Alberta votes on preparing a referendum to leave Canada
On Monday, voters in Canada's Alberta province will take part in a non-binding vote on whether to begin preparing a binding referendum on leaving the country. Polls suggest only about a quarter of residents back independence.
In Alberta, a western Canadian province of roughly five million people, voters on Monday will take part in a non-binding vote on whether to start preparing a binding referendum on leaving Canada. The result will show how much support the independence idea has among the province's voters, and it may shape whether separatists keep pushing the secession process forward.
How the vote came about
Alberta's right-wing premier, Danielle Smith, leads a coalition that includes a significant number of separatists. They collected signatures to trigger a referendum on leaving the country. A court halted the organisation of such a referendum on constitutional grounds, so Smith announced a non-binding vote instead. She said Albertans deserve a chance to voice their opinion on independence. If a majority votes in favour, Smith has promised to start a legally binding separation process.
Public opinion polls indicate that only about a quarter of the province's residents want to break away.
Carney's warning and foreign signals
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned in an interview published on Saturday that supporters of Canadian unity might not turn out for a referendum. He called it a dangerous bluff and said this is not poker, but the future of the country.
At a rally outside the provincial legislature on Saturday, one pro-independence demonstrator told AFP that Carney wants Alberta to join Europe after he damaged relations with the United States. In September, Carney welcomed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's idea that Canada could become the first associate member state of the EU, although such a status does not yet exist.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, openly supporting the separatists, has said Alberta would be a natural partner for the United States.
The Quebec factor
In October, the separatist party Parti Québécois won the provincial parliamentary election in Quebec. It promises to hold an independence referendum after the end of US President Donald Trump's term in office.
