Exclusive: Mark Carney talks Alberta referendum on Global News Morning

Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with Global News Morning host Blake Lough about the upcoming Alberta referendum and his call for national unity ahead of the October 19 vote. He pointed to federal announcements involving Alberta over the past year, including the Pacific link oil pipeline, defence agreements in Calgary and affordable housing in Red Deer. Carney also compared the referendum to the 2016 Brexit vote and responded to remarks by U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra about the U.S. midterm elections.

• Carney on the Alberta referendum and national unity
• Federal announcements involving Alberta, including the Pacific link pipeline
• Comparison between the referendum and the Brexit vote
• Response to comments by Ambassador Pete Hoekstra

Prime Minister Mark Carney joined Blake Lough on Global News Morning Thursday to discuss his views on the Alberta Referendum, and why he’s calling for national unity at rallies in the lead-up to Oct. 19. The prime minister laid out a series of announcements made over the course of the past year that directly involve Alberta, including the Pacific link oil pipeline, defence agreements in Calgary and affordable housing in Red Deer. “Alberta at the heart of Canada is stronger. Canada is stronger because of Alberta,” Carney said, “it has a bigger impact because Alberta's part of Canada and I'm just excited about the opportunities for this province and for this country.” Carney drew parallels between Alberta’s upcoming referendum and the Brexit referendum in 2016. “It wasn't clear what "Brexit" meant at the time people made that vote. And for the next few years, well that was being determined. There was huge uncertainty, investments stopped, the economy started to underperform. Now, the economy is at least 10 per cent lower than it would otherwise be.” When asked about recent comments from U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra, suggesting Canada is interfering with the U.S. midterm elections, Carney said “he's wrong, number one. And if interference in the US midterms is standing up for Canada and not accepting a deal that wasn't in the interest of Canada, wasn't in the interest of Alberta, that's an odd way to spin that. For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/12102619/albertas-referendum-draws-174k-ballots-advance-polls/ Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc Follow Global News on X HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt Follow Global News on TikTok HERE: https://www.tiktok.com/@globalnews.ca?lang=en #GlobalNews