Carney says Alberta is 'essential' to Canada as province plans vote on separation

A day after Alberta announced it will hold a referendum on whether it should remain in Canada or hold a binding vote on separation, Prime Minister Mark Carney called the western province an "essential" part of the country.

Speaking on Friday, Carney praised the "huge contributions" the province has made and said his government is working to improve Canada, Alberta included.

"We're renovating the country as we go, and Alberta being at the centre of that is essential," Carney said as he toured work being done on Canada's parliament building.

The vote on Alberta's future is the first significant test of the country's unity in decades.

There has been a growing separatist movement in recent years in the oil-rich province, fuelled in part by a belief that it is overlooked by decision-makers in Ottawa.

Opinion polls suggest that the majority of Albertans would vote against separating, with about 25% saying they support independence. A pro-unity petition gathered some 400,000 signatures earlier this year.

Still, pressure had been building on Alberta's leader, Danielle Smith, to hold an independence referendum this year. A petition calling for separation recently gathered more than 300,000 signatures - enough needed to trigger a vote.

But a successful legal challenge earlier this month by First Nations groups in the province halted the process of verifying petition signatures and placed the plebiscite in limbo.

The judge ruled that the Alberta government, which approved the petition, failed in its duty to consult with indigenous Albertans.

Smith has said she disagrees with the court decision and, while it prevents her from moving forward with a binding referendum now, she believes Albertans want a say in the matter.

On Thursday, she announced that citizens will vote 19 October on whether the province should remain in Canada or whether the provincial government should begin the legal process required to hold a binding referendum at a later date on Alberta independence.

"I will not have a legal mistake by a single judge silence the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans," Smith said. "Alberta's future will be decided by Albertans, not the courts."

In the meantime, her government is appealing the court ruling, she said, noting it could be a lengthy legal battle.

The premier said she will vote in favour of Alberta remaining a part of Canada.

But her decision to hold a referendum on whether to hold a future separatism referendum failed to dispel criticism.

In a statement, the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation called Smith's government "undemocratic, authoritarian, and willing to bend to the whims of a loud, angry minority".

Naheed Nenshi, leader of the left-leaning New Democratic Party in the province, called the vote "needless" and accused Smith of buying time to stay in power.

Mitch Sylvestre, one of the leaders of the push to separate, told the Globe and Mail newspaper: "I feel duped."

In a Friday news conference, Smith defended her decision, saying the province cannot "kick the can down the road" for years by leaving the independence question unanswered.

She said she will be campaigning for the pro-Canada side all summer through town halls. "If you want to remain as I do, vote to remain," Smith said.

Asked if she fears being "Canada's David Cameron" - a reference to the former British prime minister who called for the Brexit referendum - Smith said: "I'm not afraid of the judgement of Albertans."

"You have to be prepared to have the debate, and you have to be prepared to defend your position."