Most Albertans don't want to leave Canada. Most Canadians don't want to see them go. The data is clear, the separatist wing is a small percentage of the population, and is likely buoyed by foreign influence campaigns. To many Canadians, it seems clear there's no need for a referendum at all—that it only raises a question that millions of people already answer every day; that it's a bad faith attempt to steer the political conversation further right. So, why have it? Because we live in a democracy. A democracy that, like most in the West, is under threat. And you don't solve a democratic credibility problem by holding fewer votes. Today, Concordia University political science professor Donal Gill explains why this fall's vote in Alberta, as messy as it might get, is a healthy sign for Canadian democracy.
Most Albertans don't want to leave Canada. Most Canadians don't want to see them go. The data is clear, the separatist wing is a small percentage of the population, and is likely buoyed by foreign influence campaigns.
To many Canadians, it seems clear there's no need for a referendum at all—that it only raises a question that millions of people already answer every day; that it's a bad faith attempt to steer the political conversation further right. So, why have it?
Because we live in a democracy. A democracy that, like most in the West, is under threat. And you don't solve a democratic credibility problem by holding fewer votes.
Today, Concordia University political science professor Donal Gill explains why this fall's vote in Alberta, as messy as it might get, is a healthy sign for Canadian democracy.