Carney wraps up pro-Canada tour with rally in his hometown of Edmonton

Prime Minister Mark Carney wrapped up a two-day, pro-Canada tour of Alberta on Friday night with a rally attended by thousands at Edmonton’s Expo Centre, in his hometown. Supporters packed the bleachers, danced, waved Canadian flags and wore Maple Leaf gear. A song declared Canada would never become the 51st U.S. state. “Alberta’s my home,” Carney said. “I grew up here.” He said Edmonton, Alberta and Canada had given him everything, including his family, education and values.

Carney urged Albertans to vote to keep the province in Canada. He said people outside the country were working to divide it so they could own it, and called a vote against Canada a dangerous bluff that could bring years of deep uncertainty and lost opportunities for Albertans and Canadians. He said the country and its people’s futures were too precious to gamble with. One person shouted at him while he spoke about Canadians serving in the military. Carney asked the person to show respect for service members. Over two days, he met people in Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary, posing for selfies, shaking hands and urging them to keep the country whole. He gave a similar speech to thousands at a Calgary rally a day earlier.

Albertans will vote on Monday on whether to stay in Canada or hold a second, binding referendum on leaving Confederation. Earlier Friday, Carney joined Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at Red Hart Brewing in Red Deer, between Edmonton and Calgary. They tapped a keg, had a beer, sang “O Canada” and made a last-ditch appeal for the province to stay in Confederation. About 50 people crowded inside the brewery, jockeying for position in Canada-themed shirts, hats, sweaters, jerseys and pins. Mayors, members of Parliament and former Alberta premier Ed Stelmach were among them. Another 100 supporters gathered outside. Across the street, a lone protester carrying an Alberta flag walked back and forth.

Smith and Carney praised each other as sharp-eyed, tough negotiators who fight for their positions while wanting the best for Canada. They said they were making progress, including on a proposed fast-tracked oil pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. coast. “For the first time in a long time, Alberta and Canada are walking together,” Smith said.

They still disagree on the rest of Smith’s referendum. The question of leaving Canada is one of 10 on the ballot; Smith wants Albertans to endorse nine other proposals. The proposals call on her government to take more control over immigration, impose new rules and pursue constitutional changes that would shift power away from Ottawa. Smith has said she needs a mandate to negotiate a better deal with Ottawa. Carney is urging voters to reject the nine proposals, while Smith says she will try to change his mind. As the brewery crowd watched, Smith handed Carney a booklet explaining the questions. “I have bad news for you, prime minister: all the premiers are interested in talking about immigration and how we might be able to reform it,” she said.

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also made a last-minute appeal for unity Friday. Speaking in Calgary at the Canada Strong & Free Network, he said he understood separatists’ disillusionment with the state of affairs in Canada, but that leaving was not the answer. “Quitting is the easy way out — and Albertans are not quitters,” he said. He added that Canadians do not take their ball and go home or walk away; they stand and fight for what they believe in and reflect on what they have. Poilievre said he understood public frustration over rising costs, what he characterized as a lax justice system, an out-of-control immigration program and federal policies that curtail resource development. He urged Albertans to look at the bigger picture. “Canada is more than a government,” he said. “It is a people, a flag, a land, a history and a promise.”

Polls have suggested a strong majority of Albertans will vote to stay in Canada, but leaders warn that voter apathy could open the door to a winning vote for separation. Albertans have been voting by mail and, in recent days, at advance polls in numbers that could produce a record final count. Elections Alberta said more than one million people had voted as of Thursday night.

Smith called the referendum earlier this year. She said growing discontent with past federal policies reached a boiling point recently, with hundreds of thousands signing petitions both for and against staying in Confederation. She said a referendum was needed to settle the issue once and for all. Critics say Smith is not resolving a broad existential debate but has instead inflamed and validated latent fringe separatist sentiment, gambling with the country’s future to appease hardliners in her United Conservative Party.

The Canadian Press first published this report on Oct. 16, 2026.