Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned voters in Alberta on Thursday that the United States is trying to fracture Canada in order to control it, urging them to reject a referendum that could set the resource-rich province on a path toward separation. Speaking at a large pro-Canada rally in Calgary, Carney framed the vote as a decision with consequences far beyond provincial politics.
According to the Associated Press, Carney told the crowd, “This referendum comes at the worst possible time. The world has become more dangerous and divided. Some outside our borders are working to break us so they can own us.”
Carney did not name the United States or President Donald Trump directly in that passage, but the inference was clear — and in past speeches he has made the connection explicitly. His warning lands as Trump continues to wage a trade war with Canada and has repeatedly floated the idea of making it the 51st U.S. state, describing Canada as one of the worst countries in the world to deal with on trade matters.
A Referendum That Isn’t Quite Independence
The ballot Albertans will face is not a direct vote on independence. Instead, it asks whether the province should remain a province or instruct the government to begin the legal process toward a future referendum on separation. Alberta holds the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, making the question of its political future consequential well beyond Canada’s borders.
Carney pressed voters not to treat the referendum as a protest mechanism. “Don’t be fooled by the idea you can ‘send a message’ with your vote,” he said. “This is not poker. A vote against Canada is a dangerous bluff that will lead to years of deep division and great uncertainty.”
He argued that a decisive result could settle the separation question once and for all, rather than leaving it to simmer through repeated political cycles.
Economic Anxiety and a Shifting Relationship
The prime minister has positioned himself as a champion of Canadian economic resilience, arguing the country must become less dependent on its southern neighbor. That case has grown more urgent as Canada’s economic output stalls. The country shed 110,000 jobs across the past two monthly jobs reports, and the unemployment rate has edged up to 6.5 percent.
Carney’s approach marks a sharp departure from the historic friendship between Canada and the United States. At the start of his term, he announced there would be “no turning back,” saying Canada’s interests require it to “dramatically reduce our reliance on the United States.”
His political rise was itself unusual. A career banker and bureaucrat, Carney had never held public office before being hand-picked by predecessor Justin Trudeau to take over the prime ministership.
A Familiar Playbook North of the Border — and a Pushback
The tensions between Washington and Ottawa have drawn reactions from both sides. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent previously said Carney must “stop campaigning, start governing,” suggesting Canada wanted the perks of its relationship with the United States without the responsibilities.
Trump’s repeated 51st-state comments and his characterization of Canada as a difficult trading partner have become a recurring backdrop in Canadian politics, giving Carney a foil to invoke as he argues for national unity. Whether that message resonates in Alberta — where frustration with Ottawa has deep roots — will be tested at the ballot box.
For now, Carney’s message is blunt: the vote is not a game, and the stakes involve the country’s very survival as a unified nation.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2026/10/16/canadas-pm-mark-carney-says-u-s-trying-to-own-us/