Alberta Pipeline Progress Fails to Sway Separatists Ahead of October 19 Referendum Alberta's new oil pipeline to the B.C. coast advances, but separatist leaders say it does not change their push to leave Canada before the October 19 referendum. Alberta is on the fast track to get a new oil pipeline to the B.C. coast, but leaders who want the province to quit Canada say that does not move the needle for them on wanting to stay in Confederation. The pipeline news comes just over two weeks before Albertans vote in an Oct. 19 referendum on whether to stay in Canada or launch a second, binding referendum on separating. Premier Danielle Smith called the vote, saying the debate is intensifying and needs a resolution one way or the other. Critics have said Smith is just whipping up fringe grievances to placate separatists in her United Conservative Party. She has said she will vote to stay in Canada and has touted joint provincial-federal projects like a pipeline as an example of how the country is better together.Pipeline Declared Major Project in Public InterestOn Thursday, Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney shared the lectern in Fort McMurray, announcing a big leap forward for a Pacific Link pipeline to take Alberta oil to the B.C. coast. The line has now been declared a major project in the public interest. That helps streamline timelines and consultations that could see shovels in the ground a year from now.But Cory Morgan, an online political commentator and organizer behind the Pathway to Independence separatist group, said the pipeline does not change the system whatsoever. He said the separation issue is much deeper than the pipeline for people like him and dedicated independence supporters. Morgan has been one of the public faces in the debate over whether Alberta should stay or go.Separatists Say Pipeline Underscores Need to LeaveKeith Wilson, co-leader of separatist group Let Alberta Decide, says the pipeline announcement is, ironically, a great example of why it is time Alberta left Confederation. He said the project has taken too much time, political capital and governmental resources just to get Alberta resources to market. He said rather than have authority under law to marshal its own natural resources, Alberta was going cap in hand to Carney to avoid lengthy assessments and consultation.Wilson said Ottawa created a bypass route where you require the personal blessing of the Prime Minister and if you get that blessing, which was bestowed upon Alberta today, you may get permission to go to the next step. Jeffrey Rath, a lawyer for the separatist group Stay Free Alberta, posted to social media Thursday that Alberta should still go its own way, and take the new pipeline and its billions of dollars in revenue with it. Rath wrote that Alberta should keep all of the money in Alberta and not share any of it with Ottawa or any anti-pipeline provinces like Quebec.Local Leader Backs Staying in CanadaBut in Fort McMurray, the ground zero of Alberta oil industry, the local leader says he understands why residents have been upset with federal government rules he says have hamstrung energy development. Sandy Bowman, mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, said Thursday pipeline announcement shows the value of co-operation.On Oct. 19, Bowman said he is voting to stay in Canada. He said the announcement shows that when the provincial government and the federal government work in the same direction, big things are going to happen. He added that when Fort McMurray does well, Alberta does well, and when Alberta does, Canada does.The referendum campaign has highlighted deep divisions over Alberta place in Confederation. Smith has argued that staying in Canada allows Alberta to secure major projects through co-operation, while separatists argue that the province is being held back by federal regulations and delays. The pipeline announcement has become a flashpoint in that debate, with both sides claiming it supports their position.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2026. Dayne Patterson, The Canadian Press. With files from Lisa Johnson in Edmonton and Fakiha Baig in Fort McMurray.