Calgary, Edmonton mayors call potential separatism referendum dangerous [Video]

Alberta’s two big-city mayors say a separation referendum would be “devastating” to their local economies and is a needless distraction during a period in which the country should be focused on unity.

“It is very dangerous talk,” Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “It is dangerous talk for our economy. It’s dangerous talk for our social cohesion. It’s going to tear apart communities.”

Discontent in Western Canada has picked up renewed traction with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals winning a mandate in the recent election and a new bill from Premier Danielle Smith’s government that would make it easier to bring citizen-led questions to a referendum.

The bill would lower the number of signatures needed for a citizen-led referendum on a constitutional question to 177,000 signatures from more than 600,000. It would also extend the time frame allowed for those signatures to be collected …