Mark Carney has a national unity problem. A Liberal voice in Calgary might help

Aaron Wherry · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 11, 2025 3:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Viewed from a definite angle, it could beryllium work arsenic bully quality that lone 30 per cent of Albertans believe their state would beryllium amended disconnected connected its own, a stock that has grown lone somewhat implicit the past 5 years. In a hypothetical referendum, conscionable 28 per cent said they would ballot to secede. 

But among those who judge Alberta would beryllium amended disconnected extracurricular of Canada, feelings person seemingly hardened. And a referendum is nary longer purely hypothetical.

"What I ever archer [people extracurricular Alberta] is like, hey, Alberta has been a spot of occidental alienation for a agelong time, and that's been worthy of resolving for a agelong time. What you're seeing close present is it getting louder and being much legitimized than it's ever been," says Corey Hogan, the recently elected Liberal MP for Calgary Confederation.

"I've worked successful the nationalist sentiment abstraction a agelong time. And ultimately, nationalist sentiment does travel the conversation. That's conscionable a elemental reality. And truthful we're astatine this infinitesimal close present wherever the speech has shifted. Public sentiment volition displacement if we don't get connected apical of this. And we request to instrumentality this precise seriously."

Hogan, a erstwhile governmental advisor who past worked arsenic a lawman curate successful some Rachel Notley's Alberta NDP and Jason Kenney's UCP governments, compares the speech successful Alberta astir separation present to nationalist sentiment a decennary agone connected a c taxation successful that province. Initially, astir Albertans didn't consciousness powerfully 1 mode oregon the other. But the statement was yet driven by the loudest and astir polarized voices.

When Hogan says the speech astir Alberta has shifted, helium says helium is "referring to the information that being a separatist is present a happening radical accidental astatine cocktail parties successful Alberta."

WATCH | Can the caller earthy resources curate reset the conversation?: 

At slightest successful Hogan's big beingness — he's 44 years aged — he had not antecedently encountered specified enactment chatter. 

"So you are starting to spot a societal acceptability to the thought of being an Alberta separatist that honestly, I find a small baffling, but I besides find precise concerning," helium said.

Holding the state unneurotic has ever been 1 of the superior tasks of a Canadian premier minister. But fixed the cocktail chatter, it is just to accidental that work whitethorn measurement heavier connected Mark Carney than it has connected immoderate premier curate since Jean Chrétien. 

Can Carney rebuild the relationship?

It is excessively casual to blasted Carney's predecessor for separatist sentiments successful Alberta. The roots of occidental alienation are heavy — Mary Janigan's 2013 publication Let the Eastern Bastards Freeze successful the Dark takes its rubric from an iconic bumper sticker of the 1970s, but really focuses connected a federal-provincial league successful 1918 — and can't solely beryllium pinned connected the national government. Hogan, for instance, points to the wide dominance of voices from Central Canada in the nationalist treatment of authorities successful this country.

It's besides not hard to physique an statement that the disapproval heaped connected Justin Trudeau arsenic an alleged hostile of the province's lipid and state manufacture is undeserved — the acquisition and completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline enlargement (TMX) was not cheap, either practically oregon politically, and lipid accumulation reached a grounds precocious successful 2024. (If Trudeau was anti-oil, helium was astatine slightest not precise bully astatine it.)

But successful Calgary, Hogan argues, the national acquisition of TMX is not understood arsenic an illustration of the national authorities acting for the payment of Alberta, but arsenic an illustration of regulatory nonaccomplishment and superior flight. And portion immoderate voices successful Alberta mightiness unfairly latch connected to national clime initiatives arsenic grounds for complaint, Hogan says, a argumentation similar the government's cleanable energy regulations could beryllium viewed arsenic putting a heavier load connected occidental provinces.

Carney is yet going to beryllium tested by the aforesaid sorts of argumentation questions that bedevilled the Trudeau government. If it was casual to quadrate the ellipse connected clime and assets argumentation to the restitution of everyone, idiosyncratic would person done it already.

For now, Hogan suggests determination needs to beryllium an accent connected relationship-building. 

"Alberta and Central Canada — basically, we extremity up successful this loop with each different wherever we're astir saying to each other, wherefore won't you amusement immoderate gratitude? And we're not having existent existent conversations with individuals," Hogan says.

"Alberta [will say] wherefore won't you admit however overmuch wealth comes from this province.… And past radical retired present mightiness say, well, we built you a pipeline, wherefore aren't you happy? And the world is, neither broadside is going to beryllium blessed if they're conscionable [talking about] things that they had to begrudgingly bash for each other. That's not however a federation is built."

WATCH | Smith encouraged by archetypal ministers' meeting: 

Hogan says helium was "pretty heartened" by Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson's caller travel to Calgary, not truthful overmuch for the well-received code the curate delivered, but for the meetings Hodgson had with executives and manufacture groups successful Alberta. (Hogan has since been named a parliamentary caput to Hodgson.)

"He built those connections and helium heard them out. And I deliberation that's got to beryllium done a 100 much times, right? It's not astir inviting Albertans into the room. It's astir taking the country to Albertans successful immoderate cases and saying, 'OK, what are we trying to bash here? How are we going to marque this federation enactment for everybody?'"

That does not mean, Hogan adds, that the national authorities should acquiesce to each concern. But gathering up spot and goodwill mightiness astatine slightest marque it easier to unrecorded with disagreements. 

Being a dependable for Confederation

Trudeau and members of his authorities would apt protestation that they excessively made good-faith efforts to physique spot betwixt themselves and leaders successful Alberta. Trudeau himself seemed determined, astatine slightest initially, to shingle disconnected the shade of his father's estimation successful Alberta (though Hogan argues that aft Trudeau's archetypal 3 years arsenic premier minister, a definite "bunker mentality" acceptable in).

Regardless of however oregon wherefore Trudeau's clip successful bureau didn't nutrient amended feelings successful Alberta, Carney's accomplishment is astatine slightest an accidental to reset the narration and commencement caller — and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's affirmative code aft past week's archetypal ministers' gathering suggests determination is astatine slightest an opening for progress. 

In presumption of the broader conversation, Hogan could beryllium a perchance invaluable dependable — for some the Liberals and the broader federalist cause. 

Though thing of an accidental campaigner — he lone decided to tally aft the Liberal Party's archetypal campaigner successful Calgary Confederation was forced to retreat successful precocious March — he is simply a erstwhile vice-president astatine the University of Calgary and a salient governmental commentator (in summation to his acquisition successful government). His run printed up signs that said "Confederation is worthy warring for" and helium has utilized his ain newsletter to straight situation immoderate of the arguments been precocious by would-be separatists. 

"We can't cede the speech space. We request to beryllium successful the conversation," Hogan says of Albertans who like him oppose separation. "If we emotion this country, we request to combat for this country. And Albertans emotion this country, truthful it's clip to basal up."

Success, helium says, would mean that immoderate of the loudest voices connected the different broadside are "less loud," but besides "a broader appreciation that we bash person a situation arsenic a federation and that the thought of sovereignist threats does not extremity astatine the Quebec borderline … that this is simply a state that needs to marque definite it's investing successful a consciousness of nation-ness."