Poilievre hosts record-breaking rally in Edmonton
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Summary
Isaac Lamoureux is on the ground for what Conservative leader Pierre Polyefre said might have been the biggest political rally Canada s ever seen in Edmonton. We saw former Prime Minister Stephen Harper introduce and endorse him, and spoke with many Albertans at the event to see how they think the provinces fared under a decade of Liberals, and what they think of Liberal leader Mark Carney. Also, a poll shows a willingness to separate would rise in every province if Mark Carney wins the upcoming election, with Albertans feeling the strongest for separation.
Transcript
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True North was on the ground for what Conservative leader Pierre Polyefre said might have been the
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biggest political rally Canada's ever seen in Edmonton. We saw former Prime Minister Stephen
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Harper introduce and endorse Polyefre and spoke with many Albertans at the event to see how they
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think the provinces fared under a decade of Liberals and what they think of Liberal leader
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Mark Carney. Last week, we explored that Alberta and Quebec noted their intent to work together to
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fight federal overreach and create an autonomy alliance to further loosen the tight grasp the
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Feds have over the two provinces. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith traveled to Quebec this week and
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met with them in person to discuss how to progress things. Alberta also announced its plan to create
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an independent police force as an alternative to the RCMP. Also, we'll talk about a poll showing that
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the willingness to separate would rise in every single province if Mark Carney wins the upcoming
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election, with Albertans feeling the second strongest for separation. My name's Isaac Lamoureux and I'll
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cover all of these stories on the Alberta Roundup today. Let's hop into that first story now.
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The recent rally from Pierre Polyefre in Edmonton was so big that the venue was changed from the
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Edmonton Expo Centre to a 365,000 square foot warehouse just days before it took place on Monday.
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At least 15,000 people showed up to the rally. In fact, the crowd was so large that cell phone
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service inside the building stopped working. Speaking at a press conference the next day,
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This is a movement like we've never seen because people want change. They want to put our country
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first for change. The Conservative leader was introduced at the rally by former Prime Minister
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I'm the only man who can say that both of the men running to be Prime Minister once worked for me.
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And in that regard, my choice, without hesitation, without equivocation, without a shadow of a doubt,
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is Pierre Polyefre. He added that while Liberal Party of Canada leader Mark Carney claims to have led
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Canada through the global financial crisis, it was the late Jim Flaherty and the Conservative team
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who were responsible. Polyefre called Harper the greatest Prime Minister of the 21st century,
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saying he'd been the greatest mentor he could ever ask for. A World War II veteran who was 19 years
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old when he fought at Juneau Beach on D-Day was one of the many veterans to raise their hands when
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Speaking of the military, Polyefre pledged to reshape Canada's military to be worthy of that man's great
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sacrifice. We have to make this a country that is worthy of that hero's sacrifice.
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Polyefre said, quote, our soldiers, sailors and airmen will be guided by a warrior culture,
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not a woke culture. As I mentioned, True North spoke to various attendees on the ground. Here's
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what one attendee, Travis Olsen, had to say. This has been the liberal playbook for forever.
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They always have to have a villain and they are picking conservative premiers,
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people that tend to not vote for them. And Daniel Smith, Alberta has always been the villain
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with the federal liberal party. And now he's picking on Rob Ford, too. I think it's beneath
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him, but I think he'd probably take those comments back if he was given a second chance. I think we
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got to sometimes give politicians a little bit of leeway, but it's a consistent theme of them
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picking on the West in every election. We've been the villain every time.
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In Polyefre's speech, he focused on the trades, saying he would strengthen the industry and
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emphasize Alberta's oil and gas industry to make the province and country rich. In fact, he made a
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joke about Harper in the trades. Polyefre said, quote, Stephen Harper was in the trades as well.
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Do you know that he was a cabinet maker? He had a really good cabinet, way better than the liberal
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cabinet. And we're going to have another great cabinet after the election. We'll have to wait
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and see if another rally can surpass the 15,000 people we saw show up in Edmonton. But moving on
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to our next story now, we're taking it back to our lead story from last week with an update on the
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developing partnership between Alberta and Quebec. In case you don't remember, Alberta Premier Daniel
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Smith wrote a letter to Quebec Premier Francois Legault, proposing that the two team up to fight
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against federal overreach. Quebec replied pretty fast, noting its excitement to work with Alberta
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in building an autonomy alliance. While they had agreed to meet at some point, things seemed to be
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moving surprisingly fast. The province issued a release highlighting that Smith would be heading
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to eastern Canada to enhance interprovincial and international trade and investment ties.
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However, it was not made clear that Smith would be meeting with the Quebec officials who responded
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to her. Simon Jolin Barrette, Quebec's minister responsible for Canadian relations, was the province's
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official who responded to Smith. Originally, he said, quote, I find it very positive that within Canada,
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there are federation partners that agree with more autonomy and a framework to limit the federal
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right to spend in areas of provincial jurisdiction. It's very interesting because historically,
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Quebec and Alberta worked together, and we will continue to work together on autonomy of the
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different provinces. Then, Smith met with him on Thursday. They discussed how the provinces could
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work together to combat federal overreach and how they could continue to push for the Liberals'
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catch-and-release policy to be repealed. We'll see what more comes from that partnership.
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Now, moving on to our next story, Alberta is exploring the possibility of creating a new
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independent police agency to help conduct duties currently performed by the Alberta sheriffs.
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If Bill 49 is passed, the new agency would be a crown corporation with a board of directors
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independent from the government. Differing from the Alberta sheriffs, the officers would be employed
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by the police service instead of the government. Alberta's Minister of Public Safety, Mike Ellis,
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With this bill, we are taking the necessary steps to address the unique public safety concerns in
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communities across Alberta. As we work towards creating an independent agency police service,
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we are providing an essential component of Alberta's police framework for years to come.
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It's the Family and Friends event at Shoppers Drug Mart. Get 20% off almost all regular-priced
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merchandise. Two days only. Tuesday, February 24th, and Wednesday, February 25th.
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Our aim is for the new agency to ensure that Albertans are safe in their communities and
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receive the best possible service when they need it most. The RCMP would remain the official
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provincial police service, but municipalities would have this new agency as an option for
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their local policing services. The province said this new agency would fill gaps and ensure law
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enforcement resources are deployed efficiently across the province. Ellis said that municipalities
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have told him that the costs of RCMP services in their communities are rising and that residents
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aren't waiting too long for help when calling 911. However, it's not yet clear how much this will cost
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or what the timeline for rollout would be, but Ellis said there are about 600 sheriffs right now who
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could be deployed as officers once they receive extra training. The CBC revealed that a 2021 PwC report
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estimated the cost of creating a provincial police service and transferring Alberta RCMP assets would
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be at least $366 million, plus the province would lose $170 million in federal funding for the RCMP
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service. However, Ellis said this cost would be less because personnel and equipment could be
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transferred. Bill 49 would also create a police review commission, which would accept and investigate
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complaints against police officers in Alberta aside from the RCMP. The provincial government hoped to have
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the commission ready by December 2025. The bill would also amend the Emergency Management Act by
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making it more difficult for a minister to declare or extend a provincial or local state of emergency.
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Now moving on to our next story, which highlights the way the outcome of this upcoming federal election
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on April 28th will affect the separatist movement in every province. If the Liberals form the next
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government, the willingness to separate rises in every single province across the board, according to a
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recent Angus Reid Institute poll. If the Liberals don't win, those willing to separate are most
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common in Quebec, with 28% of provincial residents wanting to do so, followed by Alberta at one quarter
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of its residents. However, if the Liberals do win, those in Saskatchewan are most eager to separate,
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with a third of residents feeling that way. Next place is a tie between Alberta and Quebec at 30%.
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While the poll said the separatist tone was larger in 2019, the clear rise in the desire to separate if
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Kearney wins the election is notable for those concerned about Canadian unity. If the Liberals
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win, 39% of Conservatives nationwide think their province should become its own country,
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while 42% said their respective province should join the United States. Across the country, 20% of
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Canadians from every political stripe think their province should become its own country if Kearney
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wins the election, while 16% think their province should join the United States if that occurs.
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The poll also dedicated a whole section to Premier Smith due to her recent meeting with Ben Shapiro and
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her American outreach. While almost 7 in 10 Conservatives felt that Smith was defending her
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country by keeping an open dialogue with Americans, the majority of supporters of every other party
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saw it as a betrayal. That wraps up this week's show. My name's Isaac Lamer, your host of the
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Alberta Roundup. Have a great weekend, thank you, and God bless.