{"id":2985,"date":"2026-10-20T10:03:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T05:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2985"},"modified":"2026-10-20T10:03:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T05:03:49","slug":"alberta-votes-on-leaving-canada-separatist-movement-likely-to-outlast-expected-defeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2985","title":{"rendered":"Alberta votes on leaving Canada, separatist movement likely to outlast expected defeat"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Oil-rich Alberta was holding a nonbinding referendum<\/a> on Monday on whether the western province should secede from Canada, \u200ba debate many believe will not be settled by what is widely expected to be a defeat for the separatist cause.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Polls have consistently shown \u200cthat a majority of Alberta voters oppose splitting from Canada.<\/p>\n

Economic grievances have fueled the independence campaign in the province, which is home to 5 million people and slightly smaller than Texas but with one-sixth of the US state\u2019s population.<\/p>\n

The Alberta separatist movement adds to the pressures on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has made defending the country\u2019s sovereignty a central mission as he confronts US tariffs and President Donald \u200bTrump\u2019s repeated calls for Canada to become the 51st state.<\/p>\n

Many Alberta separatists believe the Liberal Party-led federal government in Ottawa has constrained the Conservative-governed province\u2019s oil industry<\/a> \u200bthrough environmental policies, and that Alberta, the country\u2019s energy heartland, contributes more to Canada\u2019s economy than it receives in return.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanada has an \u2060imbalanced system which feeds the central population and government at the expense of the outlying producing provinces such as Alberta,\u201d said Cory Morgan, founder of a pro-separation advertising organization \u200bcalled Pathway to Independence.<\/p>\n

Carney, who grew up in Alberta, spent much of the past week campaigning for the \u201cstay\u201d side, urging supporters to vote and appealing to national pride.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Voting underway<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Polls had \u200bbeen scheduled to close at 8pm MDT on Monday, with results published as they arrive.<\/p>\n

Elections Alberta said some polling locations did not open on time and would remain open later to compensate, adding that unofficial results would not be released until after all polls closed.<\/p>\n

One Edmonton polling station\u2019s hours were extended until 10pm MDT.<\/p>\n

An Angus Reid poll released Friday showed 66% of \u200bAlbertans plan to vote to remain in Canada, but three in five believe \u201cthere will never be an end to the separatist movement\u201d in the province.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis issue is not going \u200baway now. Because the separatists are mobilised. They\u2019ve networked. They\u2019re connected,\u201d said Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt in Calgary.<\/p>\n

While separatist sentiment has existed in the province for decades, Premier Danielle Smith \u200cis the \u2060first Alberta leader to put the question to voters.<\/p>\n

Smith, who has urged Albertans to remain in Canada, called the referendum<\/a> after months of pressure<\/a> from a small but vocal flank of her governing United Conservative Party.<\/p>\n

If a majority votes in favour, Smith has said she would seek a binding referendum on separation.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeparating, to my point of view, is completely ridiculous,\u201d said Ross Watson of Calgary after casting his ballot in favour of \u201cremain\u201d in an advance poll last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the grievances that people have are completely unfounded. But I also think these \u200bpeople will probably never shut up.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Sending a message<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Monday\u2019s referendum is the first time \u2060a vote on separation from the rest of Canada has been held in a province outside majority French-speaking Quebec, where separatist sentiment derives from language and cultural differences.<\/p>\n

In Alberta, the issue is more about dollars than identity. Carney has appealed to national pride in arguing \u200bAlberta should remain part of Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanada is not a transaction between provinces. It\u2019s not about gross and net, gives and gets,\u201d \u200bCarney said Friday in \u2060Red Deer, Alberta.<\/p>\n

Partly to address the grievances that have driven separatist sentiment in Alberta, Carney has overturned <\/a>some environmental policies and supported a proposed oil pipeline <\/a>that would increase Alberta\u2019s exports to Asia.<\/p>\n

Among the one-third of Albertans who would vote in favour of a future binding referendum on separation, 60% told pollsters their motivation was to \u201csend a message\u201d to Canada\u2019s federal government.<\/p>\n

Only 37% of respondents to \u2060the Angus Reid \u200bpoll said their motivation was an independent nation.<\/p>\n

Separatist groups have published transition plans, but key questions about \u200bhow independence would work on issues such as defence, currency and border controls remain unresolved.<\/p>\n

Bratt said the real question is where the movement goes from here.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo they focus on generating support for a future referendum? Or do \u200bthey splinter off and create their own party \u2014 a real, powerful separatist party?\u201d Bratt said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oil-rich Alberta was holding a nonbinding referendum on Monday on whether the western province should secede from Canada, \u200ba debate many believe will not be settled by what is widely expected to be a defeat for the separatist cause. Polls have consistently shown \u200cthat a majority of Alberta voters oppose splitting from Canada. Economic grievances have fueled the independence campaign in the province, which is home to 5 million people and slightly smaller than Texas but with one-sixth of the US state\u2019s population. The Alberta separatist movement adds to the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2985"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2985\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}