CALGARY — The second debate between former Alberta premier Jason Kenney and pro-independence lawyer Keith Wilson kicked off in Calgary on Monday night as both men argued for very different visions regarding Alberta’s future.Speaking before a sold-out crowd at the historic Grand Theatre and moderated by the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy’s founder and president Mark Milke, the event built upon a previous exchange between the two men in Edmonton on May 1 at a conference hosted by Civitas Canada.On Monday, Wilson argued Alberta has reached a point where independence is now not only viable but necessary.“Canada is no longer an optimal size of governance, but Alberta is,” Wilson told the audience.“We have what it takes to go on our own… We can continue to have excellent neighbours in Canada, but we'll be able to negotiate with them from a position of strength.”Kenney, meanwhile, warned the independence movement would damage Alberta both politically and economically, as well as fracture the United Conservative Party going forward..The former premier referenced Quebec’s sovereignty movement during the night, saying that when Quebec attempted independence, “it ended up becoming one of the poorest jurisdictions in North America.”“There's a reason why we are one of the wealthiest jurisdictions in North America,” Kenney stated.“It's because we know how to build, we know how to work towards the future, we know how to create alliances, we know how to be great Albertans and great Canadians at the same time.”Kenney also argued Alberta has yet to fully use the constitutional powers it already possesses and should attempt to do so before trying something drastic, such as leaving Canada.“We have fought for and won greater powers,” he said.“How about we exercise the powers that we already have? Why are we talking about separating when we don't even exercise the full ambit of our current constitutional powers like Quebec does?”A major point of contention throughout the night — and around the wider independence debate — revolved around Alberta’s economic future as a potentially landlocked country.Milke raised Switzerland as an example of a successful landlocked nation, prompting Kenney to dismiss the comparison.“We are a commodities and natural resources economy [unlike Switzerland], and good luck as a landlocked state,” Kenney responded.“Don’t forget, who owns the Trans Mountain [pipeline]? The government of Canada… if we become a landlocked state as a commodity-producing, exporting jurisdiction, it would be the single most dramatic act of economic suicide in modern history.”Wilson countered that Alberta’s biggest obstacle was not geography, but the federal government’s policies.“We’re not landlocked by the Rockies, we’re landlocked by Ottawa — it’s policy-locked,” he said.The lawyer added Alberta now faces “an existential moment” and accused federalists such as Kenney of offering no real solutions.“It's always go back and ask for more. Be patient. Patience is not a solution to the opportunity that's before us,” Wilson said.“The question is no longer whether Alberta is strong enough to stand on its own. The question is whether Alberta is finally confident enough to move towards a lawful path of independence.”.After the debate, Wilson told the Western Standard he was surprised by how Kenney and the federalists at large had not presented a workable plan to address Alberta’s grievances with Ottawa.“The former premier has not brought forward any kind of plan to address the legitimate grievances [or] the harm that Ottawa continues to cause to Alberta, to our economy, to the opportunities for our children, or the cost of living,” he said.“You've got to convince the rest of the country to change their ways, and they don't want to change their ways... All he's had to support a stay-in-Canada argument has been fear and uncertainty.”
