Speaking to reporters on Monday, Carney said he will be campaigning for Canadian unity in the coming months.
“We have to be very careful about this,” he said, adding: “There is a very strong, positive case for Canada, a strong Alberta in a united Canada.”
Supporters of Alberta independence believe that the oil-rich province has long been overlooked by decision-makers in Ottawa, the national capital, and that federal environmental policies have hindered its ability to build oil and gas pipelines and develop its natural resources.
The referendum comes after a grassroots independence movement gathered more than 300,000 signatures this year for a petition calling for a vote on separation, enough to trigger a referendum.
But a court decision quashed the petition after indigenous First Nations in Alberta successfully argued they were not properly consulted.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she will proceed with a referendum question on separation regardless, pointing to a separate, counter-petition advocating for Alberta to remain, signed by more than 400,000 people.
Smith said she disagreed with the legal decision and believed that Albertans have a right to voice their opinion in a plebiscite.
Smith has said she will campaign for Alberta to remain in Canada, saying the province’s relationship with Ottawa has improved in recent months.
A poll released by Canadian firm Angus Reid on Monday, external suggests that three in five Albertans would vote for their province to remain in Canada.
The Brexit vote in 2016 saw 52% of people in the UK voting to leave, while 48% voted to remain. The UK formally left the EU in 2020.
Supporters argued that membership in the EU stifled the UK’s economic growth and sovereignty.
