Alberta voters backed remaining in Canada in a referendum that could have opened a path toward a later independence vote. CBC projected the outcome while counting continued. The early figures were not certified final results. Prime Minister Mark Carney had urged unity, while Premier Danielle Smith called the ballot under separatist pressure despite opposing independence herself.
Voters in Alberta, Canada’s oil-producing western province, backed remaining in the country in preliminary referendum results on October 20. CBC News projected that the proposal to open a separation process had been rejected. The Associated Press also reported the outcome. Counting was still under way: the early percentages were approximate, rather than certified final results.[1], [2]
The tenth question on the ballot offered a choice between remaining in Canada and beginning a legal process that could permit a binding provincial referendum on independence. Support for the second option would have opened another stage of voting. The choice before Albertans concerned whether to begin that process, with the broadcaster’s projection addressing this first stage.[1]
Prime Minister Mark Carney had urged a decisive vote for unity. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called the ballot amid pressure from separatists in her governing United Conservative Party while saying she opposed independence. AP put advance and special voting at more than 1.35 million people, or 43 percent of eligible voters; this was not final turnout. Pro-separation voters described grievances toward Ottawa, while unity supporters objected to another referendum debate.[1]
