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GUNTER: Crafty move by Alberta premier on referendum questions

The brilliance of Smith’s move is that it pre-empts a separatism referendum by giving voters another option — giving the provinces greater control in a united Canada.

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Wow, that was a welcome change of direction for federalism, which has for decades now been drifting towards a stronger central government and weaker provincial governments.

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The central theme of Premier Danielle Smith’s address to the province on Thursday evening was rebalancing Confederation, giving the provinces more control over matters that affect them most, such as health, education, immigration and judicial appointments.

GUNTER: Crafty move by Alberta premier on referendum questions Back to video

But I’m almost positive the takeaway at most media outlets will be that Smith is pursuing a racist agenda.

She is doing no such thing.

In her speech to provincial residents, Smith promised a multi-part referendum in October this year. No, not on whether Alberta will separate but on what provincial powers Alberta should exercise and what should be the number and composition of immigration to Alberta. (This latter authority, over immigration, is similar to the power already granted to Quebec.)

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As the province faces dual funding pressures in next week’s budget, with rising population and falling oil prices, Smith proposed “decreasing immigration to more sustainable levels, prioritizing economic migration and ensuring Albertans have first priority to new employment opportunities.”

This is essentially how the federal immigration program worked for more than 40 years from the early 1980s until Justin Trudeau’s doors-wide-open policy from 2022 onward.

Ottawa used to admit only that number of new Canadians each year that could be sustained by reasonable economic growth. Priority was given to immigrants who demonstrated skills not found in Canada or not found in sufficient numbers.

For at least the last three years of its term, the Trudeau Liberals admitted anyone and everyone. The number of foreign workers, refugees, foreign students and citizen-track immigrants more than tripled.

From 2000 until 2025, Canada’s population grew by 34.6 per cent — nearly a full one-third. David Coletto of Abacus Data calculated that this rate of growth was more than double that of the next highest country, Austria, which grew by 14.5 per cent.

The average across 11 developed nations studied by Coletto was five per cent, meaning Canada’s population growth was seven times that of the multinational average.

Paying for the health, education and welfare of these millions and millions of new Canadians fell on provincial treasuries, putting strains on budgets, while driving up housing prices and overcrowding schools, hospitals and welfare offices.

Not only did Smith ask for more provincial control over immigration (like Quebec has already), she would like non-permanent immigrants to pay for social services until such time as they become permanent residents and start paying taxes towards the cost of their services.

That sounds perfectly seasonable, especially given that Alberta is the only province that continues to grow after new federal limitations.

The other criticism you can bet will be leveled against Smith’s immigration plan is that it smacks of Trump-ism. But she is not proposing ICE-style raids by federal agents wielding batons and guns. She is proposing rules-based changes.

Smith wants the provinces, not the federal government, to select the judges to federal, superior courts within their boundaries. And she says her referendum on Oct. 19 will ask Albertans whether they would like to see the abolition of the “unelected federal Senate.”

I admit the current Senate maintains the same regional biases as the House of Commons and there is no appetite for reform. But as an old Triple-E (equal, elected and effective) warrior from way back, I’m not sure how I feel about getting rid of the Senate entirely.

Smith wants provinces to be able to “opt out of federal programs intruding on provincial jurisdiction such as health, education, and social services, without losing any of the associated federal funding for use in their own provincial social programs.” That, again, is a power Quebec has had for more than 40 years.

The brilliance of Smith’s move is that it pre-empts a separatism referendum by giving voters another option — giving the provinces greater control in a united Canada.

That should satisfy most Albertans.

(Editor’s note: This column has been amended to correct the time frame in which Canada’s population increased by 34.6 per cent.)

lgunter@postmedia.com

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