Alberta rejects independence and votes to remain in Canada, CBC projects

Voters in Canada’s oil-rich province of Alberta have rejected a move toward independence, the CBC projected early Tuesday.

The vote was not a direct referendum on independence; instead, Albertans were deciding whether to remain in Canada or begin a legal process that could lead to a second vote on separation.

After more than one million votes were counted, about 76 percent supported remaining in Canada, while 23 percent backed beginning a process that could lead to separation.

More than 1.35 million Albertans, or 43 percent of eligible voters, had cast advance or special ballots.

The results deliver a victory for Prime Minister Mark Carney and supporters of Canadian unity amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and annexation threats.

Alberta, home to the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, is cowboy country and a conservative stronghold whose political culture has long had more in common with the American West than much of Canada. Resentment toward Ottawa runs deep, but has not traditionally translated into widespread support for independence.

Dustin Degenhardt, a Wainwright voter, said Albertans have long been mistreated by Ottawa.

“Alberta has essentially been treated as, you know, a colony,” he said after voting Monday. “They want to take and take and take from us and not return anything.”

Taylor MacIsaac, another Wainwright voter who backed separation, said: “I think it’ll be good for Alberta to separate personally, as a very conservative individual that grew up in rural Alberta.”

Dave Malka, 59, of Edmonton, criticized spending money on a “referendum on a referendum” rather than health care.

Jake Graham, 35, of Calgary, attended a Carney rally wearing maple leaf pants and a Canada hockey jacket. He hoped the vote would end the debate.

“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 earlier urged Albertans to deliver a decisive vote for unity. “Vote like Canada’s future depends on it because it does,” he told a rally Friday in Edmonton, where he grew up.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called the referendum amid pressure from separatists within her governing United Conservative Party, even though she opposes independence. She cited a poll showing just 22 percent support for separation, a figure she said was still too high.

Separatist parties traditionally attracted only 1 or 2 percent of the vote, former Premier Jason Kenney said. Anger over COVID-19 restrictions helped mobilize activists who later embraced the separatist movement, he said.

Trump’s trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st U.S. state have helped Carney rally support in Alberta, where Liberal prime ministers have historically been unpopular.

Separatist advocate Jeff Rath said he would be thrilled if 30 percemt of Albertans voted to begin the separation process. He wants Smith ousted as leader of her governing United Conservative Party and said the party could splinter, potentially creating a new pro-independence party.