Alberta votes today on whether to start down the road to leaving Canada
More than 1.3 million ballots were cast in advance. Polls show a clear majority for staying, but separatists vow to carry on: 'We've already won.'
Photo: D. Benjamin Miller / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped and resized)
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Voters in the Canadian province of Alberta decide in a referendum on Monday whether to remain a province of Canada or to begin a legal process towards a future binding referendum on separation. The ballot contains ten questions in total, with the others covering immigration and the constitution. Elections Alberta said 1,356,873 votes were cast in advance voting – about 43% of the 3,148,343 eligible electors.
An Ipsos poll for Global News found about seven in 10 Albertans plan to vote to stay in Canada, while 23% back starting the separation process. Premier Danielle Smith, who called the referendum despite opposing independence, said she expects everyone to 'accept it and move on' if the result matches the polls. Prime Minister Mark Carney warns that starting the process would bring years of economic uncertainty.
Keith Wilson, co-chair of the group Let Alberta Decide, told a rally: 'Regardless of what happens on Monday, we've already won.' According to AP, Donald Trump's trade war and his '51st state' threats have heightened sovereignty concerns.