Voters in Canada's oil-rich province of Alberta have rejected a proposal to begin a process towards independence, results showed early Tuesday, delivering a victory for Prime Minister Mark Carney and supporters of Canadian unity amid US President Donald Trump's trade war and threats of annexation.
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.
With more than 1 million votes counted, about 76% supported remaining in Canada, compared with 23% who backed beginning a process that could lead to separation.
"We are a solid country that's united from coast to coast to coast," Thomas Lukaszuk, a former Alberta deputy premier who led the Forever Canadian campaign against separation, told supporters.
Results were delayed after late openings forced more than 100 polling stations to extend voting hours on Monday. More than 1.35 million Albertans, or 43% of eligible voters, cast advance or special ballots. Albertans were deciding whether to remain in Canada or begin a legal process that could have led to a second vote on separation.
Alberta, home to the world's fourth-largest proven oil reserves, is cowboy country and a conservative stronghold whose political culture has long had more in common with the American West than much of Canada. Resentment towards Ottawa runs deep, but has not traditionally translated into widespread support for independence.
Dustin Degenhardt, a Wainwright voter, said Albertans had long been mistreated by Ottawa.
"Alberta has essentially been treated as, you know, a colony," he said after voting on Monday. "They want to take and take and take from us and not return anything."
Taylor MacIsaac, another Wainwright voter, backed separation.
"I think it'll be good for Alberta to separate personally, as a very conservative individual that grew up in rural Alberta," she said.
Dave Malka, 59, of Edmonton, criticised spending money on a "referendum on a referendum" rather than healthcare.
With Trump threatening Canada, Malka said, "It seems to be happening at the absolute worst time when we should be united; instead we're fighting among ourselves."
Jake Graham, 35, of Calgary, attended a Carney rally wearing maple leaf trousers and a Canada hockey jacket. He hopes the vote ends the debate.
"I hope this squashes this for a long time to come and that it's clear and decisive, that these grumblings disappear for a while and we can be a united Canada," he said.
Despite the proposal's apparent failure, separatist leaders have said they have turned a fringe cause into a movement that will not disappear.
Carney earlier urged Albertans to deliver a decisive vote for unity. "Vote like Canada's future depends on it because it does," he told a rally on Friday in Edmonton, where he grew up.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called the referendum amid pressure from separatists within her governing United Conservative Party, even though she opposes independence. She cited a poll showing that just 22% supported separation, a figure she said was still too high.
Separatist parties traditionally attracted only 1% or 2% of the vote, former premier Jason Kenney said. Anger over COVID-19 restrictions helped mobilise activists who later embraced the separatist movement, he said.
Trump's trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st US state have helped Carney rally support in Alberta, where Liberal prime ministers have historically been unpopular.
Separatist advocate Jeff Rath said he would be thrilled if 30% of Albertans voted to begin the separation process. He wants Smith ousted as leader of her governing United Conservative Party and said the party could splinter, potentially creating a new pro-independence party.