Speaking at a conference in Calgary, former UK Prime Minister David Cameron addressed the Alberta referendum question, saying, “I wouldn’t compare what you’re discussing here with the Brexit referendum. Brexit was about whether we wanted to stay in a trade association with an element of political union. I mean, Canada is not a trade association with an element of political union.”

In other words, it’s an apples and oranges comparison.

The Brexit comparison has been the default Ottawa and national-media script since Smith added Question 10 to the referenda questions facing Alberta this October. Mark Carney called Smith’s question a “dangerous bluff” and said he saw the same logic “firsthand in the U.K.”

CBC ran “déjà vu” pieces comparing Smith to Cameron: conservative leader, personally 'Remain,' accused of calling a vote to manage her own party’s hardliners. Scholar Ian Cooper: “Brexit has a lot of lessons to teach Albertans about the dangers of a referendum on separation.” Globe and Mail commentary told independence supporters to “learn from the disaster of Brexit.”

Coverage of Cameron’s Calgary speech often kept the frame even while quoting him rejecting it. The Globe’s own story noted the vote “frequently draws comparisons to Brexit” in the same piece that led with “I wouldn’t compare.”

Cameron did not say Alberta leaving would be a tragedy in the same terms he used for the U.K. splitting. He did not say Option 2 is reckless. He did not bless Carney’s analogy. He did not claim Canada’s federal structure is just a “trade association,” which is the comparison he rejected.

On Scotland’s vote in 2014, he was more nervous than on Brexit because that vote threatened to break up the U.K. “If you have a referendum, you can’t guarantee what the result is going to be.” He also added that not holding the Scottish vote would have built resentment.

Cameron is being booked as the ghost of Brexit. In Calgary, he declined the role. Media and federal politicians can still use 2016 as a warning label. They should stop quoting him as if he endorsed that label.

Alberta’s referendum asking citizens to begin the process to a binding referendum on independence is unique. Comparisons to Brexit aren’t valid ones, and if anybody would know, it would be the person who served as the prime minister of the UK during the process. That won’t stop media and public figures from trying to make the comparison right up until October 19, however.