Clarity Act will not apply to Alberta referendum question, says Carney

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa May 26, 2026. Photo by Blair Gable /Postmedia

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OTTAWA — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s referendum question on whether to remain in Canada will not be subject to the Clarity Act, said Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday.

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For the second day in a row, the separatist Bloc Québécois used its time in question period to ask the government on whether it would use the law passed after Quebec nearly separated from the rest of Canada during the 1995 referendum for the first time in history.

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“As prime minister, one needs to respect the advice of experts. I just received the expert report on the applicability of the law for the Clarity Act, and it does not apply to Alberta’s question,” responded Carney in French.

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The “expert report” he was referring to is the legal advice provided by the federal Department of Justice, which the minister said was not yet ready that morning.

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“Right now, we’re in the middle of conducting our legal analysis,” said Justice Minister Sean Fraser on his way to a cabinet meeting Tuesday. “We’ll formalize that legal opinion over the next few days,” he said.

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Fraser however pointed out that the Clarity Act is clear that the voting question should be about whether a jurisdiction would secede from Canada.

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Smith’s referendum question in Alberta asks voters if they want to remain in Canada or if they want to commence the legal process to hold a binding referendum on whether to separate from Canada, so it does not quite meet the threshold of the Clarity Act.

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Regardless, Bloc MPs are asking the federal government to repeal what they call an “anti-democratic overreach,” arguing that Ottawa should have no say on the question.

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At the same time, they are asking the federal government to recognize that a “clear majority” means 50 per cent plus one. While the Clarity Act includes criteria to determine what constitutes a clear vote, it does not include a specific threshold.

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Bloc MP Christine Normandin said Carney’s own majority government, with its 174 MPs, effectively has just over 50 per cent of the votes in the House of Commons.

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Carney replied, as federal governments have done before him, that the threshold in the Clarity Act would not be 50 per cent plus one.

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“At the same time, we respect the will of Quebecers. That is to build a strong and resilient Quebec in a strong, resilient and independent Canada,” he said.

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