Danielle Smith takes questions after Alberta separation referendum announced

Añadido: 2026-05-24

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[00:02:13]Believe me.

[00:02:17]So, that's what I mean.

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[00:04:02]I'm trying to So, I want to know what I do.

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[00:05:46]No, because I didn't say that. Also, it's 60 bucks.

[00:06:47]>> Do you want to go from the right?

[00:06:50]Well, hello everyone. As many of you know, last night I delivered a televised televised address regarding the debate that we are having in our province on the future of Alberta and Canada.

[00:07:00]First, let me say I'm fiercely loyal to both Alberta and Canada, but I truly believe that our country is so much stronger and more prosperous when we respect the rights of provinces and empower them to govern themselves with minimal federal federal interference. We have an incredible future ahead for our country and province. We are turning the tide on the last 10 years of disastrous policy from Ottawa that held our province back. Now, we have a federal government that is starting to work with us in the spirit of cooperative federalism to undo the damage caused by the previous government. I've been clear with Albertans from the start that I support remaining in Canada and that has and will continue to be the position of my government and my caucus.

[00:07:41]Now, to the referendum question on October the 19th.

[00:07:46]To those Albertans wanting a binding separation referendum in October, this simply isn't possible. With the recent court ruling, there's no legal way to hold a binding separation referendum. If the uh if the binding stay or leave question had been put on the ballot, it likely would have been struck down by the courts within a matter of weeks. And Elections Alberta would have been legally barred from including the question on the referendum in October entirely. Now, it may take a year or more to appeal and reduce the judge's erroneous decision. And until then, a binding referendum held by Elections Alberta, as I say, is simply legally impossible.

[00:08:24]And I'd want to also re-emphasize that you don't have to agree with the court's decision. As you know, I certainly do not. But that is how our justice system works. It is binding law at the moment. Now, for those Albertans who don't want a referendum at all, it's important to note that 700,000 Albertans signed one petition or another asking for a referendum on this issue. We cannot kick this can down the road. We need to get direction from all Albertans on this matter now, not 3 years from now. Now is the time for Albertans to decide whether we want to spend the time, expense, and effort pursuing separation or whether Albertans want to remain in Canada. My position is to stay. I believe Albertans should remain in Canada. And I would ask that all Albertans join me in voting to remain a province of Canada. But that doesn't mean that we accept the status quo from Ottawa. We will continue to work on undoing the last 10 years of damaging Trudeau NDP policies and fight for a stronger Alberta within a United Canada.

[00:09:28]And we'll find out what Albertans think on this matter on October the 19th.

[00:09:32]Albertans will decide, not politicians, not the courts, and certainly not the Ottawa pundits. Again, the choice is simple.

[00:09:40]It's either option one, vote to remain in Canada, put an end to this debate, and fight to make our province and country stronger and more unified, or option two, vote to commence the necessary, albeit lengthy, legal processes, appeals, and other steps needed to legally separate from Canada, including a binding referendum that complies with the constitution. The choice is ours. You know where I stand on this question. I believe Canada is working better every day, and I can and that it can work even better in the future if we keep fighting together to keep Alberta and Canada forever strong and free. And with that, I'd be happy to take questions.

[00:10:21]We'll go into our media Q&A. We'll be taking one question and one follow-up.

[00:10:25]We'll start off here in the room and try to make our way to the phones as well.

[00:10:29]Reminder to state your name and outlet before asking your question. We'll go to our first at the mic.

[00:10:33]Hi, Premier. Uh Matt Gurney, The Globe and Mail.

[00:10:35]About a year ago, you said there would be a national unity crisis if the federal government didn't meet your nine bad laws.

[00:10:43]Those laws are now gone.

[00:10:45]Uh today, we're standing here slated to vote on whether Alberta should remain in Canada.

[00:10:51]What caused this crisis that we are in today? Well, I can tell you what has caused the crisis in as many as a million or more Albertans feeling that Canada doesn't work. And it's been terrible policies over the last 10 years, most of which we were able to get repealed through our recent MOU, but there's still some work that needs to be done. I know that there's still some distrust in there. We have to show people that things have changed rather than just tell them, and I think part of that is going to be getting the approval to build a pipeline to the BC coast. But I think that it isn't the only thing that is cause frustration. And I've mentioned that to the Prime Minister.

[00:11:28]There's issues around immigration, which is why we have several immigration questions on the ballot in the fall.

[00:11:34]There's issues around how the federal government interferes in our jurisdiction. Those questions will also be on the ballot in the fall to see if we can get them addressed. And there's also the issue of the gun grab for legally for law-abiding gun owners who purchased their guns legally. So, not everything is perfect with Ottawa, but I think the MOU is a good first step in in in showing that we have a federal government willing to work with us to find some common ground to address them.

[00:11:59]Um I I think more and more people every day are seeing that this effort is worth it, but we still have some work to do to convince many who signed those petitions that that is the case. And that's what I'll be working on doing over the next 5 months. There are a lot of people who are blaming you today. First Nations natural allies like Doug Ford and and Jeremy Farkas who are blaming you for the state of the national unity national unity in Canada.

[00:12:23]Or in Alberta. What what is your response to them when they're blaming you for this?

[00:12:27]>> Well, I I look at a 400,000 people who signed a referendum saying that they wanted to vote to remain in Canada. And I look at 300,000 people who signed a petition saying the opposite. That's 700,000 Albertans. That is 25% of all voting age Albertans in the province.

[00:12:47]Clearly, they they want to have this debate. They want to have it put to a vote and they want to settle it once and for all. So, that's who I'm listening to is that I I believe in a citizen initiative process. It was a a process that has been on the on the books since even before I became prime premier. And it seems to me that the people on both sides of those of that petition campaign in in earnest and in in a spirit of goodwill entered into a process that they thought would be put to a vote. And so, that's what we had to consider and and that's what we're doing.

[00:13:19]>> So, you don't think you're to blame here in in any in any circumstance?

[00:13:22]>> say, I'm I'm trying to find the solutions. I I think quite frankly the people who are to blame are the 14 cowards who signed a letter to the Prime Minister trying to derail our MOU.

[00:13:38]Um they should man up and say who they are and say why they don't want this deal to go ahead and why they don't want us to work together to try to solve the legitimate issues that their party created. I think it's people like Avi Lewis who continues to campaign to keep all our fossil fuels in the ground. I think it's leadership in British Columbia who continues to try to put barriers in the way of us getting our product to market. That is the reason we are having this crisis right now. And I would say um to quote the Prime Minister, people do know no longer want to hear what politicians are against.

[00:14:14]They want to hear what they are for. So I would ask those who have created the environment that we find ourselves in to work constructively as the Prime Minister and I are to try to address these legitimate issues, solve them, get Canada working again, get Canada growing again, get jobs created again, get revenues flowing into coffers again, and stop being obstructionist. That's what's created the situation we find ourselves in today. Thank you.

[00:14:40]Hi Premier Ed Ryan from City News. Kind of on the same vein of the previous question, both Calgary's and Edmonton's mayor plus chambers of commerce have all expressed their disagreement with even having a referendum question on separation over concerns that this will cause uncertainty when it comes to business. In general, you've been trying to bring more economic investment to the province including a new pipeline to the West Coast. Is that uncertainty that they are warning of worth it to have this referendum question?

[00:15:07]>> Well, I can tell you the 10 years of uncertainty created by the Trudeau's working the Trudeau government working with the NDP to block any kind of opportunity for us to build pipelines.

[00:15:16]That created a heck of a lot of investment uncertainty. That scared hundreds of billions of dollars away.

[00:15:21]And I would say that the Prime Minister and I are working to correct that with the MOU and with the with the recession of of many of those terrible laws. That to me is at the heart of why it is we're having this conversation in the first place and is part of the reason why we've worked so hard on the MOU and part of the reason why we're working to solve these problems one at a time. It's also part of the reason we need to get the the answer to this now because we do not want this lingering around for one or two or three or five years creating that level of uncertainty. People know on October 19th there's a choice to be made. It's a choice that 700,000 Albertans have asked for us to debate and I am uh I'm going to campaign on the side of of remain. I think that I have seen enough from uh the directional change that we have with the new Prime Minister. He's prepared to work with us.

[00:16:07]He's prepared to give Albertans hope again. I'm prepared to work to give Albertans hope again, but we need the question resolved so that we can end that uncertainty.

[00:16:15]Both sides of this issue are upset with you. The separatists say this question beat around the bush and some are saying they want you out as UCP leader. Well, those who want to stay within Canada say that you're helping the separatists. So, what is your reaction to the pushback from both sides of this and did you consult uh anyone on this specific question before bringing it bringing it to Albertans?

[00:16:39]>> Well, we consulted 700,000 Albertans.

[00:16:41]They sure let us know what they wanted.

[00:16:43]Um there's those who want to remain in Alberta or in Canada have uh that option on the ballot. They can vote to remain.

[00:16:51]Those who want to start the process to leave, they have that option on the ballot. They can they can vote to start the process. But, it's 700,000 Albertans who uh went through the effort, signed these petitions, and as a government I think the responsible thing to do is to honor democracy, let this debate happen over the next 5 months, and I will do everything I can to convince Albertans that [clears throat] the choice should be to remain.

[00:17:15]Tim Brooks, CTV. You keep on citing the 700,000 people.

[00:17:20]You know, a lot of people who signed Forever Canadian, I I wouldn't say all 400,000, but let's say a large chunk of them say they don't want a referendum.

[00:17:28]They say they only signed that petition in response to the separatist sentiment.

[00:17:32]So, do you, as the premier, believe that the majority of Albertans want to have this referendum? I do. And in fact, I've got 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 quotes in front of me from the proponent of that referendum referendum question saying things along the lines of our referendum question means Albertans can vote yes and affirm their desire to stay Canadian. It was always very clear through that process that a referendum was at the end. And I've got 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 votes from the leader of the opposition saying um that we need to have democratic outlets like a possible separation referendum to allow people to voice their opinions.

[00:18:07]So, everybody knew where this was going, regardless of what side they decided to to sign on. And now we have 700,000 people who expect to have this vote. And we'll be having it on October 19th. And once again, I'll be doing everything I can to convince my fellow Albertans that the choice should be to remain.

[00:18:25]You say you're on the side of staying in Canada. You said yesterday that your government is on the side.

[00:18:31]What is that going to look like over the next 6 months? Are you going going to campaign campaign, rather, in favor of confederation? Are you going to tell your your MLAs to campaign in favor of confederation?

[00:18:41]>> Well, certainly I will be. I mean, I think everything I have done from the moment I got elected with the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act has been to work to to find the issues that were causing division and to resolve them.

[00:18:55]It's part of the reason we've got nine questions going on the ballot that are government-sponsored. It's the reason this is going to to go forward as well so that we can have this conversation about how Canada is working. It's why we signed the MOU. So, yeah, I've got a pretty busy travel schedule this summer.

[00:19:09]I'll be doing town halls and meetings and talking to people about why it is I think they should vote to remain.

[00:19:15]Thanks, Tim. We'll take uh one more here from the floor and then a couple from the phones. Uh David Winick, Western Standard. So, Premier, um are you going to actively campaign for the pro-Canada side then? I have been actively campaigning to save our country and to resolve these issues from the moment I got elected. Just because you acknowledge frustration, it doesn't mean that you it goes away if you ignore it.

[00:19:37]I I think people need to understand that. If you ignore the fact that 700,000 people went out and signed a petition campaign saying let's have this vote, and I choose to ignore it, that just doesn't make it go away. What will happen is that one side will get the majority of the vote, and then the other side will have to stand down. And I think that that's the important part that you go through in a democracy is that you have to be able to have the discussion so that you can talk about the merits of one side versus the other, make a decision, and then move on.

[00:20:06]That's what we need to do is we need to make a decision and move on on October the 19th. Okay. And um what was the point of the special committee then if the Forever Canada question wasn't ever going to be on the ballot? Well, the Forever Canada question is on the ballot. It It's the first option. Do you want to remain in Canada? The problem that we had was that the proponent seemed to change his mind after he campaigned for over a year on a referendum. That's one part, but the other part of the problem is that if it's a simple yes-no vote, I my view is that the court would have looked at that as a constitutional question. They've already rendered opinion that it couldn't go ahead, um and that's why we're appealing the pro- appealing the process. So, we had to give the other option. The other option is should we commence going down a pathway on all the legal processes it will take to pursue the alternative, which is a separation referendum that would be binding. So, yes, the Forever Canada option is on the ballot. If you want to remain in Canada as I do, vote to remain. Thank you. Uh we'll take a couple from the phones now and try to come back to the room.

[00:21:09]Operator, could you put through our first couple question, please?

[00:21:13]Robert Tuttle at Bloomberg News.

[00:21:18]Yeah, hi. Um I have a question on the pipeline.

[00:21:22]Um you have right now uh an an um two two expansion projects.

[00:21:29]There's open seasons uh for for on one of those. You have a new project uh to the south, the Bridger pipeline. You have an open season on that. And you're talking about perhaps breaking ground or starting construction next year on this uh million barrel a day to pipeline to the coast. Are you willing to uh go ahead with that even if you can't if if the industry doesn't sign up enough contracted capacity given they have all these options now? Um are you willing to start work if you if you don't have you know, I don't know what, 80% or of that pipeline uh capacity reserved through I guess you'd have to do your own open season.

[00:22:11]Well, I I guess I'd say a couple things is my experience watching this industry is that whenever new pipeline capacity gets created, they fill it. I mean, keep in mind when I first got in, we had 3.8 million barrels a day of production.

[00:22:24]We're now up to 5 million barrels per day. And um as you mentioned uh the 400,000 barrel expansion from uh the uh from Enbridge on their mainline is uh well underway. 300,000 barrel expansion as well on Trans Mountain is well underway. And the South Pole Bridger project appears to have uh completed their open season with a large number of commitments. But we still also think then and and none of that I think negates the importance of a West Coast pipeline. In fact, uh I think a West Coast pipeline, it's pretty clear if we could get more barrels to Asia, they would take it whatever it is that we can sell them, whether it's China or South Korea or Japan or Indonesia um or even India. We're we're we're hearing a real need to diversify where they get their product from. So, I think that there is a plenty of room for in an increasing market for there to be an increasing share coming from Alberta and that's part of the reason that we're working towards that. But, the the fact of the matter is going to the West Coast with a million barrel a day pipeline allows for us to have an advantage going to Asia of an 8 to 10 day transit time versus 20 to 25 days through through the Gulf. And so, that's part of the reason why we're looking at it. It also has the advantage of reducing the the differential on Western Canada Select. We already saw that it reduced dramatically with the opening of Trans Mountain. We suspect it could reduce another two to three dollars per barrel even further by having more markets which benefits every single barrel that we sell. So, yeah, I think that the economics are there. I think that the I think that we will see as we go forward and get the approvals the private sector interest in helping to develop this pipeline and also the private sector interest in being able to fill it. So, we've got a little bit more work to do with the Oil Sands Group to make sure that the Pathways Project is linked to that cuz that was part of the agreement in the MOU. But, I feel pretty confident that a West Coast option is the right one.

[00:24:19]And the regarding the Pathways Project again the industry is some members of the industry are saying you you've left them out until now and they have a lot of objections and issues.

[00:24:31]Are you how soon do you think you could get an agreement on that project given they have to buy into it? Well, it it has it's all all goes to certainty. And I I think I I saw article today saying that there's now more certainty that can Canada is good place to invest in oil and gas than there was before we announced our MOU and I think that's a positive.

[00:24:52]We are a higher cost basin for a whole variety of reasons and we always will be and we want to make sure that we're minimizing those costs and keeping uh the industry competitive. And I I think when we start talking with the oil sands group, they'll see that there's a number of things that the federal government has done to uh to meet us in the middle and to make sure that we have have found the right balance between reducing emissions in a way that allows for technology to develop, but also keeping the market competitive. So, I would hope that it would be I don't I you know, whenever I put time frames on it, it sort of gets me in trouble, but I I would hope it would be a matter of uh a month or two that we'd be able to get to an agreement. Um I I think that it that's what everybody needs to see. We we we have our intention to put our project proposal in by July 1st, Canada Day, and we want to see if we can get conditional approval by October 1st.

[00:25:39]That was the commitment in the uh in the MOU. So, I think that gives you some idea of the sense of urgency we have about coming to an agreement with Pathways.

[00:25:48]As the Premier has said, you the pipeline doesn't go about out with doesn't go ahead without Pathways, but the other side of it, too, is that the Pathways doesn't go ahead without the pipeline. So, those two things are dependent on each other, and we're highly motivated to to get to that that um negotiation very soon. Thank you.

[00:26:06]Operator, could you put through our next caller, please?

[00:26:10]Raheem Muhammad at National Post. Please go ahead.

[00:26:15]Uh hi, Premier. Uh will you continue on as Premier uh if the remain side against your side loses uh in Alberta's Burton's vote uh to initiate uh the process of a referendum to separate from Canada? Uh as I've said, um I will accept the outcome of these referendum questions, and um I hope it goes the other way as well. That uh if the remain side wins, that uh the the will of the people is accepted, and we go forward with building a a strong and united Canada.

[00:26:41]And uh if the other side wins, then we will commence the legal processes to to get to a point of a binding referendum on it.

[00:26:50]And uh I section 35 uh it's not mentioned in the constitutional proposals you're putting forward Albertans, uh but I'm sure as you've seen there's been a lot of discussion in British Columbia um about potentially revisiting section 35 uh to better clarify private property rights. Um I also think the decision uh in Alberta uh created some questions and confusion and and ambiguity uh about what exactly is the duty to consult. Uh and you framed these proposals as working with other provinces. Uh so would you be open uh to revisiting section 35 uh as part of a a broader interprovincial effort uh to fix the constitution? Well, I think it's worth it to go back and look at what the founders had to say when they were putting that section in the constitution. And I'm my my uh reading of it is that it was never intended to continue being open-ended and redefined by the court to create new and increasing rights over and over again with each new decision. It was never intended to undermine private property rights, never intended to undermine the ability of provinces to have control over the resources. And so, the duty to consult is uh is meant to be uh if if and at the treaty rights to hunting, fishing, gathering, and impact on water is impacted, uh those bands have to be consulted with to be able to mitigate any of the of the potential harms and to try to find resolution to those. That's a very confined and easy to understand a duty to consult. I don't even know what the court would expect of a citizen-initiated petition to satisfy a bar to a duty of to consult before they can even ask a question. That's why I think that it's been an error in law, it needs to be challenged, we're going to.

[00:28:28]And if there's an appetite among the other premiers to to talk about uh defining that even further through some kind of constitutional amendment, then you know, I'm open to having that conversation. We have a um a meeting of the premiers coming up next week. And so, maybe uh we we we've demonstrated through our Western Premiers table that we have uh identified issues that ultimately become national priorities and so I'm sure I'm sure we'll have a robust discussion about that as well.

[00:28:53]Thank you. We're going to come back to the room here. We have time for a few more questions, maybe a couple more if we keep them short. We'll go to our next at the mic.

[00:29:00]Uh Premier Adam MacVicar with uh Global News here in Calgary.

[00:29:03]Why go the route of this particular question on a list of 10 questions? Why go this route uh rather than just call an election?

[00:29:11]Well, because I have until October of 2027 um in my mandate and I believe that these are questions that are important enough to get directional on so that we can start moving towards implementing them. It's why we we need to resolve this question once and for all to the satisfaction of the 700,000 people who signed a petition. But the nine questions that we've put forward will give me a a mandate to go forward with the federal government and negotiate a a change to how immigration works so that we can focus it on economic migrants and making sure Alberta taxpayers um and Alberta job seekers have priority as well as addressing some of the issues of federal interference in provincial jurisdiction. So I I want to get a clear direction so that we can start working on implementing them and hold the election in October 2027. Plus we have to wait for the the new boundaries. The judge in the boundary commission said that they would have been able to better do their job with 91 seats um as opposed to 89 seats and so that work is going to commence and I believe they have to report by November 2nd. So that would be the other reason to wait until October 2027 to have an election.

[00:30:17]And we've heard you mention you you have been campaigning to stay in Canada. But I want to know what that looks like now that this process is underway. We're seeing kind of these different groups pop up um that will be campaigning to stay in Canada. I'm curious what that what does that look like for you and your and your government and your party?

[00:30:32]>> Well, I'm sure that we'll we'll see lots of groups come um pop up who will who will make the case and I I will certainly be having a I've got a a meeting with my uh on a town hall with my members on on Saturday. I've got a number of different town halls that I'll be doing through the course of summer as I always do. I I like to have public forums where we go back and forth and I'll be talking about the nine questions that we are putting on but no doubt this question will come up as well and I'll be very clear about what the position is of of my my caucus and my government and why it is I think that Albertans should vote with us to remain.

[00:31:06]So that you'll see me quite a bit over the summer and doing those kinds of town halls.

[00:31:12]Hi Premier Karina Zapata with CBC News.

[00:31:15]Why hold a referendum on a referendum?

[00:31:17]Isn't this just kicking the can down the road? There there's no other option. The the court although I disagree with the decision and we have to appeal the court decision because I think they erred in law in over defined more broadly defining the duty to consult than I think is was intended under the constitution. It is binding law. That's just how our system works and you only can repeal that law through a court decision that supersedes it. So there's two potential processes. It could take years. I don't think we have years to wait until we get some indication from Albertans about which direction they want us to then that settles that and we have to work on addressing the issues that have caused a significant portion of our fellow citizens to lose lose faith in Canada. And if it goes the other way then we have to go through the extensive legal process of getting to a point where there can be a a binding referendum. But we need to have an indication of which way Albertans want to go because 700,000 people signed on to one of two different petitions asking us to ask this question and so that's what we're going to do. We'll put it to the people and I trust Albertans in in making their decision.

[00:32:25]And my follow-up separatist supporters are calling for you to be removed saying you didn't go far enough with the referendum question. Are you willing to risk the leadership of the UCP to campaign for Alberta to stay in Canada?

[00:32:35]>> Well, look, I mean, any any uh who has citizen initiative referenda legislation should be prepared that sometimes uh the people will want to ask a question that you may disagree with.

[00:33:44]And but you you have to be prepared to have the debate, and you have to be prepared to defend your position, and you have to be prepared to convince people otherwise. And that's that's what I'm prepared to do. So, um on October the 19th, we're putting forward nine questions that I want to get a mandate on. And this is a a question that two different sides have been asking to to vote on. 700,000 people I I can't ignore that. That would be anti- democratic.

[00:34:06]And so, we're putting forward a a question to try to at least get an indication of which direction Albertans want to go. And as I said, I'll be I'll be uh I'll try to do everything I can to convince our fellow citizens to remain.

[00:34:18]So, you'll be defending your position, but if option two wins, will you resign?

[00:34:23]Uh if option two wins, I'll start the legal process to uh get it to a point of a binding referendum. There's a number of different steps that would have to be taken. As I said, I will accept the result of this referendum. This was consequential and that's why I'll be campaigning hard to try to convince my fellow Albertans of my position, which is to remain.

[00:34:42]We have time for one, maybe two more questions. We'll go to our next at the mic.

[00:34:46]Rick Bell, Postmedia. Hi.

[00:34:48]Hello.

[00:34:49]Um >> [clears throat] >> Let's go to the question just so I'm really clear cuz, you know, I'm not that great a reader.

[00:34:56]In the second half of the question, so not the first part about uh remain, could you sort of lead us through? Let's just imagine for a moment, fast forwarding in the time machine, let's say that side were to prevail, the side that wants to pursue, what what what in real concrete terms, what would that look like? In other words, what would you have to do? What are those legal processes? And what kind of a time frame do you think that would be before you would be able to set up a referendum? Cuz a lot of them are claiming you can't have one during an election year, for instance, etc. So, in real concrete terms, so there's complete clarity and nobody can say there isn't complete clarity, how exactly what exactly happens if that side prevails? Well, it it it is I wish I I could accelerate decisions in the courts, but as you know, I I cannot do that. Um we could perhaps request an expedited review of the King's Bench decision decision at the Court of Appeal, but then I would imagine it would also go to the Supreme Court. Um these those processes can take a couple of years and so that would be one of the things that we'd be looking at doing is trying to get a resolution on uh the uh on the court decision and then we we would have to there's multiple other steps that would have to be taken. Um but I would say at the moment what I'm interested in is getting a gauge from uh Albertans of is it worth it to go through all the steps to get that in place so that there could be a future binding referendum or are we going to work together to remain in Canada and to fix the problems that we find in Canada?

[00:36:30]So, um it's going to be an indication, but I I don't want to understate.

[00:36:34]There's There's legal hurdles. There's no There's no question, and there's going to be some delays, but I I can't at the moment because I I don't know the length of the court process to be able to to give you the exact steps.

[00:36:45]And And how do you respond uh to because I think yourself my Both you and I have seen a lot of situations within the Conservative Party in Canada, in Alberta, sorry. Going back to Don Getty, and in most cases the leader was not voted out by Albertans.

[00:37:03]The leader was somehow pushed out by the party. Do you have any concerns that a faction, and it's only a faction, it's not all of the people who are for independence, but there is a faction within the independence movement that is yelling very loudly today about wanting to somehow get a a special general meeting or some process to get to get rid of you as leader. How seriously do you take that, or how do How do you react to that?

[00:37:32]Because is that just an empty threat? Is this real?

[00:37:36]How do you How do you respond to that?

[00:37:38]Well, I would say that I'm much more interested in in what Albertans as a whole have to say. When when you are a party leader, yes, that's one aspect, but you also have to govern for all the people. And this is an issue that in my opinion with 700,000 people signing on to it, 400,000 on one petition, 300,000 on the other, that this doesn't get decided on an [snorts] AGM convention floor by a a few thousand delegates.

[00:38:05]This gets decided by Albertans. And it gets decided on October the 19th of which direction we want to go. So, that's what I would say is that uh whichever side um individuals are on, that this is a period of time where we've got to be working on convincing our our friends and neighbors. And I've said what side I'm on, then I I want to convince my fellow Albertans to stay. But more than that, I want to address the issues that are causing the grievances. The The grievances arose for a reason. They arose because of terrible policy at the federal level. Um terrible policy that decimated Jagmeet Singh, the NDP leader, decimated his party and leadership, and also resulted in the removal of a Prime Minister. And I think that the um federal Liberals have taken that to heart. Um and now we have two uh two parties representing 85% of voting of the voting public that want to work with Alberta to develop our resources and get them to market. Now, of course, there's still going to be a number of extremists in the other fringe parties that that are arguing otherwise, but I think we should focus on the things that we can do together, and that's what I'll be uh pitching to Albertans, and uh and also hope that that they agree with me that we still have some things we need to resolve, but we're we are moving in the right direction. And we have time for one last quick question. We'll go to our next at the mic. Uh Dean Patterson, the Canadian Press.

[00:39:22]Uh many in the separatist movement say you betrayed them, and that they now want to see a leadership review take place. I know this question's been asked kind of different ways a couple times, but do you want to be direct with or are you worried at all about your job security, given given that? I I think the fact of the matter is that this is a question that has to go to Albertans, and I have said that I will honor the outcome of this uh referendum. And there's two options.

[00:39:45]Uh option one is to vote to remain in Canada. Option two is to start the legal process to leave Canada. And I would say that uh those who want to go with option two should focus their efforts on that, and I will be focusing my efforts on remain, and then we will see what happens on October 19th. I will honor the outcome, and I would hope that they would honor the outcome as well. So, very quick clarification question. Um do you have a number in mind as far as a threshold for the vote uh for the referendum? Is it 50 plus one, or what would be the number of you? Well, most most votes aren't decided that way. 50% plus one, that's what a majority looks like. Yes.

[00:40:20]Thank you. That's all the time we have for questions today. Thank you, everybody.