艾伯塔省卡尔加里讯——加拿大总理马克·卡尼周四表示，对于石油资源丰富的艾伯塔省而言，眼下绝非启动脱离加拿大独立公投程序的合适时机。当时他正在卡尔加里开展提前投票宣传，呼吁民众维护国家团结。
ROB GILLIES CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday there “couldn’t be a worse time” for oil-rich Alberta to start down a path toward a future referendum on separation from Canada, as he campaigned for national unity in Calgary during advance voting.
本周一的投票并非直接针对独立问题的公投。作为全球探明石油储量排名第四的省份，艾伯塔省民众将决定是继续作为加拿大的一个省份存在，还是授权政府启动未来举行独立公投的法律程序。
Monday’s vote is not a direct referendum on independence. Alberta, which has the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, will decide whether to remain a province or instruct the government to begin the legal process toward a future referendum on separation.
“现在绝不是举行这场公投的合适时机，”卡尼对那些致力于动员选民支持加拿大的志愿者们说道，“当今世界充满风险且分歧重重，此刻正是我们团结一心、互相扶持的时候。”卡尼并未直接提及美国总统唐纳德·特朗普，但他的这番言论正值特朗普对加拿大发动贸易战、关税政策引发经济不确定性以及特朗普多次扬言要将加拿大变为美国第51个州之际。卡尼多次强调，加拿大必须提升经济韧性，减少对美国的依赖。
“There couldn’t be a worse time for this referendum,” Carney told pro-Canada volunteers working to turn out voters. “It’s a dangerous and divided world. And it’s time for us to come together and stand up for ourselves and take care of each other.”Carney did not mention U.S. President Donald Trump, but his warning came amid Trump’s trade war with Canada, economic uncertainty from tariffs and repeated threats to make Canada the 51st state. Carney has repeatedly argued that Canada needs to become more economically resilient and less dependent on the United States.
“团结起来我们才更强大，加拿大值得我们为之奋斗，”卡尼对志愿者们说道。
“We are stronger together and Canada is worth fighting for,” Carney told the volunteers.
周四，卡尼先后走访了三个地点，随后出席当天的主要活动——在BMO中心举行的“永远做加拿大人”集会，预计他会在会上呼吁民众支持艾伯塔省留在加拿大。主办方还计划于周五在埃德蒙顿为卡尼举办第二场集会。
Carney opened Thursday with three stops before heading to the day’s main event, a Forever Canadian rally at the BMO Centre, where he was expected to make the case for keeping Alberta in Canada. Organizers were also holding a second rally with Carney in Edmonton on Friday.
卡尼列举了诸多例子来说明艾伯塔省与加拿大其他地区的紧密联系：许多艾伯塔省居民出生或求学于加拿大其他地区；每当该省遭遇野火灾害时，全国各地的消防员都会赶来协助救灾。
He pointed to the many Albertans who were born or educated elsewhere in Canada and to firefighters who come from across the country to help Alberta during wildfires as examples of the ties binding the province to the rest of Canada.
“团结起来，我们的国家会更强大，艾伯塔省也会更强大，”卡尼说道。他还敦促志愿者们务必确保选民能在周一之前完成投票。
“We’re making ourselves stronger as a country, stronger as Albertans,” Carney said. He urged volunteers to make sure voters cast their ballots by Monday.
对于一位自由党总理而言，这样的处境着实引人注目。几十年来，艾伯塔省一直与渥太华的自由党政府针锋相对，争执焦点主要集中在能源政策及联邦权力归属问题上。不过，卡尼迅速摒弃了前任贾斯汀·特鲁多推行的部分政策，加快了拟建的通往太平洋沿岸的石油管道项目进程，还称加拿大为“能源超级大国”。
The setting is striking for a Liberal prime minister. Alberta has spent decades feuding with Liberal governments in Ottawa, particularly over energy and federal power. But Carney has broken with some of the policies associated with his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, fast-tracked a proposed new oil pipeline to the Pacific and called Canada an energy superpower.
这一举措令主张艾伯塔省独立的势力处境变得复杂起来。支持独立的团体“让艾伯塔省自行决定”的联合主席塔尼娅·克莱门斯承认，卡尼确实给他们带来了挑战。“他绝对是个难对付的人物，”克莱门斯对美联社说道。
That has complicated the separatists’ case. Tanya Clemens, co-chair of the pro-independence group Let Alberta Decide, acknowledged Carney presents a challenge. “He’s formidable for sure,” Clemens told The Associated Press.
不过克莱门斯认为，卡尼与艾伯塔省省长丹妮尔·史密斯达成的协议不过是“口头承诺”而已，根本无法解决艾伯塔省与渥太华之间长期存在的矛盾。
Clemens argued, however, that Carney’s agreements with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith amount to “pinky promises” that do not resolve long-standing grievances with Ottawa.
史密斯虽呼吁举行独立公投，但本人支持艾伯塔省继续留在加拿大。周三她亲自投票，表示自己投下了支持艾伯塔省留在加拿大的票。她指出，目前支持独立的比例依然高得令她担忧。
Smith, who called the vote but supports remaining in Canada, cast her ballot Wednesday and said she voted for Alberta to remain in Canada. She has said support for separation remains too high for her liking.
“加拿大依然有希望，”投票后史密斯说道，“我们只需要做出一些改变。” 曾任艾伯塔省副省长的托马斯·卢卡祖克目前领导着支持加拿大统一的团体“永远做加拿大人”。他表示，卡尼在传统保守派群体中意外获得了不少支持。
“Canada can still work,” Smith said after voting. “We just need to make some changes.”Thomas Lukaszuk, a former Alberta deputy premier who leads the pro-Canada group Forever Canadian, said Carney has found surprising support among traditional conservatives.
最近，在卡尔加里的“牧场人俱乐部”——一个深受石油天然气行业高管青睐的私人会所——举办的筹款活动上，卢卡祖克提到，一位知名企业高管自称是“卡尼式保守派”，全场随即响起掌声。
At a recent fundraiser at Calgary’s Ranchmen’s Club, a private club popular with oil and gas executives, Lukaszuk said one prominent executive called himself a “Carney conservative” — and the room applauded.
卢卡祖克指出，倘若特鲁多仍担任总理，当前的政治格局将会“大不相同”。
Lukaszuk said the political landscape would be “very much” different if Trudeau were still prime minister.
麦吉尔大学政治学教授丹尼尔·贝兰德称，对于一位自由党总理而言，卡尼在艾伯塔省如此受欢迎实属“极为罕见”。他还指出，卡尼也受益于所谓的“特朗普效应”：特朗普发起的贸易战以及“将加拿大变为第51个州”的言论，使得包括艾伯塔省在内的全体加拿大人都更加团结在领导人周围。
Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University, called Carney’s popularity in Alberta “highly unusual” for a Liberal prime minister. He said Carney has also benefited from a “Trump effect,” as Trump’s trade war and 51st-state threats have rallied Canadians around their leader — even in Alberta.
此次公投标志着一项长期处于阿尔伯塔省政治边缘的运动取得了显著进展。新冠疫情以及2022年的“自由车队”事件之后，那些曾组织起来反对疫苗强制令及其他防疫限制措施的活跃分子，开始将注意力转向推动阿尔伯塔省独立的事业。
The referendum marks a remarkable rise for a cause long relegated to Alberta’s political fringes. After the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 Freedom Convoy, activists who had organized against vaccine mandates and other restrictions turned their attention to Alberta independence.
“自由车队”抗议活动最初是因跨境卡车司机需接种疫苗而发起，后来逐渐演变为一场反对各类防疫限制措施的广泛抗议，导致渥太华市中心陷入瘫痪，加拿大与美国之间的主要边境通道也被封锁。
The convoy began over vaccine requirements for cross-border truckers but grew into a broader protest against pandemic restrictions, paralyzing downtown Ottawa and blocking major Canada-U.S. border crossings.
克莱门斯指出，新冠疫情加速了这一独立运动的进程，因为它让人们学会了如何进行政治组织并更积极地参与政党政治。她还表示，支持独立的人士将本周一的公投视为不仅是迈向独立的一步，更是提升阿尔伯塔省在与渥太华谈判中话语权的契机。提前投票将于周六结束，正式投票则定于周一举行。
Clemens said COVID accelerated the movement by teaching people how to organize politically and become more involved in party politics. She said separatists also see Monday’s vote not simply as a step toward independence but as a way to give Alberta leverage in negotiations with Ottawa. Advance voting runs through Saturday, with the final vote Monday.