Braid: Referendum results challenge UCP's whole sovereignty agenda

The UCP would like you to forget many referendum results as quickly as possible.

That’s because Alberta voters rejected Premier Danielle Smith’s core goal — sovereignty within a united Canada.

Those buzzwords won her the UCP leadership in 2022. They kept the separatists from breaking away. They propelled every interaction with Ottawa.

Sovereignty within a united Canada is the heart and soul of her government.

So, the geniuses behind the referendum crafted four questions on whether the province should pursue yet more autonomy.

They clearly expected a roaring endorsement. Otherwise, why do it? They were already working toward those goals every day, without a referendum.

But the voters slapped down all four questions. Clear majorities sent a message that the province has quite enough sovereignty.

Does the premier now have a mandate to pursue more autonomy? Not if she treats the referendum results with any respect.

Here’s how questions six through nine fared.

Do we want Alberta rather than Ottawa to appoint judges? — 54.7 per cent voted no, 45.3 per cent yes.

Should the province work with Ottawa to abolish the Senate? — 52.7 per cent no, 47.3 per cent yes.

The final two questions were of more consequence.

Should Alberta opt out of federal-funded programs but get the loot anyway, no strings attached? — 57.7 per cent said no, 42.3 per cent yes.

Finally, should Alberta laws have priority over federal laws when there’s overlap? — 55.5 per cent no, 44.5 per cent yes.

What happened is, the referendum campaign woke up pro-Canada feeling in Alberta.

The polls were flooded by proud Canadians who were already deeply annoyed with Smith for all her bows to separatists.

Many were furious at the immigration questions, and the government spending $4 million to ensure they carried.

Most also liked the recent economic deals with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

It’s a reasonable assumption that a big majority of voters were feeling friendlier to Carney than they were to the premier.

They weren’t about to hand her a mandate to pry more powers from Ottawa.

All five immigration questions carried, giving the UCP paper authority to cut benefits for non-permanent residents and their families.

But, really, the margins weren’t overwhelming and would have been slimmer if the government hadn’t spent all that cash to bend opinion.

Smith now appears to be backpedalling. She won’t introduce immigration legislation this year, and maybe not next spring.

“I think what I’m interpreting from the results is let’s make sure it doesn’t apply to the people who came here and arrived here under the old rules,” she said.

The much larger problem is that many thousands of immigrant workers now feel threatened, just when we need more of them.

About one-third of Alberta doctors come from other countries, and the total is at least that high for nurses.

On one recent weekend, beds had to be closed at the Foothills ER because a shift was nine nurses short of a full contingent of 31.

Staff shortages are critical across health care.

But the word is out among immigrants in the health system. Admin staff at one family practice, all immigrants, were saying last week that they’ll move out of Alberta if they lose benefits.

The UCP continues its weird knack for screwing up recruitment in health care.

In February 2020, the government cancelled the physicians’ signed pay agreement.

Along with other factors, that slowed recruitment for at least two years.

Politicians too certain of their connection with the voters can do the stupidest things.

Just have a look at B.C.’s defeated and deflated ex-premier David Eby, who thought he could call an election two years early and get away with it.

Such idiocy can befall any premier, without warning.

Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald