Lead Not Leave advocates for a united Canada

With a referendum on the way in October, Alberta separation has been a topic of hot debate. 

Jared Wesley, a professor of political science, and Andrew Leach, a professor of economics and law, are both members of Lead Not Leave, a policy initiative that advocates for a united Canada, including Alberta.

At its core, Lead Not Leave is a team including political scientists, economists, journalists, and others who want to better understand how to improve Alberta’s place in confederation. As a persuader group, it ensures that voters realize the implications of voting to separate, and the arguments for remaining in Canada.

Examining history to address Alberta’s frustrations 

One of Lead Not Leave’s goals is to address the frustrations that Albertans currently have. Leach explained that grievances often stem from the belief that the federal government limited Alberta’s potential.

Wesley added that some Albertans also feel uninvolved in the decision-making process regarding the provincial economy. “There’s a sense that [Albertans’] expertise and contributions are not being valued in those conversations,” he said.

Asking how a federation functions effectively, and how all members of a confederation can feel heard is a key aspect the initiative is looking at. 

“Step one is to figure out when in the past has Alberta effectively led in confederation, and how might we reverse engineer the process and institutions that allowed Alberta to lead,” Wesley added. Looking at how the federal government previously succeeded is also critical.

He highlighted the aftermath of the 1995 Quebec referendum as an example. After Quebec’s close vote on separation in 1995, the federal government introduced the Social Union Framework Agreement: a guideline of how Ottawa and the provinces should work together. Wesley said this included ground rules for when the federal government would spend in areas of provincial jurisdiction, and when it would set up new national programs.

The framework proved to be very successful and survived despite changes in governments. 

Leach added that Alberta does not need to leave Canada to gain more control over certain areas of governance. For example, the ability to create an Alberta Pension Plan does not change whether Alberta is part of Canada or not.

“Alberta would be subject to economic uncertainty as an independent country that it is not subject to as a continuous province of Canada,” according to Leach.

The future of Lead Not Leave

Moving forward, the initiative plans to advance several goals; set factual grounding on Alberta’s contributions to confederation, examine Alberta’s democratic foundations, and look at how to improve the federal approach to intergovernmental relations. 

It also hopes to “push back on some of the inaccuracies being propagated by separatists,” and help the public understand the consequences of separation.

While an independent Alberta may seem like a better option, it often involves “easy answers to hard questions,” according to Leach. He explained that separatist ideals seem attainable but are difficult to execute in practice. This includes questions of how an independent Alberta would handle international relations and maintain economic stability.

“Canada might not be perfect, but at least the current confederation is a better starting point than ground zero,” Wesley said.