CALGARY — Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre urged frustrated Albertans to vote against independence and instead fight to restore Canada on Friday, stating that their frustrations should be directed at the federal government, not at the country itself.Speaking to a crowd of conservative insiders at the Canada Strong and Free Network’s annual conference, the Tory leader said the province has more to gain by remaining in Confederation than by going it alone.“To those people who are thinking about taking out their frustration on the current government by voting for separation in the referendum, I say this: Canada is more than a government,” Poilievre said.“It is a people, a flag, a land, a history, and a promise... We’re in this together.”His remarks came a day after Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke at former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk’s Forever Canadian rally at the BMO Centre, also issuing a message of unity, and three days before Albertans head to the polls for the October 19 referendum..Carney warns Albertans against ‘dangerous bluff’ of sending message with referendum vote.Poilievre characterized many Albertans considering independence as “frustrated patriots” who still love their country but believe Ottawa has abandoned them.“Some told me that they are frustrated patriots,” he said.“They are men and women who put on Team Canada Maple Leaf jerseys and cheered their country in Olympic Games.”Poilievre also acknowledged that Alberta’s longstanding grievances are not Albertans’ alone, but are shared by many across Canada.“Your frustration is understandable, but your problem, our problem, is not with our fellow Canadians,” Poilievre said.“Don’t leave your fellow Canadians behind. Lock arms with them,” he said.He also argued that the economic struggles facing Albertans are no different from those experienced elsewhere in Canada, comparing a single mother in Wainwright with a waitress in Windsor working three jobs to support her children..WATCH LIVE: Pierre Poilievre keynote speech at the Canada Strong & Free Network in Calgary.“The Windsor waitress I met the other day working three jobs to feed her kids has the same struggle as the single mom in Wainwright. The thirty-five-year-old couple in Brunswick that can't afford a home has the same fight as the rural Alberta couple.”When asked for a reaction, Conservative MP Dane Lloyd (Parkland) said Poilievre gave a “strong pro-Canada speech,” adding that he had heard similar sentiments while door-knocking. He said numerous people considering voting for independence were frustrated patriots who “don’t have a problem with Canada” but have “a problem with Ottawa.”“They wanna see change in Ottawa, and that's what Pierre Poilievre and our Conservative team has been fighting for,” Lloyd told the Western Standard.“We're always fighting to stand up for Albertans. We're standing up for pipelines. We got the Liberals to axe the carbon tax, and we're not gonna stop fighting for Alberta.”However, not every member of the audience shared the same positive sentiment towards Poilievre’s remarks..Fergus Hodgson, director of Econ Americas and publisher of the Impunity Observer, told the Western Standard that he thought Poilievre failed to address the deeper structural problems driving the Alberta independence movement and rejected the CPC leader’s notion that leaving Canada would be the easier path for Albertans.“Anyone who's been following the independence movement realizes that it's not just a matter of superficial or shallow policy differences,” Hodgson said.“There are structural problems. And so yes, we have a contempt for Ottawa, but Ottawa is the fruit of the structure. The easy option is to stay the status quo, to do nothing.”Hodgson also acknowledged that Poilievre faces a difficult political balancing act as he attempts to keep the CPC united while appealing to Albertans frustrated with the Liberal government.“I sympathize with his challenge. He's trying to keep the Conservative Party relevant and keep people together. But I think it's impossible,” he said.“I think he realizes that we have such grave differences with the rest of Canada. I think he didn't address those major problems because he cannot.”.Prominent Alberta independence advocate Marty Belanger — widely known online as Marty Up North — was also underwhelmed by Poilievre’s speech, saying it was “uninspiring” and that Poilievre had “misread the room.”“I heard Carney's speech last night,” Belanger said.“If I take Carney's speech from a transcript point of view, and I take Poilievre's speech from a transcript point of view, I couldn't tell the difference. I think he misses the boat.”Belanger also took issue with Poilievre’s numerous references to Canada’s history throughout the speech.“He should know this, Canada's history is long. It's four hundred years old. But Alberta's history with the US and even the rest of Canada is a different history,” he said.“So when he references things that are maybe nostalgic to eastern Canadians that mean almost nothing to us here in Alberta... It's the same thing I want from all politicians. Ask us honestly what our grievance is, and then address our grievance.”
