Carney to join Forever Canadian rallies in Calgary and Edmonton ahead of Alberta’s Oct. 19 referendum

EDMONTON / CALGARY — Prime Minister Mark Carney will attend two Forever Canadian rallies in Alberta this week, days before the province’s Oct. 19 referendum on whether to stay in Canada or move toward a binding separation vote, CBC News reported.

Carney is scheduled in Calgary on Thursday, Oct. 15, and Edmonton on Friday, Oct. 16. The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed he will attend both events after Forever Canadian founder and former Alberta deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk invited him, CBC and Global News said.

The campaign’s website lists Calgary’s rally at the BMO Centre at Stampede Park and Edmonton’s at the EXPO Centre, with doors at 5:30 p.m. both evenings. Passes are free but required; the group says government-issued photo ID must match the name on the pass, according to the Forever Canadian rally page.

“We want the country’s leader to see what we see every day: Albertans from every walk of life standing up for a united Canada,” the campaign site says. Lukaszuk told CBC that Albertans “would want to hear from him” and that separatism “is not an answer” to provincial concerns.

Albertans will vote on 10 referendum questions, including whether the province should remain in Canada or hold a future binding separation referendum, plus proposals on immigration and constitutional powers. Advance voting is already under way ahead of Oct. 19.

The rally plan follows Carney’s Thanksgiving video message, filmed at his former Edmonton high school, in which he told Albertans Canada is “worth fighting for” and warned that “you can’t build big things on fault lines,” Global News and CTV News reported via The Canadian Press.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is expected to deliver a separate Canadian-unity speech in Calgary on Friday at the Canada Strong and Free Network conference, with Premier Danielle Smith also expected to speak at that event, CBC and Global News said.

Carney grew up in Alberta. Forever Canadian has framed his appearances as a chance for the federal government to hear remain-side voters before ballots are cast.

Sources: CBC News (Oct. 13, 2026); Global News / The Canadian Press (Oct. 13, 2026); CTV News / The Canadian Press (Oct. 13, 2026); Forever Canadian rally page.