Alberta Rejects the Path to Separation by Three to One
Albertans have voted against beginning a legal process towards leaving Canada by about 76% to 23%, on a projection by the national broadcaster with more than a million votes counted. It was the first of ten questions on the ballot and the electoral commission says the rest may take days. Results were delayed after more than a hundred polling stations extended their hours.
This is a projection rather than a final count, and roughly a third of ballots were in when it was made, so the margin may move even if the outcome does not. The turnout picture was unusual: 1.35 million Albertans, about 43% of those eligible, had already voted by advance or special ballot before polling day. Thomas Lukaszuk, the former deputy premier who led the campaign to remain, framed it as settled — “we are a solid country that’s united from coast to coast to coast” — and Jeromy Farkas, the mayor of Calgary and an opponent of independence, was careful not to treat it as closed: “no result will permanently put this to bed… The separatist movement sees this as a long-term project.” The more interesting consequence is internal. Jeff Rath, who campaigned for separation, had said he would be “thrilled” with 30%, wants the premier removed and predicts her party could splinter into a new pro-independence one. Danielle Smith called the referendum under pressure from separatists in her own party while opposing independence herself, which is the position she now has to defend from both directions.