'When proud, hardworking people feel their contribution is taken for granted, and their livelihood is treated as something to be phased out, some begin to ask a painful question — does this country actually want us?'

Premier Danielle Smith was overcome with emotion as she launched into speech at an online forum Saturday, tearfully relaying painful losses some Albertans have shared with her as she works to address grievances with Ottawa that have led to the Oct. 19 referendum question of separation from the country.

The weekend Alberta and the West Assembly, co-chaired by former Reform Party of Canada leader Preston Manning and former British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, ran for several hours Saturday morning with a few technical glitches and a presentation from Smith, who later took questions.

In her opening remarks, Smith recounted what she’s been hearing from Albertans, those frustrated and angry with an Ottawa seemingly deaf to their grievances over the past decade. As she spoke of growing affordability pressures faced by farmers and families being squeezed out of house and home, Smith paused to regain her composure several times, apologizing to listeners.

“When proud, hardworking people feel their contribution is taken for granted, and their livelihood is treated as something to be phased out, some begin to ask a painful question — does this country actually want us?” Smith said.

“So that question is what 700,000 signatures represent between the Forever Canada petition and the Stay Free Alberta petition. Some signed because they want to leave. More, many more signed because they want to stay.”

Smith reiterated her stance that she, along with her government and caucus, support Alberta remaining in Canada.

She said the fight to make Canada work for Alberta is working.

Putting the question about the future of Alberta’s independence on the ballot amplifies the message to Ottawa that some voters see it as a serious option.

“Sometimes when people just are hurt, feel mistreated and are angry, sometimes you’ve just got to create an avenue for them to express that,” Smith said.

One attendee asked Smith why she is not campaigning for the option to hold a binding referendum on succession, as he believes that would give Alberta further leverage against Ottawa.

Smith said that would detract from the other nine questions on the ballot around immigration and the constitution, issues she is looking to get a mandate on through the referendum.

“This really crystallized for me that my aspiration is to stay in my lane. I got elected because I want to focus on health care, education, social services and providing supports for seniors and addiction services and public safety,” Smith said.

“I want to really hunker down and focus on my nine, on addressing the nine questions that I’ve put forward. That’s part of the reason I want such a strong mandate there, and I think it gives me leverage.”

The premier said receiving a mandate on the nine questions will help get the economy back on track. She said issues around immigration have been causing pressure “across the board.”

Taking aim at federal policies, Smith said that after the COVID-19 pandemic, federal immigration levels surged without proper consultation with provinces tasked with delivering more and more services. Alberta swiftly grew by approximately 600,000 people in five years, said Smith, noting spikes in housing costs and rent rose in tandem, while classrooms and emergency rooms became more crowded.

Those temporary residents cost Alberta’s provincial services more than one billion dollars per year, said Smith, emphasizing that permanent residents, or “lifetime taxpayers” will not be impacted by proposed changes to immigration policy.

“The harder question is whether taxpayers should carry the same costs for residents who are here only temporarily,” Smith said.

On the questions of constitutional reform, Smith is also seeking a mandate to work with other willing provinces and territories to attain the authority to choose judges, abolish the senate, give provincial law’s priority when dealing with shared areas, and opt out of federal programs without losing federal funding.

While willing to accept the results that come after the Oct. 19 vote, Smith said she remains hopeful Albertans will give her the mandate she is seeking.

“Every question on this ballot comes back to one thing, which is respect,” Smith said.

“Albertans want to be respected by their country and trusted to run their own affairs. I think every province represented here today wants the same. I believe that we can have that inside Canada.”