Carney calls Alberta separation vote ‘a dangerous bluff’ for future negotiations

Prime Minister Mark Carney says it is a “dangerous bluff” if an Alberta separation vote is used as a bargaining chip.

Carney took questions from reporters Monday about his pipeline deal with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, and the province’s fall ballot on whether citizens would want to have a referendum on leaving Canada.

Meanwhile, Smith and other western premiers are currently at a conference that aims to discuss policies including trade and the economy.

While in the Ottawa-area for a housing announcement Monday, Carney issued a warning about the threat of Alberta leaving Canada.

“In these separation issues, it is often advanced that, ‘vote for this and it’s a free option — vote for this and we will strengthen our hand in a future negotiation’,” said Carney. “That is a very dangerous bluff.”

READ MORE: Alberta to vote on holding binding referendum, not immediate exit

Carney dismissed the notion of leverage,in regards to the results of an upcoming question referendum vote in Alberta this fall, and says his experience as governor with the Bank of England should serve as a lesson about such efforts.

“I saw first-hand what happened in the United Kingdom, when the view was ‘vote for this, and it will be ‘soft’, we will negotiate and etc’ and still, 10 years later, they’re trying to undo,” said Carney, “with what people didn’t think they were voting for, but what they ended up having.”

Last week, Smith said her government will pose a question to its citizens on October 19, asking Albertans if they think the province should remain part of Canada, or should begin the legal process for a separation referendum.

“She’s hoping to satisfy everybody — it looks like she’s satisfied about nobody last week,” said Lori Williams, a political analyst with Mount Royal University. “I mean, there’s room for this to be debated and negotiated about the rest of it, but everybody was angry with her on Thursday.”

New data released by the Angus Reid Institute shows that 3 in 5 Albertans would vote to stay in Canada.

WATCH MORE: Alberta’s ‘best place’ is in Canada, says PM Mark Carney

It also shows an uptick in people wanting to explore separation, but also revealed that many citizens were confused by the Alberta government’s posing of the question.

“If people are so confused and they don’t engage in the process, then you don’t get a clear reading of the ‘will of the majority’,” said Williams. “Of course, that’s a problem.”

Meanwhile, Smith is joining other premiers in western Canada at a conference Monday, a major sit-down after Smith and Carney struck an agreement to begin plans for building a pipeline to the B.C. coast.

Carney was asked about Alberta having a $1.2 billion fee to opt out of carbon-capturing elements of their deal, in the event that a pipeline is completely built and operational.

“There are contracts for differences, which are struck for specific projects that would remove, projects to be determined, that will remove or have low carbon,” said Carney.

Carney also says his government is reviewing the proposed referendum question to ensure it complies with the nation’s Clarity Act — the federal secession law which passed after the 1995 Quebec referendum.

WATCH MORE: Albertans set to cast fall vote on separation referendum from Canada