Mark Carney called the UK’s Brexit referendum “a dangerous bluff” as he warned against holding a vote on Alberta’s independence from Canada.
The Canadian prime minister was the governor of the Bank of England when Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016.
He warned that, a decade on, the UK was still “trying to undo what people didn’t think they were voting for, but what they ended up having”.
Sir Keir Starmer has moved to reset relations with Brussels, while potential leadership challengers Wes Streeting, the former health secretary, and Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, have spoken of wanting to rejoin the bloc.
Danielle Smith, the leader of Canada’s oil-rich western province of Alberta, announced last week that a vote would be held on Oct 19 on whether it should stay part of the country or move towards holding a binding referendum on breaking away.
Mr Carney said: “In these separation issues, it is often advanced that, ‘vote for this and it is a free option’, ‘vote for this, and we will strengthen our hand in a future negotiation’. That is a very dangerous bluff.
“I saw first hand what happened in the United Kingdom when the view was, ‘Vote for this, it’ll be soft and then we’ll negotiate, etc’. They’re still, 10 years later, trying to undo what people didn’t think they were voting for, but what they ended up having.”
Ms Smith has said she supports Alberta remaining in Canada.
Danielle Smith, Alberta’s premier, will oversee a vote in which the province’s residents will be able to back plans for a referendum – Canadian Press/Shutterstock
Some have compared her stance to that of David Cameron, the then British prime minister, who called the Brexit referendum in order to silence internal Tory dissent while wanting to stay part of the EU. He resigned following the vote to leave.
Ms Smith’s party did not run on a platform of holding a referendum in the last provincial election campaign.
Mr Carney said: “Is it the democratic will of Albertans? Did they vote for this in the last provincial election? No, they didn’t. It wasn’t on the ballot paper.”
He pointed out his administration was working on getting an oil pipeline built from Alberta to Canada’s Pacific coast, aimed at responding to Albertan complaints that not enough had been done to help exports.
Mr Carney said: “We have to be very careful about this. There’s a very strong positive case for Canada, a strong Alberta in a united Canada. I look forward to making that case with many, many other Albertans and Canadians over the course of the next 150 days.”
Ms Smith said people’s frustrations had been fuelled by the “disastrous policies” of Justin Trudeau, the previous Canadian leader.
She said: “I would also remind all Canadians that we should not dismiss the legitimate grievances of Albertans. Instead, we should focus on addressing these issues, restoring hope in Canada, and demonstrating that our country can work and is working.”
Mr Carney proved a controversial governor of the Bank of England, which he led from 2013, before the Brexit referendum, until the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
He warned in the run-up to the EU referendum that leaving the bloc could tip Britain into a recession. No such recession occurred as a result of the UK’s withdrawal from the union.
Upon criticism from the Vote Leave campaign, Mr Carney defended his intervention, stating that it was the bank’s job to mitigate risks to the British economy.
During his time in office, he oversaw historically low interest rates and quantitative easing.