David Eby Urges Alberta to Remain in Canada

With Alberta set to vote on its future within Canada on Oct. 19, British Columbia NDP Leader David Eby has urged voters to reject separation and preserve the province's place in Confederation. In a Thanksgiving message published on social media Sunday, Eby emphasized the longstanding personal and commercial ties connecting the two western provinces.

Eby said his party's candidates were proud of a Canada that includes Alberta. He expressed hope that voters would choose to remain in the country rather than support a second, binding referendum on leaving.

The upcoming vote is scheduled for Oct. 19, giving Alberta residents the opportunity to decide whether the province should pursue separation from Canada. Eby's message places the relationship between Alberta and British Columbia at the center of his appeal for national unity.

Eby described the connections between the neighboring provinces as rooted in family relationships, friendships and commerce.

"Stronger together," said David Eby, British Columbia NDP Leader, describing the relationship between the two provinces in his Thanksgiving message.

Eby's holiday plans also reflected a family tradition. According to a campaign spokeswoman, he visited a pumpkin patch in Delta, B.C., with his family on Sunday and planned to have fish and chips with his children's grandparents on Monday.

Meanwhile, B.C. Conservatives interim leader Lorne Doerkson marked Thanksgiving in Vancouver rather than at his usual family gathering in Williams Lake, B.C. A campaign spokesman said Doerkson spent the holiday with campaign volunteers after visiting a food bank the previous day.

Doerkson described the distance from his usual family gathering in a Thanksgiving statement.

"A long way" from his own kitchen table in Williams Lake, B.C., where there would typically be "too much turkey and a house full of family," said Lorne Doerkson, interim leader of the B.C. Conservatives.

The B.C. Greens did not immediately provide details about leader Emily Lowan's Thanksgiving plans when asked. Her schedule indicated that she would canvass and attend a meet-and-greet event on Monday.