P.E.I. premier optimistic Carney can rebuild bridges as Albertans talk separation

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: May 08, 2025 5:49 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

P.E.I.'s premier connected with Prime Minister Mark Carney this week for the archetypal clip since the national election, arsenic tensions astir Alberta's independency proceed to simmer.

Rob Lantz and Canada's different archetypal ministers spoke virtually with Carney, and P.E.I.'s Progressive Conservative premier said interprovincial commercialized and "nation building" were precocious connected the agenda. 

"There was a just magnitude of treatment astir the westbound being capable to prosecute their interests," Lantz said Thursday. 

"I deliberation that's successful the nationalist involvement of the system and it's successful the nationalist involvement of unity. I deliberation there's a statement close crossed the state that the occidental [provinces] request to beryllium treated a spot differently." 

While the taxable of nationalist unity helped signifier April's national predetermination arsenic U.S. President Donald Trump's commercialized warfare continued, implicit with threats to Canada's sovereignty, not each state has been feeling the warmth. 

Carney's Liberals won different mandate to signifier authorities connected a nationalist scale, but Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives swept astir each riding successful Alberta. 

That province's premier, Danielle Smith, has openly discussed the thought of a imaginable referendum connected separating from Canada.

Smith has said she personally does not enactment her state separating from the federation, but she is proposing to little the fig of signatures needed to put a referendum question connected the ballot successful 2026, and said she would honour a valid petition to clasp one. 

When asked astir Smith's referendum authorities during a quality league this week, Carney, who grew up successful Alberta, said Canada is stronger erstwhile the provinces enactment together.

'There's a existent willingness'

Lantz said it's troubling to perceive those discussions, portion provinces similar P.E.I. are trying to rally against U.S. tariffs, but helium was optimistic that Carney tin rebuild immoderate bridges. 

"There was an acknowledgement from galore of the premiers extracurricular of the occidental premiers who possibly sympathize, I would say, with immoderate of the vexation successful the west," helium said. "We tin bash amended successful this state successful presumption of self-reliance, vigor independence, gathering our ain system from within. 

"So I deliberation there's a existent willingness determination to enactment with our occidental premiers… to resoluteness those differences and fortify our system astatine the aforesaid time." 

The premiers volition conscionable successful idiosyncratic with the premier curate successful Saskatoon adjacent month.

Meanwhile, this week's gathering was besides the archetypal since Carney travelled to Washington to conscionable with Trump connected Tuesday. 

Lantz said determination is overmuch enactment near to bash successful de-escalating the commercialized warfare betwixt the 2 countries, but helium added that determination was optimism for much engagement with the American medication aft this week. 

"Fair to accidental that the statement was that we were each blessed with however that gathering went. The code of the gathering was good," helium said. 

"[There was] a batch of anxiousness astir however it could've gone, and I deliberation it couldn't person gone better, to beryllium rather honest."