CALGARY — Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney believes Quebec’s long-standing experience with sovereignty should serve as a warning to Albertans as they get ready to head to the polls on October 19 for the independence referendum.Following the Parti Québécois' election victory in Quebec on Monday, Kenney argued the result should not be interpreted as a renewed mandate for Quebec independence, and pointed to the PQ's relatively small share of the popular vote and continued opposition among Quebecers to another referendum.“I suppose it might cause some in the separatist camp here to feel validated that Quebecers just elected a separatist government last night,” Kenney said.“But below that headline, I would highlight that the PQ won a minority government with 27.5% of the vote, which I think is the second-lowest share of popular vote for the Parti Québécois since 1972. So in that sense and by the polling shows, 75 or 80% of Quebecers do not want a referendum on separation.”Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s PQ has promised that it will hold a referendum on independence within a first mandate, though not before US President Donald Trump leaves the White House in 2029. Despite the party’s victory, Kenney said it should be seen as a warning for Alberta if it were to go down the same route, with the independence movement winning the October 19 referendum..Parti Québécois wins minority as CAQ wiped off Quebec electoral map.“[The PQ] does not have a pro-referendum majority in the Quebec legislature and so I would say to Albertans, if Quebec, which has been pushing separatism for a portion of whose population have been pushing separatism for sixty years, slammed the door last night on a new referendum, why in the world would we in Alberta be thinking about this?” he asked.He cited former Quebec premier François Legault, who was once a Quebec sovereignty proponent before becoming a federalist, as an example of a politician who concluded what Kenney called the “knife to the throat strategy” had failed.“Thirteen billion dollars of equalization is not the sign of success, but of economic failure,” he stated.“The outflow of capital of businesses, of people for decades turned Quebec into having the lowest per capita GDP of any large jurisdiction in North America with the highest taxes and debt, and a stagnant economy. So, I would say to people on the separatist side or people thinking of sending a message like Quebec, do you really think that worked? We want to go from being the big winners in the Canadian economy to the biggest losers.”When asked what percentage of the upcoming vote would be enough to seal the debate on independence for good, Kenney was diplomatic in his response.“There is no magic number,” he said.“The higher the vote for option one to stay in Canada, the better in demonstrating certainty and political certainty, which is solid gold for investment and economic growth.”However, he did acknowledge that even a decisive result for the federalists would still not convince those committed to the independence movement to abandon their cause, quoting Alberta Prosperity Project CEO Mitch Sylvestre, who has previously said the independence side will carry on the fight regardless of the result.“I would say it's about time to invite them, on October 20, to go back into their marginal political parties and advocate from there, and get the one or two percent of the vote that they got running for the Maverick Party in 2021, and running in by-elections in Battle River-Crowfoot a year ago," Kenney said."That does not constitute a threat to stability or investor confidence, so, I think this will be a chance to move past all of this and get focused on building the province.”
