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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at a news conference after the Speech from the Throne in Edmonton on Nov. 29.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press

It was nice of Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet to lean in to give Alberta Premier Danielle Smith some props for Alberta’s sovereignty act. Or sort of.

“If she does succeed and make a country out of Alberta, I will be a bit jealous, but I would say, ‘Good for you,’ ” he said.

This was a backhanded compliment, and Mr. Blanchet’s point – the Quebec sovereigntists’ underlying point for many decades – is that there’s no value in going halfway to sovereignty, because for them, only actual independence will do.

That’s not something to sniff at. As much as there is palpable frustration in Alberta with Ottawa, and a sense of alienation with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s name tagged on it, playing separatist isn’t the way to solve it.

One of the talking points for some defenders of Ms. Smith’s sovereignty act is that Alberta is only doing what, they think, Quebec separatists have been doing for years – that is, making threats so they can get a better deal from Ottawa.

That’s incorrect in many ways, including this: Quebec sovereigntists were never this bad at it. If the goal is pure leverage with Ottawa, the sovereignty act won’t be effective.

One purpose in adopting the sovereignty act, for Ms. Smith, is simply to look like she’s bringing the fight to Ottawa.

The sovereignty act includes provocative elements that have some folks calling for Mr. Trudeau’s government to use a rarely employed constitutional provision to disallow it. Some pundits are even speculating that the feds might do just that. But they won’t.

Disallowing the sovereignty act would not only be amping up the fight Ms. Smith wants, it would be fighting on Ms. Smith’s shaky ground.

The Alberta Premier has put forward legislation that purports to allow the provincial government to decide, without any court ruling, which federal legislation is unconstitutional, and won’t be complied with. That’s outrageous, but the federal government would be stupid to fight it by asserting it can decide, without any court ruling, which Alberta legislation is unconstitutional and won’t be allowed.

There are courts to decide what is constitutional and what is not. And Alberta’s sovereignty act is almost certainly going to end up before a judge.

“Calm down,” is the advice of Carleton University professor Philippe Lagassé, an expert in the role of Parliament and the executive. “Let’s see what the courts say.”

The sovereignty act itself doesn’t do anything specific that gets in the way of the federal government. It gives the legislature the power to pass a motion declaring that a federal law is, in its opinion, unconstitutional – which it could do anyway – and then purportedly gives Alberta’s government authority to suspend the application of a federal law. But Alberta cannot give itself new powers, so if it tried to suspend a valid federal law, it would be rejected by a court.

The sovereignty act could create temporary confusion about the law and a lot of work for lawyers, but it isn’t a knife on Ottawa’s throat.

And if you want to look at past separatist governments in Quebec, it would be hard to imagine René Lévesque or Jacques Parizeau or Lucien Bouchard making an overarching threat that could so easily be dismembered by the courts unless it was tied to a political effort. Such efforts had to tug at Quebeckers’ sympathy for more powers to be exercised by the province over language, culture, and social policy. And losing in court had to be a potential gain for the sovereigntist cause.

Mr. Blanchet was alluding to that, in a way, when he facetiously egged on Ms. Smith’s sovereignty efforts, and suggested Alberta call a referendum if it wants a decision on sovereignty. Mr. Blanchet rails against Ottawa’s intrusions, but he doesn’t just want a shift in the balance: What he wants is independence.

There is a danger for Confederation when a province feels so much alienation and anger. But there’s no great gain in pretending to have learned a trick from Quebec separatists. Albertans, mostly, feel political alienation, aimed at Ottawa’s policies, not disaffection for the idea of Canada. It’s worth noting, by the way, that Ottawa’s concessions to Quebec were made with the goal of helping federalists there, not separatists.

Ms. Smith might feel she can make political gains with the sovereignty act, by harnessing Albertans’ anger with Mr. Trudeau. But it’s not going to give Alberta the leverage she promises.

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