EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith offered a moderate counterpunch to Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday after he opposed her nine referendum questions, urging Albertans to “vote yes to the nine.”Smith and Carney spoke to an audience of Red Deer business owners and past and present Alberta political figures at a federalist event organized by the “Vote to Stay” TPA on Friday.The leaders have spent months united in their fight to keep Alberta in Canada, but Friday’s event was eagerly awaited as their first public appearance after Carney encouraged people to vote “no to the nine” on Smith’s immigration and constitutional referendum questions..“You might know that there’s another nine questions, and I’ve given this to the Prime Minister so he can read why we are going to vote yes to the nine,” Smith said while holding one of the UCP’s referendum pamphlets.“I have bad news for you, Prime Minister: all of the premiers are interested in talking about immigration and how we might be able to reform it. The judiciary — we’ve already mentioned the Senate and provincial jurisdiction.”Smith and Carney undoubtedly have a better relationship than Smith had with former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but some Albertans, accustomed to seeing Alberta’s premier go toe-to-toe with Ottawa, haven’t responded well to the cooperation.Though it pales in comparison to her consistent confrontations with Trudeau, Smith’s remarks publicly signalled her willingness to stand up for what she believes is best for Alberta. They come as the Alberta independence referendum campaigns draw to a close..Smith’s jab was sandwiched between glowing remarks about her relationship with Carney and his willingness to work with Alberta to address many of its grievances.Before the video stream cut out, the premier boasted about their ability to change seven of her “nine bad laws,” federal investments in Alberta, and recent federal court appointments made after provincial collaboration.Some have theorized that Alberta’s independence movement has pressured Carney to work cooperatively with Alberta. They have argued that his willingness to do so will dissipate after the referendum if Albertans do not vote in favour of a future binding independence vote.Smith rejected that idea, telling the audience that Alberta’s relationship with Ottawa has genuinely changed.“When I first met him, feeling very skeptical, I just said, ‘Okay, well, I put the same kind of proposal on the table about trying to address some of the bad laws as I had with his predecessor,’” Smith said.“I said, ‘We’re just looking for a compromise here,’ and he said, ‘Well, I don’t think I want a compromise. I think I want a win-win.’ That was the approach that he took into our negotiations and discussions, and I can tell you that’s exactly how I feel after 18 months.”
