division and more anger. That's what they thrive on.""But the rest of us have to figure out how to live together and work together and create a better Alberta together."
