Alberta residents reject secession referendum from Canada by 76%

On Monday, residents of the oil-rich province of Alberta overwhelmingly opposed holding a referendum on its separation from Canada, a result that constitutes a victory for Prime Minister Mark Carney, who praised the "clear choice" for "unity" amidst a trade war with the United States.

According to preliminary figures released by the public broadcaster CBC and private network CTV, supporters of remaining within Canada won by a large majority, receiving more than 76 percent of the votes, while proponents of the referendum, promoted by the separatist movement, received approximately 23 percent of the votes.

This result is considered a victory for Carney, who grew up in Alberta and conducted a tour of the province last week, during which he urged Canadian unity supporters to participate heavily in the vote.

Carney praised the "clear choice" for unity made by this province, which has a population of 5 million people, on Tuesday morning.

He said: "Canada is much greater than the sum of its parts," noting that Alberta and Canada "will move forward together, with renewed determination and great ambition."

The voting result was consistent with opinion polls indicating that support for secession was less than 25 percent.

After being marginal a few years ago, the separatist movement in Alberta has become a pivotal player in political debate in Canada, attracting the attention of US President Donald Trump's administration and allies.

At the beginning of the year, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described Alberta as a "natural partner" for the United States, while separatists received a warm welcome at the US State Department.

Billionaire Elon Musk called for the independence of the province in early October.

"I will leave for the United States"

In a restaurant in Edmonton, where supporters of the separatist movement gathered to follow the results, an atmosphere of frustration prevailed.

Jord Dan (40 years old) told AFP: "Frankly, if this situation continues and we remain within Canada, I will simply leave" for the United States.

Mitch Silvester, one of the leaders of the separatist movement, affirmed that his movement "awakened something in this province, and this feeling will not disappear soon," adding, "We did not reach the finish line tonight."

Thanks to its oil sands deposits, Alberta possesses the fourth largest confirmed oil reserve in the world.

These resources form the core of the separatists' demands, who argue that the federal government shackled the oil industry with its environmental laws, particularly during the tenure of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In a step contrary to Trudeau's approach, Carney strengthened relations with Alberta authorities and accelerated the pace of constructing a new oil pipeline to the Pacific coast.

This project, aimed at exporting Alberta's oil to Asia, is one of the fundamental pillars of Carney's strategy to reduce Canada's dependence on the United States.