Politics 5 min read By Alice Ashford
Alberta voters reject separation as Carney hails unity
Early results show 76% of Albertans backed remaining in Canada in a referendum that could have opened a path to independence, handing Prime Minister Mark Carney a boost amid US trade tensions.
Voters in Alberta have overwhelmingly backed remaining within Canada in a referendum that could have set the oil-rich province on a path toward independence, delivering a significant boost to Prime Minister Mark Carney's push for national unity.
With more than 1.5 million votes counted, unofficial results from Elections Alberta showed 76% supported remaining in Canada, while close to 24% backed beginning a process toward separation. The referendum was not a direct vote on independence; approval would have set Alberta on a course toward a future vote on leaving the federation.
Carney said the outcome gave Canadians a mandate to move forward together. «Albertans made a clear choice,» he said. «They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other. Above all, Albertans chose Canada.» The prime minister said the result would accelerate efforts to diversify trade, develop major infrastructure projects and establish Canada as a global energy powerhouse, with Alberta at its centre.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who called the referendum under pressure from separatists within her governing United Conservative Party despite opposing independence, welcomed the early results. «Albertans have voted for a stronger Alberta in a united Canada,» she posted on social media. Smith said she would address the province on the results and Alberta's future.
The campaign took place against a backdrop of trade war and annexation threats from US President Donald Trump, which Carney's allies say helped rally support for federal unity in a province where Liberal prime ministers have historically been unpopular. Carney had urged Albertans to deliver a decisive vote, telling a rally in Edmonton, where he grew up: «Vote like Canada's future depends on it, because it does.»
Separatist leaders nonetheless claimed a measure of success, arguing they had turned a fringe cause into a durable movement. «We don't have the final results. I think the numbers are going to fluctuate, but it is fair to say that at least a quarter of Albertans feel that Alberta needs to be treated better,» said Keith Wilson, a leader of the separatist movement. Jeff Rath of the Alberta Prosperity Project said the campaign had dominated the political conversation over the past year and would continue. «We're not going anywhere,» he said.
Thomas Lukaszuk, a former Alberta deputy premier who led the Forever Canadian campaign against separation, told supporters: «We are a solid country that's united from coast to coast to coast.»
Alberta, home to the world's fourth-largest proven oil reserves, has a conservative political culture that has long had more in common with the American West than much of Canada. Resentment toward the federal government in Ottawa runs deep, though it has not traditionally translated into widespread support for independence. Separatist parties have typically attracted only 1% or 2% of the vote, according to former premier Jason Kenney, who said anger over COVID-19 restrictions helped mobilise activists who later embraced the separatist cause.
Results were delayed after late openings forced more than 100 polling stations to extend voting hours on Monday. Some voters questioned the timing and cost of the exercise. Dave Malka, 59, of Edmonton, criticised spending on what he called a «referendum on a referendum» rather than healthcare, saying that with Trump threatening Canada, «it seems to be happening at the absolute worst time when we should be united; instead we're fighting among ourselves.»
Dustin Degenhardt, a voter in Wainwright, said Albertans had long been mistreated by the federal government. «Alberta has essentially been treated as, you know, a colony,» he said after voting. «They want to take and take and take from us, and not return anything.»
The result leaves Carney with a clearer mandate to press ahead with his economic agenda, while separatist leaders have signalled they intend to keep the question of Alberta's place in Canada alive, potentially through a new pro-independence party.
5
