Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has tapped Alberta MP Dane Lloyd to serve as the party’s referendum lead for Alberta, as the province prepares to vote on a question related to separation this fall.

Poilievre made the announcement Sunday morning, releasing a letter penned to Lloyd detailing the position.

Lloyd has held his Parkland riding since 2017, and is a lifelong Albertan, according to his website. Prior to politics, he served as a reservist in the Canadian Armed Forces, experience Poilievre said will give Lloyd the “fortitude” for his new role.

In his letter, Poilievre, who is campaigning for Alberta to remain a province of Canada, details the “legitimate concerns and grievances” that Albertans have with the status quo.

“So our task is not to scold Albertans. It is to hear them,” Poilievre said.

“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.”

CBC News has requested an interview with Lloyd. In a post on social media, Lloyd wrote he is “honoured to play a role in this important discussion,” and said he believes deeply in a united Canada.

Last month, Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed Morgan Breitkreutz to serve as the government’s senior adviser on Alberta, co-ordinating the federal response to the Alberta referendum, as well as stickhandling major projects like the proposed pipeline to the West Coast.

Separatist calls appointment ‘par for the course’

Mitch Sylvestre, who led the petition drive for a separation referendum, says he is not surprised to see the Conservatives pushing for the remain side.

“It’s par for the course. Everybody’s lining up against this, and why wouldn’t they? Why wouldn’t they line up [to keep] the economic engine of Canada in Canada?” said Sylvestre.

Sylvestre said the Conservatives are also motivated to keep Alberta in Canada due to the large number of seats they hold in Alberta — 33 out of 37.

“They just don’t represent Alberta’s views, they don’t represent Alberta at all, in any way shape or form. And I understand they’re terrified to lose their jobs because without Alberta, could you imagine the kind of trouble that the Conservative Party of Canada is going to be in?” he said.

Lloyd’s appointment earned praise from Evan Menzies, a former United Conservative Party staffer now with Crestview Strategies, a consultancy, who has known Lloyd since the two attended Trinity Western University together.

Menzies calls him a “fantastic person, deeply principled, who has long had a heart for service for his community.”

“He understands Albertans and the reasons why they’re frustrated and he’ll be able to speak to a lot of what I would call frustrated federalists in the province who see that the path to expressing their form of patriotism the most is to make sure that they get Ottawa’s attention,” said Menzies.

But Poilievre leaning into those well-known grumblings about Ottawa could be the wrong approach, one political analyst said.

“It echoes the Canada-is-broken message that Pierre Poilievre has spoken of,” said Lori Williams, associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University.

“And that’s a risky strategy that very much could be used by those who are already supporting separatism as fuel for voting for the second option, that is for a referendum to leave Canada.”

One of the 10 questions set for the Oct. referendum will ask Albertans if they believe the province should remain in Confederation, or if they support the provincial government beginning the legal process of holding another, binding referendum on separation.

The other nine questions relate to issues around immigration and the Constitution.

Albertans will have their say on Oct. 19.