Alberta voters are weighing separating from Canada in a historic nonbinding vote

A vote about a future vote

The ballot has 10 questions. The first nine ask about immigration, access to provincial services and possible constitutional changes; voters may answer yes or no. The final question gives voters a choice between remaining in Canada and starting the legal process for a separation referendum. The vote is nonbinding, and its central issue is whether to take a step toward another vote.

Support remains a minority view

Pollsters generally estimate that about one in five Albertans favor separation. Polls indicate voters will overwhelmingly reject beginning the legal process toward a referendum. Even so, the campaign has made Alberta’s place in the Canadian federation a prominent subject of public discussion. Separatism had remained on the political margins for decades.

Longstanding grievances resurface

Western alienation and complaints about Ottawa stretch back decades, including to the governments of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the 1970s and 1980s. Support for separation grew among some Albertans after COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccine mandates. Premier Danielle Smith said in May that it was “time to have a vote,” so Albertans could express their views and move on.

Campaign leaders make their case

Cory Morgan, who founded the Alberta Independence Party in 2000, also founded Pathway to Independence, an advertising group that supports an independent Alberta. He said he worries about the direction the country is taking.

Morgan said he hopes the vote will show that “something large is brewing” even if supporters do not prevail. Prime Minister Mark Carney returned to his hometown of Edmonton on Friday and urged Albertans to keep the province in Canada.