Poilievre vows to campaign against Alberta separation

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will campaign across Alberta encouraging the people in his home province to stay in Canada if there's a referendum on separation this fall.

Speaking to reporters in North Vancouver, B.C., Poilievre said he's a "strong Canadian federalist" and will do everything he can to keep Alberta in the federation if voters are given a choice on whether to stay or go.

"I will be campaigning across the province encouraging Albertans to stay as part of the Canadian family," he said when asked what he will do if separatists there succeed in getting an independence question before voters.

Poilievre also vowed that he won't be the only one campaigning to hold the country together.

While Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party base is riven with division over the question of independence, Poilievre has said there isn't a single separatist among Alberta Conservative MPs.

He vowed to press them into service to make the case to their constituents.

"All Conservatives will be campaigning for Canadian unity in Alberta," he said. "I stand for a united country and we're going to campaign every day and every way."

Separatist elements in Alberta collected the hundreds of thousands of signatures needed to petition for a referendum on independence.

But last week an Alberta court ruled that the petition shouldn't have been issued under provincial law, and that Smith's government had neglected its constitutional duty to consult First Nations.

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