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President and CEO of AltaGas Vern Yu understands why C-suites may shy away from taking a political stance, but says it’s critically important during the separation debate.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
Alberta executives say the business community needs to raise the alarm about the billions of dollars of investment and economic growth at risk should the province move toward separation – and they must do it quickly, with a secession vote barely three weeks away.
Executives who spoke with The Globe and Mail said there isn’t much disagreement around the separation question; they simply don’t support the idea.
Whether they wish to speak out, however, is a different matter.
A smattering of chief executive officers have been vocal about remaining in Canada. But many have stayed on the sidelines, and few are contributing to the cash-strapped groups campaigning on the “remain” side.
Divisive political issues are not in executives’ comfort zones. As a CEO, “you’re always a little thoughtful before you go public in media or elsewhere with views on things like this,” said Alex Pourbaix, board chair of Calgary-based oil company Cenovus Energy Inc. CVE-T, and its former CEO. He sits firmly in the pro-Canada camp.
“But it would certainly be helpful if industry leaders who have an opinion on this would be more vocal,” he said. “We don’t have too much time left before this vote occurs, so I would certainly encourage any Albertans who have a view on this to be vocal about it.”
Much is at stake for Alberta businesses in the Oct. 19 referendum. While separation isn’t on the ballot, voters will be asked whether they wish to remain in Canada or start the legal process toward holding a second, binding independence vote.
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A majority vote for a binding secession referendum – however unlikely, if public-opinion polling holds – would signal a tacit endorsement for separation and introduce a wave of uncertainty for investors, said Martha Hall Findlay, director at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.
“The longer we play out this uncertainty, the worse it is for investment in Alberta – and Canada, too,” Ms. Hall Findlay said.
Some executives have recently added their voice to the debate. Earlier this week, speaking at a Calgary Chamber of Commerce lunch, Imperial Oil Ltd. IMO-T CEO John Whelan said the country’s national connections “are worth protecting and strengthening.”
Alexis von Hoensbroech, CEO of Calgary-based WestJet Group, wrote in a statement to The Globe that Alberta’s place in Canada is “a competitive advantage we shouldn’t walk away from.”
“Having witnessed the Brexit experience firsthand in Europe, I know that creating new barriers between economies can carry significant costs. Britain is worse off today,” wrote Mr. von Hoensbroech, previously CEO for Austrian Airlines.
Pro-independence groups’ financial disclosures to Elections Alberta show they have found support from some smaller businesses, like oilfield service companies and farms. But no major corporations in the province have voiced support for separation or a second binding vote.
The Business Council of Alberta is advocating to remain in Canada. Its president, Adam Legge, said many executives have asked him to take a stand against separatism on their behalf.
There is some hesitancy about speaking out themselves, partly because they don’t want to alienate employees or customers who may be in the separatist camp, Mr. Legge said.
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Some employees and customers may indeed favour separatism, said Deborah Yedlin, president of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. But there’s no excuse for sitting on the sidelines while the province weighs its place in the country.
“What we all have to remember is: Are we going to be on the right side of history or not?” Ms. Yedlin said.
“We can respect that companies stand for one thing, and they can also respect the views of their employees.”
Vern Yu is CEO of AltaGas Ltd. ALA-T, which donated the legal maximum of $5,000 to the pro-Canada group Vote to Stay.
Mr. Yu said he understands why C-suites may shy away from joining the fray, given there is rarely an upside in taking a political stance. But he said it’s critically important during the separation debate, lest companies and investments flee because of political uncertainty.
“We have to lean in because we have this golden goose in front of us, and we can upset the apple cart if we don’t do the right thing,” he said.
Like many oil and gas executives, Mr. Yu acknowledged many Albertans’ felt decades of frustration with policies that made it seem as though Ottawa was targeting the province’s energy sector.
While a separation vote may have been meaningful in the past, when Alberta needed to aggressively push back against federal regulations stymying development, today is a vastly different political landscape, he said.
Mr. Yu pointed to a slew of recent federal policy changes, including the establishment of the Major Projects Office, the mega deduction tax credit and new legislation that aims to get project approvals done in a year.
“Alberta has a seat at the table in Ottawa right now, and we haven’t had that in a decade. We’re seeing tangible things happen that are going to unlock our resources,” he said.
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A report by the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, commissioned by the Alberta government, found that even a best-case scenario for separation would provide only minimal economic gains for Alberta. In a more painful separation, wages would plummet and GDP would decline precipitously.
Mr. Pourbaix, with Cenovus, said those numbers are a crucial part of the debate.
“It takes two to tango, and we’re going to have to find an accommodation with the rest of Canada and the U.S. to get our products to market,” he said. “That could turn out very poorly for an independent Alberta.”
Brett Wilson, a prominent Calgary-based oilman, philanthropist and former judge on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, stepped into the pro-Canada campaign over the summer with Vote to Stay, a group led by former Conservative cabinet minister Monte Solberg.
He said separating a landlocked Alberta from Canada is fundamentally unrealistic: “All we’re doing is creating more paperwork,” he said. He thinks CEOs understand that, and said he can’t think of any who have come out in favour of separation.
Ms. Hall Findlay, who is also a former member of Parliament and Suncor’s ex-chief climate officer, said business leaders’ hesitancy to speak up is a symptom of corporate instincts to avoid politics.
“But right now, if people don’t engage, there’s a risk that this actually continues.”