Conservatives are launching a campaign urging Albertans to vote against independence in the province’s Oct. 19 referendum, arguing the answer to Alberta’s grievances lies in changing Ottawa rather than leaving Canada.Conservative MP Dane Lloyd, the party’s Alberta Referendum Lead, announced the Stronger Alberta Within a United Canada campaign Friday.“Conservatives have a proud legacy of fighting for Canada since the very dawn of Confederation and continue to proudly defend our country to this day,” said Lloyd, who represents Parkland.The campaign, organized by Conservatives for Canada, plans to spend the weeks leading up to the referendum making the case that Alberta can become stronger while remaining within Confederation.Organizers said the campaign will focus on respect for Alberta and changes in Ottawa while highlighting what the country can accomplish when Albertans believe their concerns are being heard.Lloyd pointed to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s June 8 speech in Calgary, when he urged Canadians not to treat the referendum as a contest between opposing camps.“The goal should not be to ‘beat’ one another in this referendum,” Poilievre said. “It should be to unite us all when it is over; to show our fellow citizens — all of them — that they belong in Canada, that they are a treasured part of our national family.”Lloyd argued dissatisfaction in Alberta is directed primarily at the federal government rather than Canada itself.“Albertans don't have a problem with Canada. They have a problem with an Ottawa-knows-best attitude that has ignored Alberta's contributions and values, and held our country back,” he said.“The answer is not for Alberta to leave Canada. The answer is change in Ottawa.”.The campaign is also invoking the Conservative Party’s history to make its case, pointing to former Conservative prime ministers and their roles in major events in Canadian history.Lloyd cited Sir John A. Macdonald and the construction of the transcontinental railway, Sir Robert Borden’s leadership during the First World War, John Diefenbaker’s Canadian Bill of Rights, Brian Mulroney’s free-trade agreement and Stephen Harper’s record in government.“Conservatives continue our proud tradition of patriotism and nation-building,” Lloyd said. “We urge all Albertans and Conservatives across the province to vote for a Stronger Alberta Within a United Canada on October 19.”Conservatives for Canada describes itself as a coalition of Conservatives headed by Lloyd.The organization said its campaign and advertising activities have been registered with Elections Alberta under the legal name Canadian Patriots.
