EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Voters in oil-rich countries Province of Alberta overwhelmingly in favor of remaining in Canada, according to the results of the referendum published Tuesday, which gives a boost to the Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts for national unity as president of the United States Donald Trump’s trade war And threats of annexation rally Canadians around their country.
With more than 1.8 million votes counted and results announced in 84% of polling areas and locations, 75% of voters supported stay in Canadawhile 25 per cent were in favor of starting a process toward separation, according to unofficial results from Elections Alberta.
The referendum was not a direct vote on independence. Approval would have put Alberta on the path to a future vote on separation from Canada.
“It’s a great result for Canada that Albertans have chosen unity,” Carney told reporters Tuesday before a Cabinet meeting in Ottawa.
Carney said nearly a quarter of Albertans who voted to begin the process of separation did not necessarily want independence, saying only a smaller “hard core” group might actually want to leave Canada.
Some voters said they supported another referendum to express their frustration with Ottawa rather than their desire to leave Canada.
“The result 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 said.
“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 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.
Black-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.
A fringe cause has become a movement that won’t go away
Alberta, home to the fourth largest proven laboratory in the world oil reservesis cowboy country and a conservative bastion whose political culture has long had more in common with the American West than with 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 massive rejection, separatist leaders said they transformed a fringe cause into a movement that won’t go away.
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 embraced the separatist movement, he said.
Trump’s trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st US state helped Support for the Carney Rally in Alberta, where Liberal prime ministers have always 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.
Others weren’t so optimistic.
Alberta separatist organizer and leader David Parker wrote in a social media post that the outcome was grim.
“Independence seems distant and we should not pretend that it is not a defeat,” he wrote.
Ian Brodie, a prominent conservative and political scientist at the University of Calgary who served as chief of staff to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, called current independence organizers Rath and Mitch Sylvestre “nothing.”
“Even on a very sensitive issue – whether to have a referendum on separation – they failed to gain any real traction in the Olds-Didsbury district,” Brodie said.
The district elected a separatist Western Canada Concept in a 1982 provincial by-election.
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.
“This sends a message to Ottawa that Albertans are not satisfied,” he said.
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 when we should be united. Instead we are fighting among ourselves.”
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Ty ONeil contributed to this report from Wainwright, Alberta.
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