CALGARY — Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has called on all members of the Alberta legislature to sign a pledge denouncing Alberta independence.Flanked by members of the NDP caucus at a press conference in Calgary on Monday, Nenshi warned that independence posed serious economic, social, and security risks and accused Premier Danielle Smith and the UCP of courting a dangerous sentiment at a time of rising global uncertainty.To force the MLAs to make their stance known, Nenshi said he is sending a letter to every MLA asking them to sign a short pledge rejecting independence.The statement reads: "I affirm that I am a proud Albertan and a proud Canadian. I am opposed to separatism, and I will make my position known and clear to my constituents."“If you swore an oath to serve in this Legislature, there should be no problem signing that,” Nenshi said..WATCH: US officials, conservative figures take notice as Alberta independence petition gains momentum.“Albertans deserve to know: are you on Team Canada, or are you a separatist? Separatism doesn’t lower grocery bills. It doesn’t build hospital beds. It doesn’t hire teachers. It distracts from the real problems Albertans face every day.”Nenshi also dismissed Smith’s frequent phrase “a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada” as intentionally vague, calling it “word salad” designed to appease both pro-independence proponents and mainstream voters.“When you try to play both sides, sometimes you stand with neither,” he said.While a recent Ipsos poll showed independence support around 30% in Alberta, Nenshi warned that referendums are inherently unpredictable and vulnerable to misinformation.He pointed to Brexit and the 1995 Quebec referendum as cautionary examples, where voters later said they underestimated the consequences of their vote.“This is serious stuff,” he said.“We cannot repeat the mistakes of 1995 in Canada. We cannot repeat the mistakes of Brexit. So, I'm reaching out to all Albertans, saying, "Let's stand up for what we really believe in."The NDP leader also addressed the possibility of foreign interference in the ongoing independence debate and recent comments made by US political figures such as Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, saying “Alberta's a natural partner for the US,” and that Albertans are a “very independent people” drawn to the US model of government.“This is a very, very big problem,” Nenshi said.“The separatists are bragging about the deals they're making with the United States, with no authority to do so whatsoever. No legitimacy, no democratic right to do it. And now we have members of the US administration starting to muse again about how Alberta could join the United States.”.APP celebrates as proposed Alberta independence referendum receives petition approval.Nenshi’s claims are disputed by one of the main spokesmen for the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP), Jeffrey Rath, who has said repeatedly that the group’s goal is to become a sovereign nation, not the 51st state.“All of our conversations with the US are based on the fact that Alberta will be a free and independent country,” Rath has said.“Alberta statehood is not on the table from a US perspective, (and) it’s not on the table from an Alberta perspective. What we are talking about is Alberta becoming the richest, least-regulated, lowest-taxed jurisdiction in North America in a common market with the US”Despite that, Nenshi said his message extends beyond party lines, urging Albertans frustrated with Confederation not to “fall for” what he called a false promise of independence.“Albertans are proud Canadians. They always have been, and always will be,” he said."If Danielle Smith and the UCP can’t clearly announce they are on Team Canada, then it’s time for a new government that will."The NDP leader also said his party will track which MLAs sign the pledge, adding that the “ball is in [the UCP’s] court now.”“They're hoping this goes away,” Nenshi said.“It's not going away.”
