Danielle Smith’s attempt to engineer a separation referendum in Alberta went entirely off the rails yesterday in one of the most cynical yet spectacular ways yesterday. The legislative committee that is supposed to make the determination on the petition process met yesterday, in a somewhat desperate move, to consider the Forever Canada petition, which Smith has been poised to weaponise as her referendum because it wouldn’t require First Nations consultation because it’s framed in the positive of remaining in Canada. Never mind that petition author and former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk doesn’t actually want this as a referendum—he wants it to be a vote in the legislature, so that the UCP owns it. Nevertheless, midway through the meeting, the UCP sent out a press release saying that they had agreed to turn this into a referendum, complete with quotes from the chair, when no votes had been taken.

And then all hell broke loose. The UCP sent out a note to disregard the press release, while inside the committee, NDP members were moving points of privilege which will need to be adjudicated by the Speaker of the Assembly. It also turns out that Danielle Smith had booked airtime tonight, so this entirely looks like the fix was in, and that the committee process was merely authoritarian theatre to manufacture consent, so that Smith can continue to placate the separatists in her base. The whole thing is both cowardly on Smith’s part, and just amateurish beyond belief.

Now we know.Smith committed to give separatists a referendum. She pre-recorded her tomorrow’s TV address, before the Legislature committee had a chance to vote on the #ForeverCanadian petition. UCP sent out a press release on a vote that didn’t happen, while they supposedly listened to me#ableg

— Hon. Thomas A. Lukaszuk (@lukaszukab.bsky.social) 2026-05-21T00:17:52.059Z

But there is a point to this amateurishness, which Jen Gerson points out here—these people think that they’re strategic geniuses for engineering conservative victories in Alberta, and so they’re overconfident in their abilities. Jason Kenney was, and lo, the leopards he let into the house at his face, while Smith has tied herself into so many knots to try and placate those same leopards in the hope that they won’t eat their face, while they are staring at her and licking their chops, but she insists that she’s the strategic genius here. None of this is going to end well, in part because these are deeply stupid and unserious people, and the country is going to suffer as a result.

— Effin' Birds (@effinbirds.com) 2026-05-20T19:08:01.746Z

Ukraine Dispatch

Russian missile, drone and artillery attacks on Dnipro killed two and injured six. Ukraine is bolstering their northern defences over concerns of a planned new attack on Kyiv. Oil refining in central Russia is at a standstill thanks to Ukrainian attacks.

Good reads:

• Mark Carney was in Vancouver and met with David Eby, but also levelled a quasi-threat about “building elsewhere” if projects get blocked in the province.
• Carney also called the video of Israeli officials’ treatment of flotilla activists “abominable,” and the ambassador is being summoned.
• David McGuinty is nominating General Jennie Carignan for the next chair of the NATO military committee when her time as CDS comes up next summer.
• Julie Dabrusin is patting herself on the back for the government letting Alberta cheat on their carbon pricing mechanism and not taking them to court. (Why?!)
• The government put out a discussion paper last month that considers curtailing the right to strike and other labour actions in federal sectors.
• Fisheries and Oceans is accepting proposals for a $15 million fund to help clean up discarded “ghost gear” in the oceans.
• The immigration department is looking to overhaul the Express Entry point-system to privilege those with high-paying job offers in Canada.
• Federal departments, including CSIS, are on the defensive about the lawful access bill, and are trying to justify the need to turn mobile phones into tracking devices.
• A disproportionate number of cuts at Global Affairs is coming from overseas staff.
• The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates that $1 billion will be spent by all levels of government when it comes to hosting the World Cup this summer.
• After meeting with the president of Taiwan, Michael Chong says that China is “moving the goalposts” when it comes to threats around these kinds of visits.
• A Cabinet shuffle is coming in Alberta as two ministers are stepping down, having decided not to run for re-election.
• The Walrus talked to eight prominent voices about the current debate on Alberta separatism, and why it should be a dead letter were Smith not encouraging it.
• Susan Delacourt wonders why the NDP are so muted when they have the opportunity to fill the space that Carney has been abandoning.
• Paul Wells provides some needed snark—and a reality check—over the hand-wringing over the Snowbirds decision.
• My column points out that there are no tangible benefits that will result from Carney selling out the environment to get his pipeline deal with Alberta.

Odds and ends:

You can see Mackenzie King wearing the old civic uniform in behind the Queen there.We need to bring back the uniform, or a version thereof. Really go hard in differentiating us from the Americans through our own history.

— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2026-05-20T14:10:05.448Z

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