Stephen Harper Warns Alberta Separatism Brings 'No Benefit,' Author of the Firewall Letter Now Serving as the Firewall
Former prime minister Stephen Harper has warned that Alberta separatism would bring "no benefit," a sentence Albertans have been told to take seriously because Mr. Harper rarely says anything with more than one adjective in it.
Observers noted the gentle irony. In 2001, Mr. Harper co-signed the so-called firewall letter, urging Alberta to build a protective wall around itself to keep Ottawa out. Twenty-five years later, he has apparently become the wall, and is now keeping Alberta in.
"It's a natural career arc," said one Calgary political scientist. "You start by drafting the blueprint for the fortress. Then you move to Ottawa, live in the centre of the thing you were fortifying against, and come back as the building inspector who says the fortress fails code."
Separatist organisers dismissed the warning, arguing an independent Alberta would control its own pensions, its own police, and its own oil. Economists replied that it would also control its own border with Saskatchewan, a frontier nobody has ever needed to defend because nobody has ever tried to sneak into Saskatchewan.
Mr. Harper's intervention follows a long Canadian tradition of retired leaders re-entering public life to defend the federation they spent their working years mildly annoyed by. Brian Mulroney did it. Jean Chrétien does it at most weddings.
Asked whether his warning might backfire, a separatist spokesperson said the movement welcomed the attention. "Honestly, a Harper quote telling Albertans what to do is the best recruiting material we've had since the long-gun registry."
Mr. Harper's office declined further comment, citing a scheduled practice session with his band, which, unlike the province, has never once considered going solo.