Liberal Member of Parliament Corey Hogan implied the Alberta independence movement has no legitimate mandate unless it takes a partisan approach, as Quebec does.
The statements came when Hogan was speaking at an event held at the University of Calgary alongside former Premier Jason Kenney. Hogan stated, “This is separatism by subterfuge,” because no independence party is running competitively in a general election.
Hogan reiterated the sentiment during an interview on CBC’s Power and Politics, saying, “There’s not an electoral mandate, say what you will about Quebec’s separatism, but there are people that elect governments to be separatists to have questions like that. No such thing in Alberta.”
There are no requirements for partisan involvement in an independence referendum under the Clarity Act nor within the 1998 Supreme Court reference case that laid out the process for a province to seek independence from the federation.
Both Alberta and Quebec have strong sovereigntist movements, but they have taken different paths in pursuing independence. Quebec has established federal and provincial parties with independence mandates, while Alberta’s independence movement has revolved around non-partisan advocacy groups.
Neither approach is more or less valid than the other. The Clarity Act doesn’t demand that a referendum must be invoked by a party or a citizens’ initiative. It only states that the referendum must have a clear question.
If a clear majority of citizens choose independence in a referendum, it represents a clear mandate based on the will of the people, whether a party promoting independence was elected in a general election or not.
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