EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Voters in the oil-rich province of Alberta overwhelmingly supported staying in Canada, referendum results released Tuesday showed, giving a boost to Premier Mark Carney’s push for national unity as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and threats of annexation rally Canadians around their country.
With more than 1.8 million votes counted and results reported in 81 per cent of polling areas and locations, 75 per cent of voters supported remaining in Canada, while 25 per cent supported initiating a process towards separation, according to unofficial results from Elections Alberta.
The referendum was not a direct vote on independence. The approval would have put Alberta on the path to a future vote on separation from Canada.
Carney said Tuesday that the roughly quarter of voters who supported the proposal shouldn’t necessarily be considered supporters of independence. The ballot asked whether to hold another referendum on independence, and some voters used it to express their frustration with Ottawa, he said.
“The outcome is absolutely clear. There is a large majority in favor of remaining in Canada. And now is the time to work together for all Albertans and all Canadians,” Carney told reporters before a Cabinet meeting in Ottawa.
“Alberta needs to be treated better”
Carney said he spoke with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Tuesday morning about the referendum results and greater federal-provincial cooperation, including on immigration. He said their first priority was to support the victims and families affected by the deadly military training fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright.
Alberta separatists, however, saw a glimmer of hope.
“It’s fair to say that at least a quarter of Albertans believe Alberta needs to be treated better,” said Keith Wilson, a leader of the separatist movement.
Smith welcomed the initial results, saying they demonstrated broad support for remaining in Canada.
“Albertons voted for a stronger Alberta in a united Canada,” Smith posted on social media.
Smith, who called the referendum under pressure from separatists within the ruling United Conservative Party, or UCP, despite its opposition to independence, said she would address the province Tuesday night about the results and Alberta’s future.
“We are a strong, united country from coast to coast,” Thomas Lukaszuk, a former deputy premier of Alberta who led the Forever Canadian campaign against separation, told supporters.
Results were delayed after late openings forced more than 100 polling stations to extend voting hours on Monday.
A fringe cause has become a movement that won’t go away
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 that of the American West than that of much of Canada. Resentment toward Canada’s federal government in Ottawa runs deep, but has not traditionally translated into widespread support for independence.
Despite the overwhelming rejection, separatist leaders say they have transformed a fringe cause into a movement that will not go away.
LEARN MORE: Prime Minister Mark Carney says US is trying to break up Canada as Alberta votes to separate
Separatist parties have traditionally attracted only 1 to 2 percent of the vote, said former prime minister Jason Kenney. Anger over COVID-19 restrictions helped mobilize activists who later joined 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 premiers have historically been unpopular.
At a nighttime separatist referendum rally at an Edmonton restaurant, the crowd remained silent as the results came in.
“We’re not going anywhere,” said Jeff Rath of the Alberta Prosperity Project. “We have dominated the conversation over the past year. We have educated Albertans about the benefits of independence and we will continue to move forward.”
Rath had said he would be happy with 30% support. He wants Smith ousted as UCP leader and has said the party could split, potentially creating a new pro-independence party.
A referendum on a referendum
Edmonton voter Shawn Campbell said he voted to begin the separation process, even though he didn’t want Alberta to leave Canada.
“It sends a message to Ottawa that Albertans are not happy,” he said.
Dustin Degenhardt, a constituent in the town of Wainwright, said Albertans have long been mistreated by Canada’s federal government.
“Alberta was basically treated like, you know, a colony,” he said after Monday’s vote. “They want to take us again and again, and give us nothing back.”
Dave Malka, 59, of Edmonton, criticized spending money on a “referendum on a referendum” rather than on health care.
As Trump threatens Canada, Malka said: “This seems to be happening at the worst time we should be united. Instead, we fight among ourselves. »
Ty ONeil contributed to this report from Wainwright, Alberta.
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