A late-spring blizzard did not deter Parker Metz from standing up for national unity on Saturday. The 21-year-old student, wearing a Team Canada jersey and waving a Maple Leaf flag on a hockey stick, joined about 60 volunteers at Washburn Park in southwest Edmonton to launch the 'For Alberta, For Canada' campaign.
'It's freezing cold, it's April and it should be warm — but this is important,' Metz said. 'I'm an Albertan and I'm proud to be one. I've lived in Lethbridge and I've lived here in Edmonton. Our province is beautiful. But, our country is better. I love Canada.'
Campaign aims to rally pro-Canada supporters
The campaign, spearheaded by the Alberta NDP, will involve door-knocking across the province throughout the summer to raise awareness about the potential threat of Alberta separation or annexation by the United States. The effort comes ahead of a possible referendum on separation expected in October.
Metz emphasized his commitment to Canada, stating, 'I will always be a Canadian first and wherever Canada needs me I will be. Canada means freedom, it means liberty, it means equality. It's a cultural mosaic — you can be you and you can be OK, and I think that's a wonderful thing.'
He expressed concern about the provincial government's use of the Notwithstanding Clause, adding, 'If we were on our own that would be a problem.'
Building on existing efforts
This is the second major campaign to rally support for staying in Canada, following the Forever Canadian campaign led by former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk, which collected 456,365 signatures in 90 days. Alberta NDP deputy leader Rakhi Pancholi emphasized that the new campaign complements, rather than competes with, Forever Canadian.
'Lukaszuk's done incredible work with Forever Canadian,' Pancholi said. 'Those volunteers are incredible, but this is a group effort. We've seen thousands of Albertans sign up at our website. They've been engaging and sending emails to committee members for the Forever Canada petition. This is just the beginning.'
Pancholi noted that as a political party, the Alberta NDP is not subject to third-party advertiser spending rules, allowing them to spread their message more freely. She also stressed the importance of learning from past referendums, such as Brexit, to avoid mistakes.
'The premier's made it clear there's going to be a referendum on Oct. 19, we imagine at some point there's going to be one with the separatist question,' Pancholi said. 'We want to make sure we're talking to our neighbours right away. Being able to mobilize is really important — we haven't had the referendum called yet but when it is called it might just be a few months to the referendum date.'
