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Smith seems to want to facilitate a referendum on separation while playing coy about whether she supports Alberta separating from the rest of Canada or not. And of course holding a referendum on the subject will distract Albertans from pressing issues, such as the sinking price of oil, which affects government coffers and the government’s role in a health care scandal that seems to get worse by the week.

It鈥檚 the oldest trick in the Alberta play book: circle the wagons against the federal government and all other pressing problems will be forgotten.

It will be interesting to see how Pierre Poilievre handles that. He couldn鈥檛 possibly support separation from the rest of Canada now being promoted by a small band of fanatics. Doing so would destroy what turned out to be a healthy level of support for Conservatives in the rest of Canada. That鈥檚 not what they signed up for. Even most Conservatives in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Will he take a hands-off approach and say it鈥檚 up to Albertans to decide their future? I don鈥檛 think he can do that either because if Alberta leaves it will affect people in other provinces and territories. Surely they will want to have a say in the matter and they will expect Poilievre to say it for them.

Jason Kenney, former premier of Alberta, is a diehard supporter of Poilievre yet he doesn鈥檛 hold back when it comes to separation.

鈥淎lberta and the resource-producing parts of Western Canada have totally legitimate grievances about the direction of policy under the Trudeau government, and totally legitimate anxieties about where this will go under Carney,鈥� he told Calgary Herald columnist Don Braid. 鈥淏ut when it comes to separation, I think the so-called separatist movement in Alberta has never been a serious enterprise. It鈥檚 always been a fringe movement that I think is counterproductive.”

Kenney should know. When his leadership was under threat from inside the UCP he referred to the 鈥渓unatics running the asylum鈥� and refused to apologize.

Some First Nations chiefs that they too would oppose a separation vote.

鈥淵ou are attempting to manufacture a national unity crisis 鈥� by enabling a referendum on separatism and a fanatical cell of individuals 鈥� at the exact moment when Canadians need to unite against Donald Trump鈥檚 America. The province of Alberta is on Treaty lands,鈥� they wrote in a letter to the premier.

It seems strange that Smith would be promoting a referendum on separation when she has conceded that there will be and pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan.

鈥淚鈥檓 not seeing that there鈥檚 an appetite to put it to the people at the moment,鈥� Smith told reporters at press conference on Thursday. 鈥淚 have said that I would put it to the people if I saw evidence they wanted to vote on it (but) I鈥檓 not seeing that at the moment.”

So why on earth would she think there is an appetite for a referendum on separation? And what is Poilievre going to say about all this? At a time when Canada鈥檚 sovereignty is being threatened by Trump it seems like an odd time to be even thinking about separation. 聽聽

It鈥檚 time Smith, and Poilievre, decided which side they are on.