Provincial leaders outside Alberta welcomed the province’s rejection of separatism in Monday’s referendum, but mostly steered clear of the other questions on the ballot, including those that asked Albertans whether they endorse restricting immigration and changing the Constitution.
According to unofficial results posted by Elections Alberta on Tuesday evening, about 75 per cent of voters rejected the separation question, which asked them about holding a future, second vote on leaving Canada.
But for eight of the ballot’s other nine questions, which included proposals for Alberta to take control of immigration, appoint its own higher-court judges and abolish the federal Senate, results showed majorities voting Yes, as Premier Danielle Smith had urged.
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Several of these questions raise the spectre of potentially tangled constitutional negotiations, something Canadian politicians have shied away from for decades after the wrenching national debates of the 1980s and 1990s. But some of these ballot items also echo complaints that other premiers have regularly made to Ottawa in recent years.
In a statement posted to X on Tuesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford praised the result on separation. He also reiterated his vow to build a new pipeline to bring Alberta’s oil to refineries in Ontario, in order to avoid routes that now bring the resource through the United States.
“I’m thrilled by the decisive support Albertans have shown for the country we all love,” Mr. Ford said. “Now it’s up to the rest of Canada to deliver on our commitment to Alberta by building new pipelines, unlocking our natural resources and unleashing the prosperity that will protect the future of Canadians from coast to coast to coast.”
In Saskatchewan, which also has its own small separatist movement, Premier Scott Moe applauded Alberta’s vote to remain in Canada. But he also said the West’s grievances within Confederation need to be addressed.
“There is still work to be done on improving how western Canada is treated by Ottawa,” Mr. Moe said on X. “But Canada is worth that effort. Saskatchewan will continue to work with Alberta to make our provinces stronger within a united Canada.”
In Quebec, where separatist Parti Québécois just returned to power, premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said the results on the other nine questions show Albertans agree with Quebeckers that Confederation, and an “increasingly interventionist” federal government, are not working.
“As in Quebec, they recognize that the Canadian federation is a straitjacket that prevents them from placing their priorities at the heart of their own public policies, in order to meet their own needs,” he said in a statement on X.
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, who will be sworn in as premier on Wednesday, has promised to hold a third referendum on independence in Quebec, though not before 2029.
B.C. Premier David Eby, who, as his province’s NDP Leader was campaigning for re-election in Kelowna on Tuesday, thanked Albertans who voted to stay in Canada.
“It feels like a no-brainer to me, but I am glad to see that was confirmed by the people of Alberta,” Mr. Eby said. “We’re stronger together as a country.”
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Speaking to reporters in Winnipeg, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew congratulated Albertans for voting to “remain a part of the No. 1 country on Earth.”
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston also welcomed the referendum results. “Canada is stronger with Alberta as part of it, and last night’s results show the overwhelming majority of Albertans agree with this,” he said on X.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham, who leads a province that many have left to work in Alberta, said he was delighted with the vote. When asked about the quarter of Albertans who chose the separatist option, Mr. Wakeham told reporters at the techNL Summit in St. John’s that many people are frustrated with governments.
“Nothing is perfect, and so we have to find ways to keep moving forward and improve the lives of people, whether they are in our own province or in another province,” he said.
Among the other referendum questions that received majority support from Albertans was one about the province seeking more power over immigration to cut it to “more sustainable levels.” Voters also endorsed proposals that would create an “Alberta-approved immigration status,” and restrict access to health care and other services for those with non-permanent status.
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Ontario and other provinces have also long advocated for more control over immigration policy, pointing to Quebec’s degree of autonomy in the area – even as Ottawa has recently slashed immigration levels.
Albertans also voted Yes to a question on changing the Constitution to appoint higher-court judges provincially, rather than federally. In a March open letter, Mr. Moe, Ms. Smith, Mr. Ford and then-Quebec-premier François Legault asked Ottawa to ensure all candidates for higher-court judicial appointments are both recommended and approved by the provincial government concerned. Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser flatly rejected the idea at the time.
With reports from Jameson Berkow, Maura Forrest and Ian Bailey