Alberta voters reject separation from Canada, early results show

With more than one million votes counted, about 77 percent supported remaining in Canada.

Al JazeeraAl Jazeera Staff2026-10-20 06:37查看原文 ↗

With more than one million votes counted, about 76 percent supported remaining in Canada.

Supporters of the pro-Canada group Forever Canadian wave flags and hold signs to urge people to vote in Alberta's nonbinding independence referendum, on Macleod Trail in Calgary, Alberta, October 19, 2026 [Ahmed Zakot/Reuters]

Alberta residents have voted to remain ⁠part of Canada in the province’s first-ever referendum on separation, in a much-needed win for Prime Minister Mark Carney as he ‌attempts to unify the country amid an ongoing trade war with the United States.

With more than one million votes counted, about 77 percent supported remaining in Canada, compared with 23 percent who backed beginning a process that could lead to separation, early results showed on Tuesday.

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The vote was not a direct referendum on independence but would have set oil-rich Alberta on a path towards a future vote on separation from Canada.

Carney welcomed the result and said Albertans had made a “clear choice” in favour of unity.

“They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other,” he said in a statement on X.

Jeffrey Rath, a top leader of the secessionist Alberta Prosperity Project, told reporters his push for an independent Alberta will “absolutely” continue, despite the result from Monday’s vote.

“We’ve learned a lot of lessons from this fight,” he said.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, a conservative, said she voted against independence but called the referendum to settle an issue that has divided the province.

She has said a win for the federalists would close the secession question.

Alberta has the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, and much of the secessionist momentum has been driven by anger over oil industry management.

Smith has blamed Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau for igniting the secessionist fire, accusing him of trying to crush oil production to advance his pro-climate agenda.

Alberta’s independence push has also drawn sustained interest from the allies of US President Donald Trump, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who called Alberta Washington’s “natural partner”. Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and eminent Trump supporter, also posted on X that Alberta “should separate”.

Carney, who grew up in Alberta, has worked to improve relations between the province and Ottawa since taking office last year. He has partnered with Smith on advancing a new pipeline to export more Alberta bitumen overseas, a project considered a nonstarter during Trudeau’s tenure.

已统计超过一百万张选票，约76%的人支持留在加拿大。

2026年10月19日，在加拿大阿尔伯塔省卡尔加里市的麦克劳德大道上，支持加拿大的团体“永远的加拿大人”（Forever Canadian）的支持者挥舞着旗帜，举着标语，敦促人们在阿尔伯塔省不具约束力的独立公投中投票。[艾哈迈德·扎科特/路透社]

阿尔伯塔省居民在省内首次就分离问题举行的全民公投中投票决定留在加拿大，这对正试图在与美国的贸易战中团结国家的总理马克·卡尼来说，是一次急需的胜利。

周二公布的初步结果显示，在已统计的超过一百万张选票中，约77%的人支持留在加拿大，而支持启动可能导致分离的进程的人仅占23%。

列表 1/3：阿尔伯塔省会引发加拿大的“脱欧时刻”吗？

卡尼表示，他和特朗普已同意“加强”贸易谈判（共3条，此为第2条）。

加拿大能源部长卡尼促成管道交易，扩大石油出口至美国以外地区（共3条记录，此为第3条）。

这次投票并非直接就独立问题举行的全民公投，但会使石油资源丰富的阿尔伯塔省走上未来就脱离加拿大举行公投的道路。

卡尼对选举结果表示欢迎，并称阿尔伯塔省人民已经做出了支持团结的“明确选择”。

“他们选择了团结，共同建设，互相照顾，”他在X上发表声明说。

阿尔伯塔繁荣计划（Alberta Prosperity Project）的领导人之一，主张阿尔伯塔省独立的杰弗里·拉斯（Jeffrey Rath）告诉记者，尽管周一的投票结果不尽如人意，但他推动阿尔伯塔省独立的努力“绝对”会继续下去。

“我们从这场战斗中学到了很多教训，”他说。