Alberta votes to stay in Canada in first separation referendum, CBC projects

Calgary, Canada. Alberta voters backed staying in Canada in the province’s first referendum on separation, according to a CBC News projection issued late Monday. The nonbinding ballot delivered a needed boost to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts to bring Canadians together during a trade war with the US.

Early count favours remaining

CBC News, the publicly funded Canadian national broadcaster, projected the outcome with 33% of ballots counted. At that point, staying in Canada had secured 76% of counted votes, while 23% supported proceeding to a binding referendum on separation.

Pollsters and analysts had consistently discounted a separatist win, pointing to findings that roughly a third of people in the western province backed holding a future referendum on leaving Canada.

Carney and Smith respond

In a statement, Carney said Albertans had clearly opted for unity, working together and caring for one another. He also said Canada’s collective strength exceeded that of its individual parts.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who announced the referendum in May, had said a vote was needed to establish residents’ wishes on the issue and allow the province to move forward.

In a social media statement late Monday, Smith expressed strong satisfaction that the initial results indicated broad backing for staying in Canada. She said she would speak to Albertans on Tuesday about the outcome and the province’s next steps.

Separation campaign and federal relations

A small but outspoken separatist movement had spent months advocating Alberta’s independence. Its campaigners argued that the province’s energy riches supported less prosperous Canadian regions and that Alberta would be substantially wealthier without what they viewed as bureaucratic obstacles imposed by Ottawa.

Speaking at a Calgary rally last week, Carney warned that a vote to leave would amount to a hazardous bluff and cause deep divisions lasting years. He urged Albertans to cast their ballots with Canada’s future in mind.

Carney, who spent most of his childhood in Alberta, acknowledged residents’ longstanding feelings of being disregarded by Ottawa. He said his government had authorised a proposed new pipeline and described Alberta as essential to Canada’s efforts to lessen its reliance on the US.