Lord Conrad Black has said that Alberta may hold the ultimate power in deciding Canada’s future, predicting that Prime Minister Mark Carney's climate policies could push the province toward independence with consequences more severe than Quebec’s independence movement.In a speech at the Canada Strong and Free Network (CSFN) conference in Calgary on Saturday, the historian, commentator, and founder of the National Post discussed the country’s shifting political landscape, arguing that Ottawa’s treatment of Alberta’s oil and gas industry could spark a crisis with severe consequences for Confederation.Speaking about the state of the nation, Black said Canada was once highly successful but has suffered over the last decade from a net outflow of capital.“In the last ten years, we’ve had net capital outflows of over $300 billion,” he said. “Capital generated in Canada is leaving, outpacing what is being invested here. We have slipped several places in per capita income.“If [Carney] proceeds with any significant part of his green agenda, it will be an escalation of the war against Alberta’s oil and gas industry. If he does that, Alberta would negotiate with the Americans in some special territory, and the Americans would accept Alberta on any basis you want. "That would be the end of Canada.”.Conrad Black punted from House of Lords In Labour shakedown.Black contrasted Alberta’s position with Quebec’s, noting that the eastern province's secession would be a hard blow but not fatal to Confederation.“If Quebec seceded, Canada would still be a country of over 30 million people,” he said, adding that the province has enriched Canada through its culture and language, but has also been “an awful nuisance to the federalists.”Alberta, on the other hand, represents the country’s energy engine and is a major contributor to national finances.Black noted that Albertans, who are long resentful of equalization payments and Ottawa’s energy and natural resource policies, have grown increasingly vocal about their place in the country in recent years.He also praised Premier Danielle Smith’s stance on the issue. “She says, ‘I’m a federalist but I will do what the people of Alberta want, and if they vote to secede, I’ll have to respect that,’” Black noted.“She’s not going down with the ship of federalism.”Black suggested Alberta could soon have the power to decide its own fate within or outside Canada. “My intuition and my guess is that you people are going to have an enormous role very soon in shaping the future of this country,” he told the CSFN audience.“You’ll basically be able to write your own ticket, and you deserve it.”
