Alberta has voted decisively to remain part of Canada, delivering an early but emphatic answer to the province’s first referendum on separation. With more than one million ballots counted, about 77 per cent backed staying in Canada, while 23 per cent supported beginning a process that could have led to a future independence vote, reported by Al Jazeera.
The result is a significant political victory for Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has sought to hold the country together amid a continuing trade conflict with the United States. Carney welcomed the outcome, saying Albertans had made a “clear choice” for unity. “They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other,” he said on X.
Although the referendum was not a direct vote on independence, a yes result would have opened a path towards a future separation referendum. Instead, the outcome appears to weaken the secessionist movement, at least for now.
Jeffrey Rath, a leading figure in the Alberta Prosperity Project, said the campaign for an independent Alberta would continue despite Monday’s result. “We’ve learned a lot of lessons from this fight,” he told reporters.
Premier Danielle Smith, a conservative, said she voted against independence but called the referendum to settle an issue that has divided the province. She had said a federalist victory would close the separation question.
Alberta holds the world’s fourth largest proven oil reserves, and resentment over federal energy policy has long fuelled separatist sentiment. Smith has blamed former prime minister Justin Trudeau for stoking that anger, accusing him of trying to restrict oil production in pursuit of a pro climate agenda.
The campaign also drew attention from allies of US President Donald Trump. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Alberta Washington’s “natural partner”, while Elon Musk posted on X that the province “should separate”.
Carney, who grew up in Alberta, has worked to improve relations between the province and Ottawa.__Photo courtesy X (Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta)
