BANFF — Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet is set to meet for a second and final day of meetings in the Alberta Rocky Mountain resort town of Banff as ministers prepare for the fall sitting of Parliament. The meetings are taking place as the province gets set to hold a referendum on leaving Canada in October. Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas attended one of the private meetings and says Ottawa is taking a smart approach to the question by being consistently present in the province. Farkas says separating would put Alberta on track to become the 51st state -- and that an “overbearing” Washington would be more difficult to deal with than Ottawa. The two-day retreat also comes as U.S. President Donald Trump ratchets up an ongoing trade war by moving to ban some Canadian imports, including alcohol and some dairy products. Carney says that compared to other trade actions Washington has taken against Canada, Trump’s latest move is “relatively modest.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2026. Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press
