Alberta’s business community is stepping into the province’s increasingly heated separation debate, with a major group of business leaders urging voters to choose to remain part of Canada in the Oct. 19 referendum.
The Business Council of Alberta, which represents more than 130 chief executives from investment firms, retailers, construction companies and other sectors, is adding its voice to a growing number of business organizations warning about the economic risks of separation.
Council president Adam Legge said Tuesday that a vote to leave Canada would introduce enormous uncertainty and could put both jobs and the broader economy at risk.
At the same time, Legge acknowledged why some business leaders have been reluctant to publicly take a position. While companies represented by the council want to present a united message, individual executives may have employees or customers who support Alberta separation.
“They don’t want to upset employees and pit employees against each other or have tension within the workplace — or tension within their customer base,” Legge told reporters during a virtual news conference from Calgary.
Businesses increasingly take a position
The Oct. 19 ballot will ask Albertans whether they want to remain a province of Canada or begin the process of holding a second, binding referendum on separation.
With 42 days remaining before the vote, Legge said businesses have a responsibility to help address voter apathy and make sure Albertans have access to practical information before casting their ballots.
He said there remains optimism within the business community that the separatist initiative will ultimately fail. However, he cautioned that the outcome cannot be taken for granted, particularly if voter turnout is low.
Several major business organizations have already formally entered the debate on the pro-Canada side. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Alberta Chambers of Commerce, and their counterparts representing businesses in Alberta’s two largest cities have all publicly backed remaining within Canada.
Meanwhile, Premier Danielle Smith’s government has commissioned the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy to examine what it would cost Alberta to operate independently.
The study was commissioned in June and is expected to be released in the coming weeks.
Smith said earlier this summer that the initial transition to an independent Alberta could cost as much as $400 billion.
A separate estimate released last week by the Canada West Foundation, a Calgary-based think tank, put the potential setup cost of Alberta separation at $200 billion. The organization also estimated that ongoing costs could exceed $50 billion annually and warned that independence could reduce the size of Alberta’s economy.
Legge contributed to the Canada West Foundation report.
Trade, travel and financial risks
Legge said Alberta should continue pressing the federal government for fair treatment, but argued that separation would introduce a series of issues that the province could no longer fully control.
Among them would be access to export markets, cross-border travel, currency and interest rates all critical factors for an economy deeply connected to domestic and international trade.
“The notion that a separate Alberta would be a master of its own destiny is a fiction,” Legge said.
For Alberta businesses and workers, he warned, the consequences could become immediate if the province embarked on a path toward independence.
“There is a potential that your job may not be there the next day.”
