Alberta Premier Danielle Smith stated unequivocally that she will not hold a second separation referendum if Albertans vote to remain in Canada during the October 19th referendum. During an interview with CBC News’ Adrienne Arsenault, Smith clarified her stance on pursuing other actions should the remaining nine questions related to immigration and constitutional reform be rejected by voters. The Premier’s comments reflect a divergence from separatist leaders who continue advocating for separation despite potential voter rejection of the initiative.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
‘Not as long as I’m premier’:
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I → ’m → ?
Danielle Smith rules out 2nd separation referendum if Albertans vote to remain
Alberta would ‘pursue other things’ if immigration, constitutional questions rejected
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questions → rule → things
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was definitive Friday when asked whether she’d commit to not holding another referendum on Alberta separation should a majority of Albertans vote to remain in Canada on Oct. 19.
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majority → ask → Oct.
“Not as long as I’m premier,” Smith told CBC News’ chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault during a one-on-one interview in Calgary.
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Smith → ’m → Calgary
The premier’s line in the sand comes a little more than a week before Albertans will vote on 10 questions, including whether Alberta should stay in Canada, or whether it should begin the process to hold a second, binding referendum on separating from the country.
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it → come → country
And it conflicts with the positioning of Alberta separatist leaders, many of whom say that they won’t give up the fight even if the vote goes against them.
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vote → conflict → them
On Thursday, Smith wasn’t clear on what she considers a strong mandate or threshold for the other nine questions.
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she → consider → questions
She has previously said 50 per cent plus one was what she considered a threshold for the separatism question.
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she → say → question
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith took questions from CBC News’ chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault on Friday, with the Alberta referendum a little more than one week away.
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Smith → take → referendum
Asked again by Arsenault on Friday about the percentage for the other nine questions, Smith said “majority rule” seems to be the way most decisions are made.
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decisions → ask → questions
“If they’re rejected, then you know what?
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you → reject → ?
I guess we’ll have to pursue other things,” Smith said.
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Smith → guess → things
“Find out other things that Albertans are concerned about.”
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Albertans → find → that
Pollsters have said that numbers on the separatism question have largely been baked-in for years.
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numbers → say → years
A recent poll done for CBC News suggested 23 per cent of respondents said they’d vote to start the legal process to hold a binding referendum, while 72 per cent said they’d vote to remain in Canada.
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they → do → Canada
But polls attempting to sort out support for the nine other questions have been decidedly more uncertain.
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polls → attempt → questions
While a significant majority of Albertans polled have said they’re in favour of remaining in Canada, the same is not true of members of Smith’s United Conservative Party.
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same → poll → Party
Polling has suggested that among those who said they’d vote for the UCP, 53 per cent said they’d vote for the separation option, while 40 per cent said they’d vote to stay in Canada.
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they → suggest → Canada
Smith has also recently seen one of her caucus members, Red Deer-South UCP MLA Jason Stephan, say that he voted in favour of the separation option on the ballot.
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he → see → ballot
A UCP riding association in southern Alberta also formally urged a party vote
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association → urge → vote
Jason Stephan, a member of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s UCP caucus, said he voted in favour of proceeding with a legally binding referendum on whether Alberta should leave Canada during a recent town hall.
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Alberta → say → hall
Smith said that over the past months, she has been working hard to convince more people to vote to remain in Canada.
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she → say → Canada
She said that, given constructive co-operation with Prime Minister Mark Carney, “Canada is working better than it ever has,” highlighting the West Coast pipeline, officially known as Pacific Link, as well as the repeal of various federal laws.
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it → say → laws
While she said she speaks to those who disagree with her, Smith said that doesn’t include separatist leaders.
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that → say → leaders
“As you've probably seen, I'm kind of public enemy number one for that group,” Smith said.
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Smith → see → group
“They don't like the fact that I've taken such a strong position on remain.
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I → like → remain
One of those independence advocates, Jeffrey Rath, told the fifth estate that to get the referendum they want, UCP separatists must get rid of Smith “sooner rather than later,” and proceed to “have a special general meeting of the party to vote on her leadership the same way we did with [former Alberta premier] Jason Kenney."
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we → tell → Kenney
You can see more of Arsenault's interview with Smith tonight on The National.
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You → see → National
The Aporia
