After extending support to separatists in the province of Alberta, pro-Khalistan secessionists have now reached out to the pro-independence party which recently assumed power in Quebec.
The Alberta Referendum focuses on whether the province should remain in Canada, or whether the provincial government should “commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada. There is concern in Ottawa over the referendum amid media reports of potential American interference in the process, favouring the separatists. Prime Minister Mark Carney has obviously opposed separation while provincial Premiere Danielle Smith, who agreed to the referendum, has also come out against breaking away from Canada.
The Parti Québécois will form the next government in Quebec as it garnered the most seats in the provincial election on October 5.
On Friday, the secessionist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) invited Quebec’s premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and representatives from his party to attend the so-called Khalistan referendum in Edmonton scheduled for October 18 as “observers”. Alluding to Plamondon’s victory speech referring to the “dream of being a nation will one day be realised,” SFJ said that resonated with support of Khalistan. Pannun said, “Whether it is the people of Alberta determining Alberta’s political future or Sikhs determining Punjab’s political future, the fundamental democratic principle is the same: the political future of a people should be determined by the people.
