PETERS: Smith needs to make Alberta sovereignty referendum the centre of an election campaign

Shortened, the question is, ‘Should we ask a question?’

Federalists will obviously vote no and separatists will vote yes. There may be a few federalists who vote yes in order to finally put the issue to bed, but they will be very few.

If the eventual answer to this question is yes, the actual referendum results will be the same. What’s the point?

The point is Danielle Smith equivocating to a small, vocal portion of her base and failing to take the stand the majority of Albertans want her to take.

If she believes in Alberta as a part of Canada as she says she does, she should fight for it.

Quebec, of course, has held sovereignty referendums in the past, the most prominent being held in 1995.

That, though, was when the voters of Quebec had already expressly elected a provincial government with separatism at its heart.

Leaving Canada was a big enough issue that parties had to campaign on it. It’s the mother of all ballot box questions.

Quebecers voted Parti Quebecois in the 1994 provincial election because that was the party that promised a referendum.

In Alberta’s case, the United Conservative Party serving as government has never campaigned on pursuing sovereignty. It’s never campaigned on even asking the question on sovereignty.

Even so, here Smith is, opening the door.

A sovereignty referendum is still a big enough question that, if Smith feels it should ultimately be asked, it needs to be at the centre of an election campaign.

Parties can then include either an openness to a referendum or rock-solid federalism in their platforms – and Albertans will know exactly who they’re getting when they cast their ballots.

Answering the question of where she and her government stand on leaving Canada needs to come long before Danielle Smith asks residents of her province.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.

by James Peters

PETERS: Smith needs to make Alberta sovereignty referendum the centre of an election campaign

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