Federal Defence Minister David McGuinty landed in Edmonton this week to remind Albertans of billions of dollars in military spending ahead of a vote on the province’s place in Confederation on Oct. 19. McGuinty, flanked by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Edmonton Riverbend MP Matt Jeneroux, stood at the Canadian Forces Base in Edmonton on Wednesday to credit the province for its railway, road, pipeline and industrial work since entering Confederation in 1905. McGuinty said a strong Canada includes a strong Alberta. “When Canada called, Albertans put on the uniform. Alberta has always been where Canada comes to renew its ambition, where big projects meet bold ideas,” he said. “This is the province that reminds Canada how to think big, how to build big, how to turn natural advantages into national strength.” He also said Confederation was “not an accident, it was a choice,” renewed generationally by what Canadians do for one another, particularly in wartime. Alberta is receiving $8 billion in ongoing spending, including $550 million to establish the western operating base for the Canadian Air Force’s CC-33-Husky fleet. Another $4 billion will go to a fighter squadron facility and future fighter capabilities in Cold Lake. $582 million will also be spent on upkeep of Alberta’s four main defence sites. “The world around us has changed. War has returned to Europe. Our Arctic is becoming more accessible and more contested technologies that barely existed a generation ago … (are) changing the character of conflict at extraordinary speed,” McGuinty said. Will these announcements sway Alberta’s vote? On Oct. 19, Albertans will vote on whether they’d like to remain a Canadian province or hold a separate, binding referendum on leaving. Smith says Wednesday’s “generational investment” puts Alberta at the forefront of air defence, but acknowledged the announcement was also about showing that the province and Ottawa can work together. “Obviously we want to demonstrate that there’s a new day in the relationship between Canada and Alberta … Announcements that we’ve made on infrastructure, those are all a demonstration that things have changed,” she told reporters. Mount Royal University political science professor Lori Williams says the money is an investment in Alberta’s rich military history in the wake of international commitments Canada has made, namely in aid to Ukraine. It will also, she added, continue to add jobs to the economy. “It builds on existing infrastructure to develop Canada’s capacity to manage some of the emerging international challenges, both militarily and just in terms of monitoring and surveillance,” she told CTV News Edmonton. But the timing of the announcement – less than two weeks before Albertans vote on whether the province should stay in Canada – was certainly, as Smith says, a “consideration.” “This is just another in a series of announcements that the federal government is making about trying to make co-operative federalism work, investing in co-operative relationships with provincial governments that enable the federal government to use its considerable spending power to support economic growth, to support sovereignty.” Whether it would be enough to turn the tide of the upcoming referendum, Williams says, is a “maybe.” “Might be for those soft separatists, those ‘send a message’ separatists. This might be enough to change their vote,” she said. “The reality is that on a number of fronts, the majority of Albertans support not just staying in Canada, but a better relationship with the rest of Canada.” Alberta military history Alberta has always been a large part of the Canadian defence strategy since its Cold Lake fighter base was first opened circa the Cold War, according to David Bercuson – the former director of the Centre for Military Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. He said the influx of cash was necessary to build up forces stationed out west, which previously fell behind after deep cuts strangled money out of reserve force hands. “We fell way behind. We’re still flying fighter jets that belong in the 1980s,” he explained. While it hasn’t yet been announced what new equipment means for municipalities, Bercuson believes it may bring “big changes” and mass expansions to Edmonton’s Canadian Forces Base by way of housing and capacity. Nicole Butler, the western Canada defence lead at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, says Alberta’s growing military role is a net positive shift for both the economy and international standings, regardless of referendum voting. “I think this is a good indication for these local companies that, yes, the government and the military is taking investment in our military, but as well Alberta, very seriously,” she said. “It would be a huge deal, not only for Edmonton but for Alberta and western Canada in general … It would bring jobs. It would bring growth.” The federal government estimates some 38,000 jobs will be created in Alberta through the new military funding. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Chelan Skulski
