Voyageur 115
Alberta Sets an October 19 Vote on Leaving Canada, and India Sent Its Biggest-Ever Trade Delegation to Canada.
News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
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Alberta Sets an October 19 Vote on Leaving Canada
Albertans will vote on October 19 on whether to begin the legal process of exiting the Dominion of Canada. Premier Danielle Smith and her cabinet put ink on the order this week to set the precise wording.
A "yes" would not come anywhere close to getting Alberta out of Confederation on its own. What it would do is give Smith's government a mandate to start the constitutional machinery for a second, binding referendum on separation. Smith is of the option that 50 per cent of the vote plus one individual would be enough to clear the bar, but others remain skeptical. The separation question will be at the top of a stack of 10 ballots, the other nine dealing with constitutional and immigration reform.
The logistics of the exercise are something to behold. The vote will require up to 38 million printed ballots and 60,000 to 90,000 election workers to hand-count them within 48 hours. The 2023 general election only needed 13,000. Two weeks ago Smith was shaking hands with PM Mark Carney on a pipeline deal (Voyageur 105), now she’s asking Albertans if they want to start looking for the exit.
For Canadians who find themselves citizens of the “eleventh province,” the map is maybe the story.
Read more: CBC News
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India Sends Biggest-Ever Trade Delegation
India sent its biggest-ever trade delegation to Canada this week, led by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who says the two countries want to get an FTA done this year.
The talk is to figure out how to get two-way trade to $70 billion by 2030, up from $13.6 billion last year. Canada mostly sells India vegetables, mineral fuels and wood pulp, and buys back precious stones, machinery and drugs (pharmaceuticals). A deal would get rid of the 10 per cent duty India puts on many Canadian goods.
It is a warmer turn after a cold stretch between Ottawa and New Delhi. Canada’s spent a few recent weeks lining up partners everywhere but Washington, from German gas buyers (Voyageur 114) to this delegation from New Delhi. India, with a population of 1.4 billion and a fast-growing car industry, would be a big prize.
For Canadians living in India, or anywhere along that corridor, the road home looks like it might be about to get a whole lot busier.
Read more: CBC News