Voters in Canada’s oil-rich province of Alberta have overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to begin the process towards independence, handing Prime Minister Mark Carney a victory for national unity amid US President Donald Trump’s trade war and threats to annex Canada.
With more than one million votes counted early Tuesday, around 76 per cent supported remaining in Canada, while 23 per cent backed starting a legal process that could eventually lead to separation, reports AP.
The ballot was not a direct vote on independence. Instead, Albertans were asked whether to remain part of Canada or begin a process that could lead to a second referendum on leaving the country.
“We are a solid country that’s united from coast to coast to coast,” Thomas Lukaszuk, a former Alberta deputy premier who led the Forever Canadian campaign against separation, told supporters.
Results were delayed after more than 100 polling stations extended voting hours on Monday because of late openings.
More than 1.35 million Albertans, representing 43 per cent of eligible voters, had already cast advance or special ballots.
Alberta holds the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves and has long been a conservative stronghold, with a political culture closely resembling that of the American West.
Although resentment towards the federal government in Ottawa runs deep, it has historically failed to generate widespread support for independence.
Some voters, however, argued that Alberta had been treated unfairly by the federal government.
“Alberta has essentially been treated as, you know, a colony,” Dustin Degenhardt said after voting in Wainwright on Monday.
“They want to take and take and take from us and not return anything.”
Another Wainwright voter, Taylor MacIsaac, supported separation, saying she believed independence would benefit Alberta, reflecting her conservative upbringing in the province’s rural communities.
Others questioned the need for the referendum, particularly at a time of heightened tensions between Canada and the United States.
Dave Malka, 59, of Edmonton, criticised spending public money on a “referendum on a referendum” rather than healthcare.
With Trump threatening Canada, Malka said the timing could hardly have been worse.
“It seems to be happening at the absolute worst time when we should be united; instead we’re fighting among ourselves,” he said.
Jake Graham, 35, of Calgary, attended a Carney rally wearing maple leaf trousers and a Canada hockey jacket, hoping the vote would bring the independence debate to an end.
“I hope this squashes this for a long time to come and that it’s clear and decisive, that these grumblings disappear for a while and we can be a united Canada,” he said.
Carney, who grew up in Edmonton, had urged Albertans to deliver a decisive rejection of separation.
“Vote like Canada’s future depends on it because it does,” he told a rally in Edmonton on Friday.
Trump’s trade war and repeated threats to make Canada the 51st US state have helped Carney rally support in Alberta, where Liberal prime ministers have traditionally struggled to gain popularity.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called the referendum under pressure from separatists within her governing United Conservative Party, despite personally opposing independence.
Smith cited a poll showing 22 per cent support for separation, a level she said remained too high.
Former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said separatist parties had traditionally attracted only 1 to 2 per cent of the vote.
He said anger over Covid-19 restrictions had helped mobilise activists who subsequently embraced the separatist movement.
Despite the apparent defeat, separatist leaders insist their campaign will continue, arguing that they have transformed a fringe political cause into a broader movement.
Separatist advocate Jeff Rath said he would consider support from 30 per cent of voters a significant achievement.
Rath also called for Smith’s removal as leader of the United Conservative Party and suggested that internal divisions could split the party, potentially giving rise to a new pro-independence political force.
