Former Alberta deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk is touring the province with his Unity Bus, an RV painted in Canada red, in a bid to build support for federalism ahead of the October 19 referendum on whether Alberta should hold a separation vote. Lukaszuk, leader of the Forever Canadian movement, hopes a visible groundswell of support for staying in Canada will convince Premier Danielle Smith to pull the question from the ballot.
At a Forever Canadian stop in Whitecourt on Saturday, a steady stream of people approached a table set up at a local gas station and car wash to pick up lawn signs declaring their federalist stance, despite steady rain. Lukaszuk estimates he has already driven the equivalent of traveling from Victoria to St. John's and back as he crisscrosses Alberta's cities, towns, and hamlets.
Lukaszuk calls for cancellation of referendum
Lukaszuk said he is still hoping Smith will “smarten up and decide to pull the question, because her question is not logical. It actually cannot be answered. Neither is this the separatists’ question nor is it our question. What’s the point? And let’s put that $120 million to junior high schools or some emergency departments or emergency shelters.”
An Angus Reid poll released Monday indicated that only 10 per cent of Albertans see separation as “inevitable.” Despite this, the mood in towns north of Edmonton suggests the topic remains sensitive. In Whitecourt, 177 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, and in Westlock, 85 kilometres north of Edmonton, Postmedia heard that separation is a taboo subject in coffee shops and at dinner tables, with business owners hesitant to publicly back either side.
Divisive memories from COVID era linger
In Westlock, residents recalled how rifts between neighbours during the COVID years have still not healed. A separatist event planned for the Westlock Inn was moved after the hotel said it lacked capacity in its conference area. The hotel subsequently received many calls from separatists who believed the relocation was politically motivated, rather than due to fire-code restrictions.
Alice Aubrey, who stood in the rain in Whitecourt to pick up a Forever Canadian sign with her husband Richard, said things have been quiet on the federalist front. “But for myself, my grandparents chose the country, I'm part of the country, this is my country,” she said.
