Canadian prime minister calls Alberta referendum push 'dangerous bluff,' warns of 'years of uncertainty'

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned Thursday that Alberta's push for a referendum on separation amounts to a "dangerous bluff" that risks derailing the country's growing global standing, drawing a direct parallel to the UK's experience with Brexit.

Speaking at a news conference in Ottawa at the close of the parliamentary sitting, Carney said the referendum drive comes at a pivotal moment for the country.

"Right at a time when we're seen as one of the most trustworthy, reliable, desirable countries to do business with. And we shouldn't mess that up," he said.

Carney drew a direct parallel to the UK's experience with Brexit, saying he witnessed firsthand how separation campaigns tend to oversimplify what leaving a federation entails.

"I saw firsthand what gets sold in these referenda, that everything's going to be easy, that you can keep your passport, you can keep the currency, you can stay in the country and leave it at the same time, you get all the benefits but none of it," he said.

"And you see what's happened in the United Kingdom," he said. "It is very reminiscent," referring to Brexit.

"At a minimum, it's years of uncertainty before the subsequent question comes, right at a time the world is fundamentally uncertain, right at a time Alberta and Canada, Quebec, Ontario, the territories, the whole country are moving to the forefront," he said.

Carney outlined three core messages shaping his government's response to separatist pressures. "First, Canada's worth fighting for. I mean, this is the greatest country in the world," he said. "Secondly, that we're stronger together."

"Thirdly, this is a real referendum. It's not a question about a question, a free option. It's a dangerous bluff," he noted.

As an example of inter-provincial cooperation under the federal framework, Carney pointed to ongoing pipeline negotiations involving Alberta, British Columbia, and Indigenous communities, saying the project was only possible because of "cooperative federalism."

"We're not the proponent, we're not the sole role, but we're playing an important role in helping to make that," he said.

Alberta, a province of about 5 million people that is home to Canada's vast oil sands industry, is scheduled to hold an independence referendum on Oct. 26.