It's Time To Fix Confederation

Earlier this week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith suggested that it might be time to reopen the Canadian Constitution and bring Canada’s Premiers together to start a serious conversation about reforming Confederation.

She’s right.

Here at Project Confederation, we've been calling for this exact kind of action for years.

Because the truth is, Canada's federal system isn’t working the way it was intended to.

Provinces across the country are frustrated.

Increasingly, Ottawa is interfering in areas of exclusive provincial jurisdiction - from resource development to education to health care - using national programs, conditional funding, and judicial activism to override regional priorities.

This isn’t just an Alberta problem.

This isn’t just a Western Canada problem.

It’s a Canada-wide problem.

Saskatchewan and Alberta, obviously, are speaking out.

And Quebec continues to assert its autonomy, as it always has.

But Atlantic provinces are also now raising concerns about the carbon tax, equalization, and energy policy.

Ontario has begun pushing back more stridently - including by using the notwithstanding clause.

Even BC and Manitoba have had their own disagreements with Ottawa.

And, as frustrations grow, without being addressed, so does separatist sentiment.

We’re now seeing serious calls for separation from more and more ordinary Canadians who feel that the system is fundamentally broken.

Many feel that their province’s voice doesn’t matter and that Confederation is no longer worth defending.

Whether you agree with that sentiment or not, the path forward requires us to be honest about what’s wrong.

Premier Smith’s comments this week mark a turning point.

She’s openly calling for constitutional reform - something no Premier has seriously done in decades.

And next week, Canada’s Premiers will gather at the Council of the Federation.

That’s the opportunity.

Instead of settling for vague declarations and incremental change, the Premiers should take this moment to come together and start charting a path forward.

Nothing is getting fixed in a single meeting next week, of course.

But this Council of the Federation meeting can be the start of a move toward a stronger, freer, and fairer federation that respects provincial autonomy, regional diversity, and the foundational principles of Canadian federalism.

And if those things don’t happen, Canada might fail.

At Project Confederation, we’ve been preparing for this moment.

We’ve done the research.

We know exactly what needs to be done.

And we’ve kept the conversation going when others were afraid to.

Now, we need your help to take it to the next level.

We don’t take government grants.

We’re not part of any political party.

We rely entirely on Canadians like you - people who love their province and their country, and who know that the best way to protect both is to fix the system before it falls apart.

If you agree, please chip in today to help us continue this critical work across Canada.

Thank you for your support so far!

- The Project Confederation Team