Home · World · Oct 20 archive
Alberta voters reject plan for referendum to leave Canada
· Confirmed
In Short: Voters in Canada's oil-rich province of Alberta have rejected a proposal to begin a process toward independence, with more than 76% supporting remaining in Canada, according to early results from the referendum held on Monday.
With more than 1 million votes counted, 77% supported remaining in Canada, while 23% backed beginning a process toward separation, according to unofficial results from Elections Alberta.
Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the results, stating, “On October 19, Albertans made a clear choice. They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other. Above all, Albertans chose Canada.”
Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta also praised the results, saying, “Albertans have voted for a stronger Alberta in a united Canada.”
The referendum came amid tensions with the United States, with President Donald Trump waging a trade war and making annexation threats. Carney had argued the vote was held “at the worst possible time,” citing the need for national stability.
Albertans have long debated the financial relationship with Ottawa, with some arguing that Alberta is short-changed by its financial relationship with the federal government.
Data from Elections Alberta indicated roughly 43% of eligible voters – or 1.3 million Albertans – had already cast ballots before Monday’s vote through advance voting and mail-in ballots.
As of June 25, 2025, CPP Investments reported that Canada's national pension fund totalled over $731 billion.
The setting is striking for a Liberal prime minister. Alberta has spent decades feuding with Liberal governments in Ottawa, particularly over energy and federal power. But Carney has broken with some of the policies associated with his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, fast-tracked a proposed new oil pipeline to the Pacific, and called Canada an energy superpower.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she voted against independence but called the referendum to settle an issue that has divided the province.
Haley Erdegard, 44, who voted in Edmonton, was uncomfortable with separatist claims that Alberta shares too much of its oil revenue with the rest of Canada.
Alberta’s independence push has also drawn sustained interest from the allies of US President Donald Trump, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who called Alberta Washington’s “natural partner.”
Background
Voters in Canada's oil-rich province of Alberta rejected a proposal to begin a process toward independence, with results showing a majority in favor of remaining in Canada.
What's confirmed
- October 20, 2026 / 2:11 AM EDT / AP Voters in Canada's oil-rich province of Alberta have rejected a proposal to begin a process toward independence, results showed early Tuesday, delivering a victory for Prime Minister Mark Carney and supporters of Canadian unity amid President Trump's trade war and annexation threats.
- Haley Erdegard, 44, who voted in Edmonton, was uncomfortable with separatist claims that Alberta shares too much of its oil revenue with the rest of Canada.
- With more than 1 million votes counted, 77% supported remaining in Canada, while 23% backed beginning a process toward separation, according to unofficial results from Elections Alberta.
- "I think it'll be good for Alberta to separate personally, as a very conservative individual that grew up in rural Alberta," she said.
- "On October 19, Albertans made a clear choice. They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other. Above all, Albertans chose Canada," Carney said in a statement on Tuesday.
- Smith opposes independence but called the referendum under pressure from separatists within her United Conservative Party.
- Albertans will decide whether to remain in Canada or instruct the government to begin the legal process toward a future separation referendum.
- CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned Thursday that the United States is trying to break Canada so it can “own us” as he urged oil-rich Alberta not to begin a process toward separation in Monday’s referendum.
- “A vote against Canada is a dangerous bluff that will lead to years of deep uncertainty and lost opportunities,” he said.
- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith welcomed the early results, saying they showed widespread support for remaining in Canada.
- With U.S. President Donald Trump waging a trade war and threatening to make Canada the 51st state, Carney warned that the referendum comes at the “worst possible time” and urged Albertans not to take the outcome for granted.
- Canada's province of Alberta rejected a plan to hold a binding independence referendum, results showed Tuesday, a setback for separatists backed by allies of US President Donald Trump.
What's still developing
- The latest Ipsos polling suggests Alberta is unlikely to leave Canada.
- Only 18 percent of Albertans currently say they would vote to separate if a referendum were held today.
- A win for the stay-in-Canada side was expected after several polls showed it had a healthy lead.
- "I think the numbers are all silly," he said.
- Mitch Sylvestre, who heads the Alberta Prosperity Project, a prominent separatist organization, told AFP that US interests "don't play a role" in Alberta "until we win and become a government."
- According to polls, less than a quarter of Alberta’s population support breaking away from Canada.
- A little touchy," Carney joked, drawing laughter. He was referring to U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra's warning to Canadian politicians not to interfere in the U.S. midterm elections. Tanya Clemens, co-chair of the pro-independence group Let Alberta Decide, acknowledged Carney presents a challenge. "He's formidable for sure," Clemens told The Associated Press. Clemens argued, however, that Carney's agreements with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith amount to "pinky promises" that do not resolve long-standing grievances with Ottawa. Keith Wilson, another leader of Let Alberta Decide, rejected Carney's argument that global instability made this the wrong time for the vote. "The worst timing for this, why?
- “Alberta has essentially been treated as, you know, a colony,” he said after voting Monday.
- “I think what we can agree on is that we have had some real change in the last 18 months,” Smith said alongside Carney in Red Deer, Alberta.
- Separatist supporter Jour Dain said he was "disappointed in (his) fellow Albertans." "Honestly, if this continues down this path of remaining in Canada, I'm just going to move," the 40-year-old said, expressing a desire to live in the United States.
- The vote comes at a time when the province is mourning the deaths of four soldiers, while dozens of others were injured from a fast-moving fire that burned through a military base in Alberta.
- Voters in the Canadian province of Alberta rejected on Tuesday morning a proposal to organize a referendum on achieving independence, according to the results announced by authorities.