This week, Alberta’s legislature is considering the precise wording of the proposed equalization referendum, but it will be on the ballot in October
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.As currently worded, it would ask Albertans if the section of Canada’s Constitution that supports equalization payments should be removed. The referendum was a campaign promise from Kenney and he has said it would draw national attention to the unfairness of the current program.
On Monday, O’Toole declined to say whether he would open up constitutional talks, saying he didn’t want to interfere in a decision best left to Albertans. “In the first conversation I had, hours after winning the leadership and becoming opposition leader, I raised Western alienation with Prime Minister Trudeau. The division we feel, the frustration we feel, is due to the Trudeau Liberals ideological approach.”
He stressed he believes the referendum will soothe western alienation and bring the province deeper into Canada.Article content A poll done in August 2020 by Environics research found that support for the equalization is lowest in Alberta, but 57 per cent of Albertans are still in favour of the program existing.Article content