CALGARY — Alberta doesn’t need a referendum to secure greater cooperation with Ottawa on immigration, according to Prime Minister Mark Carney.On Thursday, Carney claimed his government has already substantially reduced the number of asylum seekers, temporary foreign workers and international students entering Canada, in the wake of his predecessor — former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — opening the immigration floodgates.Speaking to Global News in Calgary ahead of Monday’s referendum, the prime minister said he didn’t think a referendum was needed “to tell us to cooperate more with the provinces on immigration.”“I think that's where we're headed because, let's face it, the province is closer to the needs of the industries here, where the shortages are,” he said, adding that he expects greater federal-provincial cooperation on immigration regardless of how Albertans vote on Monday.“I think we're gonna get there irrespective, irrespective of the result,” Carney added..Carney denies Pacific Link pipeline is political move to quell Alberta independence sentiment.Albertans will vote on five questions regarding immigration, including whether the Alberta government should take increased control over immigration to reduce it to more sustainable levels, prioritize economic migrants, and give Albertans first priority for new employment opportunities.In recent months, Premier Danielle Smith has advocated for Alberta to seek out an immigration arrangement similar to Quebec’s, which gives the province greater authority over the selection of economic immigrants.Carney defended his government's immigration record, claiming significant reductions in several categories over approximately the past 18 months."We have taken back control on immigration," he said."You see asylum seekers down by 70%, temporary foreign workers down by 60%, and foreign students down by 80%."However, despite this, Carney recently raised eyebrows when, in an interview with the New York Times, he hinted that immigration-driven population growth policies such as those under Trudeau may ramp up again in the near future, saying a “controlled increase” in the country’s population could begin again.“Now the question starts to become, when do we resume some controlled increase in the population, which is the nature of Canada?” Carney told the Times.“So that will happen, and we just want to make sure that we’ve got it under control.”
