Q&A: Taking the Pulse of Alberta Politics as the Referendum Approaches

Jared Wesley, a political science professor at the University of Alberta, speaks on the award-winning Conversation Weekly podcast about the Alberta independence referendum to be held on October 19 and the community meetings he has been conducting across the province ahead of voting. Below is an abridged version of this striking conversation. It has been edited for length and clarity.

The Conversation: What’s the weather like in Alberta a few days before the referendum?

Jared Wesley:

TC: There are 10 referendum questions in total, five of which relate to immigration. Can you give us a bit of information about them?

JW:referandum

TC: Let’s go back a bit, to the 1970s, when the first calls for independence were being made. What was this movement about?

JW:

TC: There’s a successful segregationist party in Canada. Why not in Alberta?

JW:

TC: How do discrimination groups secure funding? Is there both financial support and backing coming from within and outside Canada?

JW:confirmed

TC: Do these campaigns work?

JW:

TC: How do Alberta separatists view Donald Trump?

JW:

TC: What do ordinary Albertans think? And what role did U.S. participation play?

JW:They are not passive spectators

TC: Did the Federalist forces cite Donald Trump as a reason to vote against the secession?

JW:

TC: Danielle Smith said she would vote to remain in Canada, and it appears she launched this referendum to appease the faction of her own party that holds discriminatory views. Is she actually playing their cards?

JW:

TC: What do we know about the typical partisan voter in Alberta?

JW:

TC: What does each of these two results mean for Alberta, Danielle Smith, and Prime Minister Mark Carney?

JW:

Listen to the podcast here: