Juno News - Poilievre hosts record-breaking rally in Edmonton

00:00:00.000 True North was on the ground for what Conservative leader Pierre Polyefre said might have been

00:00:15.200 the biggest political rally Canada's ever seen in Edmonton.

00:00:18.900 We saw former Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduce and endorse Polyefre

00:00:22.940 and spoke with many Albertans at the event to see how they think the provinces fared

00:00:26.720 under a decade of Liberals and what they think of Liberal leader Mark Carney.

00:00:31.040 Last week, we explored that Alberta and Quebec noted their intent to work together to fight

00:00:35.040 federal overreach and create an autonomy alliance to further loosen the tight grasp the Feds have 1.00

00:00:39.980 over the two provinces. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith traveled to Quebec this week and met with

00:00:44.740 him in person to discuss how to progress things. Alberta also announced its plan to create an

00:00:49.360 independent police force as an alternative to the RCMP. Also, we'll talk about a poll showing that

00:00:54.540 the willingness to separate would rise in every single province if Mark Carney wins the upcoming

00:00:59.940 election, with Albertans feeling the second strongest for separation. My name's Isaac Lamoureux and I'll

00:01:05.200 cover all of these stories on the Alberta Roundup today. Let's hop into that first story now.

00:01:10.140 The recent rally from Pierre Polyefre in Edmonton was so big that the venue was changed from the

00:01:14.880 Edmonton Expo Centre to a 365,000 square foot warehouse just days before it took place on Monday.

00:01:22.360 At least 15,000 people showed up to the rally. In fact, the crowd was so large that cell phone

00:01:29.100 service inside the building stopped working. Speaking at a press conference the next day,

00:01:33.400 Polyefre said, quote,

00:01:35.040 This is a movement like we've never seen because people want change. They want to put our country

00:01:39.660 first for change. The Conservative leader was introduced at the rally by former Prime Minister

00:01:44.340 Stephen Harper. He said, quote,

00:01:46.340 I'm the only man who can say that both of the men running to be Prime Minister once worked for me

00:01:51.300 and in that regard, my choice without hesitation, without equivocation, without a shadow of a doubt

00:01:57.280 is Pierre Polyefre. He added that while Liberal Party of Canada leader Mark Carney claims to have led

00:02:03.200 Canada through the global financial crisis, it was the late Jim Flaherty and the Conservative team

00:02:08.260 who were responsible. Polyefre called Harper the greatest Prime Minister of the 21st century,

00:02:14.760 saying he'd been the greatest mentor he could ever ask for. A World War II veteran who was 19 years

00:02:19.660 old when he fought at Juneau Beach on D-Day was one of the many veterans to raise their hands when

00:02:24.900 Polyefre asked if any were present. How old were you at Juneau Beach?

00:02:28.580 I was 19. 19. What a hero. Speaking of the military, Polyefre pledged to reshape Canada's

00:02:37.240 military to be worthy of that man's great sacrifice. We have to make this a country that is worthy of

00:02:43.760 that hero's sacrifice. Polyefre said, quote, our soldiers, sailors and airmen will be guided by a

00:02:50.000 warrior culture, not a woke culture. As I mentioned, True Noir spoke to various attendees on the ground.

00:02:55.280 Here's what one attendee, Travis Olsen, had to say. This has been the liberal playbook for forever.

00:03:00.820 They always have to have a villain and they are picking conservative premiers, people that tend

00:03:05.680 to not vote for them. And Daniel Smith, Alberta has always been the villain with the federal liberal

00:03:10.020 party. And now he's picking on Rob Ford too. I think it's beneath him, but I think he'd probably

00:03:15.880 take those comments back if he was given a second chance. I think we've got to sometimes give

00:03:19.280 politicians a little bit of leeway, but it's a consistent theme of them picking on the West

00:03:24.880 in every election. We've been the villain every time. In Polyefre's speech, he focused on the

00:03:29.480 trades, saying he would strengthen the industry and emphasize Alberta's oil and gas industry to

00:03:34.120 make the province and country rich. In fact, he made a joke about Harper in the trades. Polyefre said,

00:03:41.040 quote, Stephen Harper was in the trades as well. Do you know that he was a cabinet maker? He had a

00:03:46.100 really good cabinet, way better than the liberal cabinet. And we're going to have another great

00:03:50.640 cabinet after the election. We'll have to wait and see if another rally can surpass the 15,000 people

00:03:56.180 we saw show up in Edmonton. But moving on to our next story now, we're taking it back to our lead

00:04:01.160 story from last week with an update on the developing partnership between Alberta and Quebec. In case you

00:04:06.440 don't remember, Alberta Premier Daniel Smith wrote a letter to Quebec Premier Francois Legault,

00:04:11.800 proposing that the two team up to fight against federal overreach. Quebec replied pretty fast,

00:04:16.960 noting its excitement to work with Alberta in building an autonomy alliance. While they had

00:04:21.960 agreed to meet at some point, things seemed to be moving surprisingly fast. The province issued a

00:04:27.320 release highlighting that Smith would be heading to eastern Canada to enhance interprovincial and

00:04:31.640 international trade and investment ties. However, it was not made clear that Smith would be meeting

00:04:36.380 with the Quebec officials who responded to her. Simon Jolin Barrette, Quebec's minister responsible for

00:04:41.740 Canadian relations, was the province's official who responded to Smith. Originally, he said,

00:04:46.960 quote, I find it very positive that within Canada, there are federation partners that agree

00:04:51.780 with more autonomy and a framework to limit the federal right to spend in areas of provincial

00:04:56.800 jurisdiction. It's very interesting because historically, Quebec and Alberta worked together

00:05:01.520 and we will continue to work together on autonomy of the different provinces. Then,

00:05:06.640 Smith met with him on Thursday. They discussed how the provinces could work together to combat

00:05:10.800 federal overreach and how they could continue to push for the Liberals' catch and release policy

00:05:15.100 to be repealed. We'll see what more comes from that partnership.

00:05:19.780 Now, moving on to our next story, Alberta is exploring the possibility of creating a new

00:05:24.300 independent police agency to help conduct duties currently performed by the Alberta sheriffs.

00:05:29.860 If Bill 49 is passed, the new agency would be a crown corporation with a board of directors

00:05:34.620 independent from the government. Differing from the Alberta sheriffs, the officers would be employed

00:05:39.000 by the police service instead of the government. Alberta's Minister of Public Safety Mike Ellis

00:05:43.940 said, quote, With this bill, we are taking the necessary steps to address the unique public

00:05:49.040 safety concerns in communities across Alberta. As we work towards creating an independent agency

00:05:54.080 police service, we are providing an essential component of Alberta's police framework for years

00:05:58.480 to come. Our aim is for the new agency to ensure that Albertans are safe in their communities

00:06:03.460 and receive the best possible service when they need it most. The RCMP would remain the official

00:06:08.720 provincial police service, but municipalities would have this new agency as an option for their

00:06:13.420 local policing services. The province said this new agency would fill gaps and ensure law enforcement

00:06:18.780 resources are deployed efficiently across the province. Ellis said that municipalities have told him

00:06:24.300 that the costs of RCMP services in their communities are rising and that residents aren't waiting too long

00:06:29.680 for help when calling 911. However, it's not yet clear how much this will cost or what the timeline

00:06:35.740 for rollout would be, but Ellis said there are about 600 sheriffs right now who could be deployed as

00:06:40.320 officers once they receive extra training. The CBC revealed that a 2021 PwC report estimated the cost

00:06:47.160 of creating a provincial police service and transferring Alberta RCMP assets would be at least $366 million,

00:06:53.740 plus the province would lose $170 million in federal funding for the RCMP service. However, Ellis

00:06:59.540 said this cost would be less because personnel and equipment could be transferred. Bill 49 would

00:07:04.500 also create a police review commission, which would accept and investigate complaints against police

00:07:09.240 officers in Alberta aside from the RCMP. The provincial government hoped to have the commission ready

00:07:14.160 by December 2025. The bill would also amend the Emergency Management Act by making it more difficult

00:07:19.460 for a minister to declare or extend a provincial or local state of emergency. Now moving on to our next

00:07:24.860 story, which highlights the way the outcome of this upcoming federal election on April 28th will

00:07:29.340 affect the separatist movement in every province. If the Liberals form the next government, the

00:07:34.460 willingness to separate rises in every single province across the board, according to a recent

00:07:39.340 Angus Reid Institute poll. If the Liberals don't win, those willing to separate are most common in

00:07:44.620 Quebec, with 28% of provincial residents wanting to do so, followed by Alberta at one quarter of its

00:07:50.600 residents. However, if the Liberals do win, those in Saskatchewan are most eager to separate,

00:07:55.640 with a third of residents feeling that way. Next place is a tie between Alberta and Quebec at 30%.

00:08:01.320 While the polls said the separatist tone was larger in 2019, the clear rise in the desire to

00:08:06.120 separate if Carney wins the election is notable for those concerned about Canadian unity. If the

00:08:11.080 Liberals win, 39% of Conservatives nationwide think their province should become its own country,

00:08:17.080 while 42% said their respective province should join the United States. Across the country,

00:08:22.840 20% of Canadians from every political stripe think their province should become its own country if

00:08:27.480 Carney wins the election, while 16% think their province should join the United States if that

00:08:32.200 occurs. The poll also dedicated a whole section to Premier Smith due to her recent meeting with Ben

00:08:37.720 Shapiro and her American outreach. While almost seven in ten Conservatives felt that Smith was 0.74

00:08:42.280 defending her country by keeping an open dialogue with Americans, the majority of supporters of every

00:08:47.240 other party saw it as a betrayal. That wraps up this week's show. My name's Isaac Lameru,

00:08:52.040 your host of the Alberta Roundup. Have a great weekend, thank you, and God bless.

Juno News - April 13, 2025

Poilievre hosts record-breaking rally in Edmonton

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