Danielle Smith says she doesnt want to see Alberta secede from Canada [Video]

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she does not support the secession of her province from Canada, but “demonizing” the growing number of her constituents who do is not the way forward.

On Tuesday, Ms. Smith told a press conference at the provincial legislature that she would support any citizen-led petition that gets the number of signatures required to trigger a referendum, even if it puts forward the question of Alberta’s separation. The day prior, she had given a nearly 20-minute speech about her demands of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new federal government.

Over the years, the Premier said, she has observed the separatism movement in Alberta, which she believes flared upafter last week’s election, suggesting that a referendum held today would garner 30 per cent of the province’s vote. “That’s why I want to make sure those numbers do not get higher, and that those numbers end up going lower because we’re successful in negotiating a …