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A supporter cheers on during a speech at a pro-Canada rally in Edmonton on Oct. 18.Timon Johnson/The Canadian Press
Albertans vote Monday on whether to remain in Canada or begin the process of pursuing separation, the culmination of a campaign that has divided the province and transfixed the country.
Premier Danielle Smith announced in May that she would use a previously planned referendum on a range of other issues to also ask Albertans to weigh their future in this country. The question asks whether Alberta should remain in Canada or the province should start the process to have a second, yes-or-no vote on separating into its own country.
The separatist and federalist camps made their final pitches in duelling rallies at the Alberta legislature in Edmonton over the weekend, part of a last-minute push that also saw Prime Minister Mark Carney make several stops in the province late last week urging Albertans to vote to remain in Canada.
Alberta separatists rally at provincial legislature ahead of referendum
At the federalist event on Sunday, leader Gil McGowan led the crowd in a moment of silence for victims and first responders at Alberta’s Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, where a fire had killed four service members the night before.
He said fellow Canadians responded to the call for help when it came.
“That’s why we are stronger together in one Canadian federation,” Mr. McGowan said to cheers and applause.
A day earlier, more than a thousand people gathered on the legislature grounds, many dressed in blue and waving Alberta flags, to cap off the separatist campaign.
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Separatists gather in front of the legislature building participating the rally of the Pro-Independence group ‘Let Alberta Decide’ in front of legislature building in Edmonton on Oct. 17.AHMED ZAKOT/The Globe and Mail
Supporters were bused in from across the province to hear speeches from leaders imploring people to get out and vote. Lawyer Keith Wilson, one of several prominent voices who have emerged in the campaign, predicted that whatever happens on Monday, the separatist movement is here to stay.
“We’re going to get stronger. We’re going to get smarter. We’re going to get more clear,” he said.
The push for independence has dominated Alberta politics for well over a year, with petition drives by the federalist and separatist camps gathering signatures from hundreds of thousands of residents.
What about Alberta’s nine other referendum questions?
It has inflamed debate about national unity at a time when the country’s sovereignty is also being challenged by the trade policy and rhetoric of the Trump administration in the United States. And Monday’s vote takes place just two weeks after Quebec’s provincial election brought a separatist government to power there.
Multiple polls of Albertans have shown respondents are much more likely to say they prefer to remain in Canada, but separatists mounted a vocal campaign as they criss-crossed the province holding town halls and other events.
Federalists such as former Alberta premier Jason Kenney have warned voters in the province who support remaining in Canada that they must make sure to vote rather than becoming complacent.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney greets people at a Forever Canadian rally in Edmonton on Oct. 16.John Ulan/The Canadian Press
In a speech in Calgary last Thursday night, Mr. Carney said the referendum “comes at the worst possible time,” pointing to what he described as a more dangerous and divided world.
Ms. Smith, who joined the Prime Minister at an event in Red Deer, Alta., on Friday, also urged Albertans to choose Canada, citing the promise of a new bitumen pipeline to the West Coast as proof that the country can work for the province.
While the Premier has come under fire for not being vocal enough about her support for federalism, she has made it clear in recent days that she would vote to stay in Canada.
Former Alberta premiers argue against separation as referendum vote approaches
Separatists have dismissed Ms. Smith’s argument that her thawing relationship with Mr. Carney shows Ottawa can be a generous partner for the province. Independence leaders have spent the better part of the past year telling supporters that secession is the only way to free the province from the demands of the federal government, which they argue undermine Alberta’s prosperity.
More than a million residents have so far voted by mail or at advance polls, and Elections Alberta is expecting turnout to be significantly higher than in most elections.
Polls across the province will open Monday from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m., with results expected late into the night or early Tuesday morning.
The referendum also asks nine other questions on proposals to limit some non-permanent residents’ access to social services, charge them fees for health care and education, and other constitutional changes such as abolishing the federal Senate.
With reports from The Canadian Press