'FIGHT OF OUR LIVES': Nenshi pushes 'For Alberta, For Canada' campaign against independence movement

CALGARY — The Alberta NDP has kicked off their “For Alberta, For Canada” campaign to combat the Alberta independence movement, with the first wave of advertisements being rolled out across social media.The campaign, led by NDP leader Naheed Nenshi, is positioning itself as a proponent of the pro-Canada movement and is challenging Premier Danielle Smith and the UCP government’s approach to the sovereignty question.In one of the campaign’s ads, Nenshi asks Albertans if they are “worried” about “separation” and if they’re worried that “Danielle Smith, in pandering to the separatists, has put this country at risk,” before framing the new initiative as a non-partisan campaign..“You don’t have to be a New Democrat — this is the fight of our lives,” Nenshi said.“We’re going to save Canada.”The campaign’s official website encourages supporters who join to sign up for volunteer training, event registration, and participation in a planned “day of action” on April 25.Participants who complete at least three campaign activities are then entered into a draw for “For Alberta, For Canada” merchandise.Supporters are also provided with a pre-written email addressed to Smith and several provincial officials and MLAs, including Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, Jason Nixon; Minister of Indigenous Relations, Rajan Sawhney; UCP MLA Brandon Lunty (Leduc-Beaumont); as well as NDP MLAs Court Ellingson (Calgary-Foothills) and Rakhi Pacholi (Edmonton-Whitemud).The email calls on the government to act on the “Forever Canada” petition, which organizers say gathered nearly half a million signatures opposing Alberta independence..“It is one of the largest petitions in Canadian history and the largest in Alberta's history,” the email reads.The message then urges the UCP government to ensure a legislative committee reviewing the petition completes its work and tables a report before early May, and asks that the issue be brought forward for a vote in the legislature before the end of the current session.It also criticizes what it describes as government delays, contrasting them with what Forever Canada campaign organizers say was swift action taken to enable a potential pro-independence referendum.“The UCP government has changed the law twice and overruled a court decision in record time to support the pro-separatism referendum, but when half a million Albertans sign a pro-Canada petition, it has been nothing but delays and stalling,” the email states.“Albertans won't stand for their voices being silenced.”.Nenshi recently took aim at the premier in an interview on CBC’s Calgary Eyeopener, criticizing her “sovereign Alberta within a united Canada” slogan, calling it “word salad.”“It doesn't mean anything. The term sovereign Alberta is borrowed from the Parti Québécois,” Nenshi said.“They're certainly not pro-Canada. So she's pandering to both sides. And these days, we always knew this was her strategy. These days, she's speaking a little more about Canada. She's trying to wrap herself in the flag of Canada and say, ‘I and only I can save the country, and I'm gonna negotiate these great deals, and you can trust me.’”Nenshi compared Smith’s stance on independence to former UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s during the Brexit movement, adding, “we know how that story ended.”“We know very well that the majority of her party are separatists,” Nenshi stated.“We know that even if she says she's pro-Canada, she's not gonna raise a finger on the yes side, and we don't want what happened with Brexit to happen here.”Reaction to the campaign’s advertisement launch from pro-independence voices online has been one of condemnation, with many saying that Canada today is not the same as the one of old..“Canada cannot be fixed. I am sincerely telling you this,” the official Stay Free Alberta account posted to X.Another X account stated that the NDP’s campaign had provided no factual evidence for the benefit of keeping Alberta within Canada.“Yet again, zero factual case provided for any benefit of Alberta remaining within Canada,” the account stated.“You'd think they'd be able to think of at least something, but apparently not. Alberta independence is the path to a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.”“There are no logical reasons for Alberta to remain in Canada,” another X user said.“There are only emotional ones. Nostalgia for what once was isn't enough for critical thinking Albertans to abandon the chance of securing a better future for us all. Separation is inevitable.”

'FIGHT OF OUR LIVES': Nenshi pushes 'For Alberta, For Canada' campaign against independence movement

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