Prime Minister Mark Carney is opening talks with the provinces on immigration management after an Alberta referendum returned a decisive 75.5 per cent vote in favour of staying in Canada while endorsing provincial control over arrivals.
Monday's vote put nine separate questions to Albertans, including five touching directly on immigration, public services, and citizenship requirements. Despite the Carney government urging voters to reject those specific proposals, preliminary results show voters backed them anyway.
Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill Tuesday morning, Carney defended his administration's record by pointing to recent federal caps. "We've recognized from the start the need to take back control on immigration, and we've done so," Carney said, pointing to recent reductions in temporary workers and asylum seekers.
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe quickly backed Alberta's push for provincial jurisdiction over immigration, setting up a broader federal-provincial confrontation over who sets intake numbers. Ottawa now faces unified Prairie demands to decentralize a file that has long been jealously guarded by federal departments.
Carney did not specify whether the referendum results would alter upcoming federal-provincial targets, leaving the actual distribution of powers still to be settled in future negotiation.
