Fighting For a Stronger Alberta Within a United Canada

July 19, 2026

July 19, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada, sent the following letter to Dane Lloyd, Conservative National Security Advisor and Member of Parliament for Parkland, naming him as Referendum Lead for Alberta:

Dear Mr. Lloyd,

I am appointing you to serve as my Referendum Lead for Alberta as we make the case for a stronger Alberta within a united Canada.

In this role, you will work with me, our leadership team, and the Conservative Alberta Caucus to listen to Albertans, answer their concerns, and lead our work to keep Canada united through hope, respect and real change.

We can’t pretend that Albertans don’t have legitimate concerns and grievances. Countless young Albertans, Quebecers and Canadians across the country have lost hope because they don’t believe Canada’s promise is attainable anymore. They don’t see the dream of homeownership becoming their reality, they have to cut back on their diets and they don’t know how they could ever afford to raise a family. 

Across Alberta, food bank visits have skyrocketed 134 per cent since 2019, and Food Banks Canada reports that 28.4 per cent of Albertans now struggle to put food on the table. For a decade, Liberal governments have attacked Alberta’s energy sector, blocked pipelines, raised taxes, killed jobs, trampled provincial powers and sent too much of Alberta’s money to Ottawa while too little comes back.

They have failed at the jobs Ottawa is meant to do: borders, defence, crime, immigration and trade across provinces. At the same time, they have stuck their nose into jobs that belong to the provinces: resources, roads, hospitals, firearms, and local choices.

That is not how Confederation is supposed to work. Canada works best when Ottawa does what only Ottawa can do, provinces do what provinces can do, and free people are left to build, work, raise families and make their own lives.

So our task is not to scold Albertans. It is to hear them.

Those who have lost hope in Canada are not our enemies. They are our neighbours, friends, co-workers, family members and fellow citizens. We will not win them back with name-calling, fear or threats. We will win them back by telling the truth, fixing what is broken and showing that Alberta belongs at the heart of Canada’s future.

We will fight to repeal the anti-energy laws that blocked Alberta from selling its world-class resources to the world. We will fight to restore provincial freedom, respect the Constitution, cut taxes, unblock homebuilding, resource development and entrepreneurship. We will protect law-abiding firearms owners, and make Canada affordable, safe, self-reliant and united here at home.

This is not a zero-sum fight. What is good for Alberta is good for Canada. More pipelines, more homes, lower taxes, safer streets, stronger borders and more freedom will help workers and families in every province.

The answer is not for Albertans to pull away from Canadians. It is for Canadians to lock arms with Albertans.

Canada is more than a government. It is a land, a flag, a common defence, laws, borders, stories, heroes, hardship, and a promise passed down from those who came before us, kept by those here now and owed to those who come next.

That promise must mean something for Albertans too: that hard work earns a good life, young people can afford a home, workers keep more of what they earn, provinces are respected, builders can build, farmers can farm, energy workers can work, and families can live in peace and safety.

Dane, you know Alberta. It’s why your fellow Albertan colleagues put their faith in you as caucus chair. You know its pride, grit, work ethic and deep love of freedom. You also know that Albertans are not asking for a handout. They are asking for respect.

I have every confidence that you will bring that respect, resolve and hope to this work.

And I know that your service to our country in the Armed Forces has given you the fortitude needed to help lead the Conservative response to this referendum.

Together, we will fight for a stronger Alberta within a united Canada. And we will never give up on either.