OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he will be in Alberta next week to deliver a speech on Canadian unity ahead of the province’s referendum on separation.

Poilievre told a press conference in Burlington, Ont., today he will be doing “additional campaigning on the ground.”

When asked about tech industrialist Elon Musk saying recently that Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec should separate, Poilievre said “Canadians control their own destiny.”

The premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan brushed off Musk’s comments, while Quebec’s new premier has said he won’t trigger a separation vote while U.S. President Donald Trump is in office.

Poilievre did not say where and when he will deliver his speech on national unity.

Albertans will vote on the prospect of a future separation referendum, along with nine other questions involving constitutional and immigration issues, on Oct. 19.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 9, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press