Premier Smith avoids separation talk at Alberta Day celebration as October referendum nears

Premier Danielle Smith sidestepped the separation debate Sunday while marking Alberta's 121st anniversary of joining Confederation, but she repeatedly emphasized the province's value to the country.

"We are Canada's economic engine. More than ever, Canadians understand what Alberta brings to the country," Smith said to a small group of onlookers at Calgary's Heritage Park. "The world needs what Alberta has to offer."

Smith has called a vote for October 19 that will ask Albertans whether the province should remain in Canada or hold a second, binding referendum on leaving the country. On Sunday, as festivities focused on Alberta joining Confederation, she steered around the contentious topic.

"Despite our differences, we have far more in common than what divides us," Smith said, reading from a sheet of paper. "Alberta's story is still being written. And I believe the best chapters are still ahead."

Heritage Park President and CEO Lindsey Galloway struck a similar tone, saying the event "reminds us that we have a shared past and, because of that, we belong to one place." She added: "We are one people and whether that has implications for a referendum, I'm not sure."

A tent near the Heritage Park Historical Village entrance advocated for Alberta independence, but most attendees — many of them families with children — largely avoided discussing the topic when approached.

One visitor, Myra McClelland, said plainly: "I think it's important that Alberta has a voice, and we don't have a voice."

Smith said hundreds of thousands of Albertans signed petitions in support of either separation or staying in Confederation, and that their voices deserve to be heard. She has said she's voting for the province to stay, and that if Albertans vote to pursue a binding referendum on secession, it could occur in early 2027.

Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi held a "Vote for Canada" rally in Calgary on Saturday, calling for the referendum to be postponed amid the escalating trade war with the United States. Thomas Lukaszuk, organizer of the pro-federalist Forever Canadian petition, made a similar call, writing on behalf of more than 400,000 Albertans who signed his petition.