Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada on Monday drew on his experience with Brexit to warn that a referendum the province of Alberta is planning for October on a possible separation from Canada could turn out to be a “dangerous bluff.”
Mr. Carney was governor of the Bank of England during the vote by Britain to leave the European Union in 2016.
He now leads a country that could see its Western oil-rich province break away after Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta announced last week she would push for a referendum on separation.
The vote, scheduled for Oct. 19, will ask Albertans to decide if they want to remain in Canada or if they want to hold a separate, binding referendum to secede. Ms. Smith has been roundly criticized for her decision to hold the referendum and for the specific phrasing.
Pro-independence activists argue they’re being robbed of a chance to truly ask Albertans if they want their own independent country, while supporters of staying in Canada are incensed that the question is even being asked.
“I saw firsthand what happened in the United Kingdom when the view was, vote for this, it’ll be soft, and then we’ll negotiate,” Mr. Carney told the news media in Ottawa on Monday. He was referring to the suggestion by some voters and politicians, who did not necessarily want Britain to leave the European Union but wanted to have a referendum on it, that the Brexit vote would help extract concessions from the European Union while staying in the bloc.
“They’re still, 10 years later, trying to undo what people didn’t think they were voting for,” Mr. Carney added.
As the country’s central bank governor, Mr. Carney had cautioned against Brexit, a position some criticized him for at the time as a breach of his apolitical role. After the vote, he had the task of forming monetary policy to support the British pound as the country’s currency and economy took a post-Brexit hit.
Matina Stevis-Gridneff is the Canada bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the country.
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