B.C. Premier David Eby says he is anxious about the upcoming Alberta independence vote.

At a wrap-up of the Western Premiers Conference in Kananaskis, Alta, Eby said the impact of a potential march towards a binding referendum on neighbouring provinces and territories is top of mind.

“I remain incredibly, frankly, anxious about this,” Eby told reporters.

Alberta’s premier announced on Thursday that the province will vote on a question on independence on Oct. 19.

Earlier in the day, Eby gifted Team Canada jerseys to the premiers.

“She looks great in a Team Canada jersey, I’m proud of her,” Wab Kinew, Manitoba’s premier, said of Danielle Smith.

Smith hoped to sidestep any talk of separation, laying out an agenda that included trade and the economy. The premiers did agree on a lengthy communique on collaboration and priority projects across the western provinces and in the northern territories.

“There is an incredible amount of optimism and hope that everyone is working towards those goals, so I think that was what we spent most of our time talking about over the last couple days,” Smith said.

Western provinces and territories stand to gain big as Ottawa looks to spend on major projects such as mines, ports and pipelines and there was excitement among the premiers at the meeting about the promise of more to come.

“Now is the time to work together,” Kinew said.

“Why don’t we hold off on this referendum for a year or two and see if we can get these pipelines under construction, because at the end of the day, we want Canada to succeed.”

As Western premiers head home, it’s even clearer that Alberta’s future will dominate the conversation through the summer at least.

–with files from Ben O’Hara-Byrne