Alberta chooses to stay in Canada. What’s next?
00:01Hi, I'm Matthew Lazyz-Rider, a producer with CBC's ideas.This week on the podcast, my colleagues and I are exploring the idea of separatism in three provinces.We're asking what really makes a nation.From the West Coast Dream of Cascadia to the evolution of the Quebec Independence Movement to Alberta.And we want to know what fuels the feeling of national identity.Catch all three episodes in the ideas feed wherever you get your podcasts.This is a CBC podcast.Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is the current podcast.
00:42We are a solid country that's united from coast to coast to coast,and we stick up for each other no matter what.But it is also important not to forget about the 23%.These are Albertans.These are Canadians.And they have raised some concerns.And we need to listen to those concerns.Unity campaigner Thomas Lukasek spoke to a cheering room full of forever Canadian supporters in Edmonton,
01:16after CBC News projected that Albertans have voted to remain in Canada.Final results aren't in yet, but at this point, results show that about three quarters of Alberta voterschose the option to stay in the country.Many of the leaders who campaigned for a binding referendum on whether Alberta should separate from Canadasay they're just waiting for full results, but that this is just the beginning as well.Keith Wilson, who led Let Alberta Decide, spoke to supporters in Calgary.At least a quarter of Albertans feel that Alberta needs to be treated better, that Alberta can do better.Alberta is a remarkable province. Our geography, our people, our resources.
01:59And for too long, many of us have felt that we've been held back, not by four,beyond our control, but by forces in Ottawa.We'll hear from both sides of this debate coming up a little bit later on in the program,but joining us now are two of Alberta's top political watchers.They have had a long night, and they're here with us now to talk about the vote,what it means, and where we go from here.Janet Brown is with Janet Brown Opinion Research,and Kathleen Petty is host of the CBC podcast and radio program West of Center.
02:31Good morning to you both.Good morning, Matt.Kathleen, I was listening to your emergency podcast recorded in thewee small hours of this morning. Did you get any sleep at all? No, actually, I didn't. I stayed up.Probably for the best. Janet, what about you? Any rest? I think I got three hours.Three hours. And this is important because there's a lot that unfolded last night. And we're trying to figure out kind of what happened and what it means going forward. When you, Janet and Kathleen, were on stage with us at our program in Calgary this spring, you talked about how support for separation had been holding steady at around 25%. So, Janet, what do these results? And I think,again, they're still coming in, but what do the results say to you?Well, if I said 25% back then, I mean, the current number is standing at 24%.
03:15I think the other thing I really stressed when we spoke earlier this year was that supporttowards leaving has been steady, has been unchanging for a couple of years now.It looks like this very aggressive campaign from both the Remain and the Option 2 people,it looks like this aggressive campaign changed very few minds.What about turnout, Janet?There's long lines at the advance polls last week in Alberta,and people were wondering what was going to happen yesterday.What do we know about the turnout at this point?
03:54Okay, so I'm just doing some back-of-the-napkin math here.I think voter turnout is going to land around 68 to 70%if I'm reading these numbers correctly.So that's surprising because,Because before yesterday, before any votes were cast on day of, we'd already reached 42% voter turnout.So we had fewer people vote on the day of the election than had voted in advance, either by goingto an advance poll or getting a special mail-in ballot.So we were really thinking that we would have as many or more people vote on election day.
04:31We expected it to be higher.this is a good voter turnout by Alberta standards, but it's not the blowout that we thought when we saw the advance vote coming.Not the 80% that some people were predicting?No, or the 85% that Elections Alberta was predicting.Kathleen, I was at a Forever Canadian rally in Calgary last week, and the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, said that a decisive result, those are the words that he used, a decisive result was needed in this referendum to settle the separation question.Did he get the decisive result that he was looking for?I think he would, and he's essentially said as much as has the Premier, that 76% voting for option one, which is to stay, is decisive.But, you know, Thomas Lukazek, head of the Forever Canadian group, made a point, and I think a wise point to make, that even if it's 24% those voting for option two, and keep in mind, not all those people were voting for option two because they wanted to leave.
05:30or necessarily wanted a referendum to leave.Some of them would have voted because they just want some levers.They want a conversation.They want some movement on some of the things that they think has held Alberta backor areas where they feel that they should have more jurisdiction or ability to make decisions.There's that too.And Lukasik pointed out, you have to remember that group of peopleand still feel that you need to talk to them and address the concerns they have without sort of feeding the desire for a future vote on independence.
06:07What is your sense of that?I mean, again, a quarter or so of Albertans who voted voted for that option two.The signs that I saw didn't say anything about independence or separation.They said send Ottawa a message.Is that, do you think, Kathleen, what that quarter of Albertans who voted for option two were voting for?I don't think all of them were, Matt, but I think a significant enough portion of them did.And even, you know, you listen to Keith Wilson.I mean, he said as much, right?
06:38This is about, you know, we use the words, we can do better and we need to be able to do better.And he was, you know, and you interviewed him.And so you understand the messaging that he had.He said, federalists should vote option two because option two was about leverage.Option two is about resetting the table.And I remember when you interviewed him, I thought it was so interesting.He said, oh, well, we're winning.And you said, well, how are you winning?
07:05And he said, well, you're talking to me.You're talking to me.I talked to him on cross-country checkup on Sunday.So, in other words, he's got a seat at the table.And the issues that he's raised, he believes, is now, you know, out there in the political zeitgeistin this province and indeed in Ottawa and that there's an opportunity to at least make movement,even if it's not a vote or a pursuit of separation.I want to come back to that.
07:34Can I jump in here?So back in April, so I did two polls for CBC Calgary, one in April and one in September,and in April we didn't know what the referendum question was going to be.So we just asked people, are you for or against Alberta separating and becoming an independent state?Now, we actually found stronger support for the separatist option when we just asked that for or against.The September survey, when we asked the government's actual question, we saw softening in the separatism side.So, you know, looking at that tracking data, that says to me that there aren't a lot of people who are trying to send a message here among the 24% who voted for option two.It really seems that the 24% who voted option two really do look.
08:23like this idea of separation. Leverage is part of it, right? A lot of these people would have votedknowing that their side probably wasn't going to win, and we're hoping that at least their votewould give them leverage. But I think it's a leap to say that these 24% didn't like the ideaof separation when they cast their vote. I guess what I would say, though, is I don't think youcan dismiss that as part of the motivation for how they voted because they knew that it wasn't aa definite decision, right?I'm not arguing that at all.No, but it was an easier vote for them to make, right?
08:58You can make that with very little risk, I think, is the point.Of course.But what I'm saying is having leverage was only part of the motivation, not the singlemotivation.Oh, for sure.I don't disagree with that.It's interesting because Keith Wilson also said that this is not the end.I think he called yesterday just another day, which I kind of questioned him on.
09:19But he was very clear that this would not be the end of this.And even if his side, the side that was voting for option two, whether that's about separation or sending a message, were to lose, that these grievances would continue and they would continue to be felt.And there were questions as to whether Danielle Smith could stay on as leader of the United Conservative Party.She posted that she was, in her words, very pleased with the initial results.And she talked to the province later on this evening, Jeff Rath, another one of the independence leaders.said last night that the next phase is to take back his party. He called Daniel Smith,a federalist leader who was holding hands with Mark Carney. So Janet, what is the future ofDaniel Smith, do you think? Well, the future of Daniel Smith lies in her party, right? Going back
10:05to Ralph Klein, every conservative premier in Alberta who has lost their job, has lost their jobbecause they've come in, they started having problems with their party, not with the electorate.So at 24% support, which is very close to the polling that we did in September, we also found that that 24% virtually none of them would be NDP supporters.But when you looked exclusively at UCP supporters, people who would vote UCP of an electoral held today, more than half of them were separatists.If you look at card carrying UCP members or the type of people that would go to a party convention, it probably is.hire. So it's a low, it may look like a low number when you think about the public in general,but the group of people she's going to face at her next convention will have a lot more separatistsin there. So, you know, she's not out of the woods where her party's concerned, but in terms of
11:04raw public opinion, yes, she can say this is a good vote for the side that she wanted to win.Kathleen, how, what sort of position is Daniel Smith in right now? And how, how can she survivesomething like this if to Janet's point, many people within her party wanted her to be a bunchmore vocal in terms of why they believed the province would be better off outside of Canada.You know, it's such a mugs game to try and figure this out. I was looking at a couple ofwriting results because we got results by writing. So one of her cabinet ministers is in asCentral Peace Notley and that is the writing where the option two is actually at leastyou know, all the votes aren't quite in yet,
11:47but it looks like the option two is slightly in the majority,slightly over 50%, and that's the cabinet minister's writing.And then Jason Stefan, who was a member of a caucus who publicly statedthat he was voting for option two,the staying Canada vote in his writing was 70%.So, you know, it is kind of sort of an interesting mix that she has to manage.I certainly don't think that she can rule out that,her AGM at the end of next month isn't going to be a difficult one for her,
12:20notwithstanding the very obviously substantial vote for Option 1, which is to stay.But as Janet points out, you know, the polling is pretty consistentthat those who support the UCP support Option 2.So then you have to wonder about that 24% and who they are.She's also getting at Kathleen from both sides,because there were a lot of people in the pro-unity side who didn't think she did enough to keep Alberta and Canada.But there were also people that we spoke with in Alberta, in Calgary and outside,who were just angry that they were even having to have this vote, right?
12:55No, that's right.And then there are people, and I think she's frustrated by this,that, you know, believe that she, you know, has sympathy for the separatist side of things.And the separatists think she's too much of a federalist.the federalists, you know, think the opposite.And, you know, it's a delicate dance.And, you know, Janet has polled about this too.I mean, I think it's fair to observe that this is one of the most difficult provinces to govern
13:25and to hold a party together and keep that coalition together.And one of the things we talked about on West of Center a couple of weeks ago is, you know,the tricky sort of pursuit.of widening your base to maybe include more centrist voters so that you're not so relianton voters who, you know, might want to go to a convention or vote at a constituency levelto have a leadership review and say bye-bye.Kathleen, what message do you think the prime minister should take from this?Mark Carney released a statement overnight saying that Albertans chose unity to build
14:07together and take care of each other.What should he take from this result?Well, I think he's already, I think he probably concluded that ultimately optionmum was going to succeed.And, you know, he can read polls like anyone else.He can read Janet's poll, if he's smart, and he is, to know, yeah, well, there you go,Janet, which way this was going to go.But having said that, you know, even when he was talking about the other questions,
14:36that Albertans were voting on.He's been very open to making changes, say, for all provinces in areas of immigration,because that was a big part of this vote as well, Matt.And it looks like all her questions on immigration and changes to immigration,having more power over immigration, will succeed based on what we're seeing.And he's already indicated he's open to that for Alberta and all provinces,as well as judicial appointments.That was another big piece.
15:05although that vote right now based on what I've looked at is very close.But he really makes a big deal out of being a champion of what he calls cooperative federalism,which is basically a buzz phrase for, you know, we're open to compromise and finding accommodations.Janet, do you want to talk just briefly about that?Well, I just want to jump in and talk about the other nine questions.So again, this is like, you know, back of a napkin kind of math.But it looks to me like probably 40% of voters skipped those questions.So I kind of thought, oh, no to the nine, right?
15:47The prime minister came to town, came to Calgary on Thursday and declared this idea that, you know,maybe people should vote no to the nine.It seems like no to the nine for a lot of people translated into don't vote.I'm just not going to do the nine.Don't vote.Don't do the nine.So don't do the nine seems to have been stronger than either no to the nine or yes to the nine.And Kathleen's right.
16:10It looks like the questions on immigration have passed the 50% threshold.But only the question about proving citizenship when you vote is above 60%.So you know, you've had a lot of people skip.So we're looking at voter turnout on these other 10 questions below 50%.And we said from the beginning that the mandate, the mandate.that she gets out of these other nine questions will be a combination of the vote and the turnout.So I don't see a real strong, I don't see a strong mandate for her in these questions.I would say it'll be strong enough, though, for her to pursue legislation on it, for sure.
16:52Oh, my definition of strong and hers might be different.No, totally, but that's my point.Up to interpretation.We just have a couple of minutes left.Let me just ask you both about the mood and the province going forward.Jan, I'll start with you, Janet, just briefly, because this has been emotional, divisive for a lot of Albertans.What do you think the long-term impact of this may have?Well, you know, I set this on air last night.
17:15We have had this separatist sentiment in Alberta for a long time.Western alienation.This has been a theme of Alberta long before I moved here.It's been around for years and years.What's different about this referendum is,Now suddenly we've codified it, right?We have actually officially tried to do a count of where it stands.So I'm going to say nothing's really changed, right?
17:42This is the level it's always been.Now we have an official number two assigned to it.And now we go forward knowing that one in four Albertans don't think that they're in the,that don't think that Alberta is governed properly, I guess, is one way to say it.we've got one and four people that are so upset with Alberta's relationship with Canada,they think we should consider going another way.Kathleen, how do you go forward?I think of the farmer that we spoke with in the canola field who said he really wanted to remain as part of Canada,
18:14but he felt that the province was getting a raw deal and wanted to send that message.And a quarter of Albertans who voted seem to have similar sentiments.How do you go forward with that?Yeah.I mean, I do think that's a big element of that 24% for sure.or maybe even a sentiment, frankly, of the people who voted to stay in Canada.That doesn't mean they're not frustrated, Matt.And, you know, we can't read minds.
18:36But, you know, I think it's fair to say that Western alienation, as Janet pointed out,has existed for as long as, you know, I've been around and I've been around a long time,and I'm really feeling it today.But, you know, Western alienation meant the West wants in.In this instance, you know, those voting for options.to say the West wants out.And I would argue that ultimately the West just wants to be heard.The West being Alberta, wants to be heard and have its sort of priorities recognized and treat it seriously.
19:14No better people to talk to about this result and what may happen next than the two of you.I hope you get some sleep in the hours ahead.In the meantime, Janet and Kathleen, thank you.You bet, Matt, anytime.Janet Brown, independent pollster in Alberta.Kathleen Petty is the host of the CBC podcast and radio program West of Center.They were both in Edmonton, and Kathleen put it, an emergency episode of West of Center in the wee small hours.You can find that wherever you get your podcasts.
19:43Hey there, it's me, Gavin Crawford, host of the weekly podcast, Because News, a show where I quiz Canada's funniest comedians about the latest headlines.In this week's episode, we'll be.finding out who is Christa Freeland's unreliable boyfriend.Also that hackers have infiltrated France's appliances and which pop band will have the longestever residency in Toronto.No, it is not Aqua.Join me and my entertaining friends is Eric Peterson, Leslie Seiler, and Brandon Ash Muhammad,as we try to make sense of this week's news.
20:14Subscribe to Because News on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you download podcast for free.Corey Morgan is the leader of the pro-sovereignty pathway toIndependence Group. He's in Calgary. Corey, good morning. Good morning, thanks. Good to have you herewith us. You have been part of the Alberta independence movement for a long time. We saw your name on a lot ofthe pro-independence signs that we saw driving through Southern Alberta last week. How are theseresults sitting with you this morning? Well, we'd certainly, of course, would have hoped forbetter out of it, but I'm still quite happy with it. We've established a solid baseline that clearlyone in four Albertans have had enough of the status quo, and they're willing to, and they're willing
20:54to examine outright provincial independence to break out of that cycle we're stuck within.Something else has happened over this last five months is the movement has built and organized.It's still a bit of a disparate bunch of groups that have come together to campaign,but there's a much more solid base.And I think perhaps the main message people had best take from this is that this independencepush isn't going away, not unless there's some sort of substantive change.There's a significant segment to the province that's looking at this path, and, well, we have to address it.Many of those signs with your name on it have the slogan, send Ottawa a message right in the center of it.
21:34What message do you think the rest of Canada should take from this result?The message, as I said, was that the status quo doesn't cut it.We want to see substantive change.I mean, not just a change of government or a change of attitude.I mean, the federal government seems to be more receptive to Alberta's concerns of late,but seeing some changes in the system,the Senate under representation,the equalization issues,
21:59the amount of say we have on thingssuch as immigration, I should say,those sorts of real substantive issues,not more talk, we want to see some change.You almost said independence there,and I wonder whether this vote to youwas about independence or was it about sending Ottawa a message?Yeah, well, to people like me,
22:16it would have been about independence.I've always been a dedicated supporter for it.And I suspect a large portion of those25, 24% who are supporting that option are looking that way.But some, we're just choosing to send a message at that point, too.We'll never know exactly what that might be.But those are people that are on the cusp of going the full independence route as well.So again, it shouldn't be dismissed by any means.
22:37Three quarters of Alberta voters rejected your position.Why do you think you weren't able to convince them to vote for option two?So I don't think we're ready.We didn't have a well enough established campaign.and there were a lot of people ask questions.We didn't have solid answers for, you know,a larger costed models on how this might work or might not work.It's a big process to ask.
23:01When we look at Quebec,they did a heck of a lot of groundwork prior to 1995with academic papers and studiesand definitely working, I guess, a soft campaign for years.We've, I think, made fantastic strides,but we weren't in a position to convince a majority of Albertansthat this was the way to go yet.But did you underestimate
23:21the attachment that Albertans have to Canada.One of the things we heard from Albertans when we were thereand speaking with people over the last, you know, several monthsis that they can't remember seeing as many Maple Leafs,as many Canadian flags now as they are seeing.And so I wonder whether you underestimated the attachmentthat people in your province have to this country.I don't know about that.
23:42I've never seen as many blue flags flying as I have in the provincein the last five months as well.They were both turning into displays sort of symbolizingwhere a person might stand.on this debate. And the attachment to Canada, I've always been clear on that, too. I don't have aproblem with Canada itself. I value what Canada has provided to me in my life. I just feel it's on the wrongtrajectory and it's time for change. Sentiment is serious and it's important. But sentiment will onlylast so long when people can't pay the bills, when kids can't buy homes, when we're having
24:14difficulty accessing services such as health care because we haven't properly managed our immigrationlevels and things like that. So it's a strong factor, but I feel, again, unless some things change,that factor is going to erode. The Premier said that if this vote did not get over 51% for option two,which was to go to the binding referendum, she would consider the issue settled. Is it settled?No, no, not at all. I mean, again, I wouldn't call for another referendum right away. I respect thevoters and what they've decided at this point. It should be some years before we see this sort of thinggoing to the polls again. But that doesn't mean we're going to stop.job. As was mentioned at the start, I've been at this for a long time, as have a lot of people.
24:54And we're going to continue carrying forward, looking at the long game.What is that long game? There are other, and to your point, there are disparate numbers or leaders of this movement.But some of them, including Jeff Roth, who said that the next step is to get rid of Daniel Smith.He said, he feels, but you don't agree with that.No, no. Mr. Rath and I have some differences on a number of things.But we both certainly support provincial independence. If they want to dedicate theirenergy, I guess, towards trying to change the leadership of a party, that that's what Mr.Rath is going to do, speaking for myself and others that we're going to dedicate ourselves to just
25:28making our movement more solidified and have more depth to it so that we can properly contestedin a future referendum in a few years.Just to be clear, then, you believe that Daniel Smith can stay on as leader of the UnitedConservative Party?I believe she can.I think she's in for quite a tumultuous year going into an election year with a largefaction of her party pretty grumpy with her, so I'll be watching that with interest.I'm not a member, but I think she can get through it, but we'll see.
25:54What about you yourself?Would you consider running for office or starting up a pro-independence political party,a party that had this issue at the center?I actually did that back in the year 2000, the Alberta Independence Party when I was 29.And Premier Ralph Klein taught me a very hard lesson on the naivity I had at the time.Albert is a bit different from Quebec in that sense.I still think direct democracy is the sort of path.should be taking towards independence rather than trying to go through an overtly secessionist
26:24type of party. As for political future myself, no, I have no interest in electoralhave a career or ambitions. Let me just ask you finally. One of the things that we heardfrom a lot of Albertans, who they felt that this referendum was unnecessary and divisive,but there were people who were worried about what this was doing to their communities,that you had neighbors who were no longer speaking to neighbors, friends who are no longerspeaking to friends. Do you worry about the impact of this? In yourprovince? I do. And I'm, you know, I spoke at a rally in Evanton the other day. And that's the message I putout was just to remind everybody after this. I've really hated seeing when people took it so personally.
27:02I understand it's a serious issue. It's a big ask. But I always ask people, take politics seriously.Don't take it personally. Our friendships, our relationships, our family are still more important in the end.So I hope we can mend those things. And then just keep this to a rational, even if serious and personaldiscussion. Is that possible when you're talking about something is, again, the attachment that people haveto a country and a province? Is it possible to keep it out of the personal realm? Yes, it is. I thinkrationality will win in the end. As I said, when you start getting to the point of not paying thebills, your sentiment tends to go to the wayside. You start to understand your neighbor'sperspective a little more when perhaps you're being a little hostile to them today. You've had a long night
27:41as well, so I do appreciate you taking some time to speak with us this morning. Corey, thank you very much.great, thank you.Corey Morgan is an Alberta independence activist and columnist for the Western Standard.We reached him in Calgary this morning.Stephen Carter heads up the pro-unity group Alberta's voice, also a longtime political strategistin Alberta.He helped not had Nenshi win as Calgary mayor and Alison Redford as Premier.He is also in Calgary.
28:03Stephen, good morning to you.Good morning.What do you make of what we know thus far about these results?Well, I think that three out of four Albertans have made it very, very,clear that they want to stay in Canada. I think that there's another group of people who wantedto quote unquote send a message that I think actually it might be the majority of people whowere voting for the leave side to send a message. This, of course, was a non-binding referendum tohave a referendum. So there wasn't much in the way of consequence for actually choosing option two.
28:37So I think overall, we're all very pleased with how everything unfolded, especially in theface of a $4 million advertising campaign from the government of Alberta.Both the federal liberals and conservatives called for a decisive result in their comments lastweek. Is three quarters of the vote to stay in Canada decisive?Absolutely, it's decisive. I mean, it's a decisive enough for you.It absolutely has always been one of the core elements is we've had 20% separatists inin Alberta forever. This has been.a movement that has stayed at this size from the early 80s.
29:18It's just the only difference is that a weak premier has chosen to embrace itinstead of the strong premiers who chose to ignore it or minimize itover the course of their leadership.You heard Corey Morgan just now, and Keith Wilson said the same thing to me last week,that even having this conversation in the mainstream is a win,that they understood that perhaps the votes weren't going to go there away,but now they have a baseline, now they have a sense as to what that support is,and they aren't going anywhere.
29:46Is the fact that the referendum even happenedand that a quarter of Albertans voted for option two,a win for that side?Absolutely, but it's not a win from the electorate.It's a win from the provincial governmentthat didn't run on a separatist agendathat decided that they would embrace separatismbecause half of a party has decided that separation
30:06is better than stayingand working towards building a better Alberta.This is a small groupthat's taken over a large party.And Daniel Smith hasn't figured out how to manage that.And as a result, we wind up in a place where we had to do it in public.Do you worry about what's been uncorked here by this whole exercise?Not particularly.
30:31I think that what's been uncorked is a minority of people who took over a party.That is relatively standard for Canadian political operations.So the divisions that we were talking about earlier,again, in communities, small little towns, but larger communities as well,that you think that that will, those will subside over time?They have, they have ebbed and flowed over the course of time,and we've seen far more divisive topics.And I think that at the end of the day,
31:03a three out of four victory should send a very, very strong message to the separatistsand the people who were trying to send themquote unquote, send a message to Ottawa.What about Ottawa? What message should the federal government receive from this?I think the federal government should receive a message that Daniel Smith isn't as strong as she's purporting to be,that there are many, many voices in Alberta that don't support her point of view,and that we have the opportunity, I think, to be heard by many, many different voices.Right now, Mark Carney is the most popular politician in Alberta.
31:41that is sending a significant message back to Ottawa,that they're on the right track and they're doing the right thing.I guess one of the things we heard from Albertans that we spoke with last weekis that they expressed some concern that a vote to remain would give the impression to the rest of the countrythat everything's fine in Alberta.Well, I think that most things are fine in Alberta,except some of the choices that we've made provincially.Corey mentioned that our health care system,
32:04our health care system is in tatters,not because of the federal government or its lack of direction,but because our provincial government has made it so.And to blame immigrants for it is just ridiculous.We're far more likely to be seen by an immigrant doctorthan we are to have an immigrant take our place in line for a hip replacement.Immigration is key to those other nine questions.I mean, the top five were about immigration.
32:28And we're hearing Janet Brown was sayingthat it seems as though many Albertans just didn't even vote on the nine.They didn't say no or yes to the nine.They just didn't even bother voting on the nine.But the results, as they're coming in,seem pretty close.What are you looking for from those results in terms of what it tells you about the mood inyour province, but also where your province may go?
32:50I mean, when we started this, we were looking at those being passed 80 to 20.And to get them to essentially a 50-sum to a 40-sum is a significant victory for Alberta'svoice and for the other campaigners who were campaigning on the no to the nine side.we did, I think, as well as we can do. And I differ a little bit from Janet. The data I'm lookingat says that we haven't counted them all again. There's a lot more counting to be done. I'm not suggestingnecessarily that the numbers are going to change that dramatically. I've been in politics long enough toknow that you start to see trend lines. But I am encouraged by the constitutional questions,especially, and how close they are as we move forward and start counting those votes.
33:35Daniel Smith will be speaking to her province tonight.You, to your point, have been involved in Alberta politics for a minute and then some.How do you see the road ahead for the Premier?She's getting it from both sides.On the one side, they believe that she should have been more vocal in terms of independence and the other side.People believe she should have been more vocal in terms of the Remain campaign.Can she and can the United Conservative Party survive something like this?I'm not sure that she can survive something like this.
34:05and I'm also not sure that the United Conservative Party can survive it as well.When you've got 50% of your party advocating for 25% of the population wants,you've got an electoral problem.And this is an electoral problem that Daniel Smith,who has always moved to the right, when in doubt, move to the right.I think that she's really angered the center,and the center is where the power lies.The center are where the majority of people are,
34:32and Daniel Smith is moving her party to be,less and less consequential. And it means more and more. We saw a Polara poll yesterday where theNDP are jumping to the lead because this is an opportunity for them to show Albertans that theyunderstand what Albertans want to need. It'll be interesting to see if Nodenshi takes advantage of.It has been a wild time in your province. It is good to speak with you about the vote and wherethe province may go from here. Stephen, thank you very much.Thank you very much.Stephen Carter heads up the pro-unity group, Alberta's voice.
35:04also a veteran political strategist in Alberta.We reached him this morning in Calgary.Full details on the results.They're still coming in,and you can find all of that informationat cBCnews.ca.For more CBC podcasts,go to cbc.ca.com.
35:20slash podcasts.
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