Alberta votes to stay in Canada, with about three quarters of voters rejecting the path toward separation

The answer came in early and it was not close.

Alberta voted on Monday on ten referendum questions, and the tenth, whether the province should remain part of Canada or its government should start the legal process toward a binding referendum on separation, was counted first at every voting place. With more than 1.4 million votes counted, 76 percent supported remaining in Canada and close to 24 percent backed beginning the separation process, according to unofficial results from Elections Alberta. The referendum was not a direct vote on independence; approval would only have set Alberta on a path toward a future separation vote.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose government has been pushing national unity through a year of trade war and annexation talk from Washington, said the vote to remain means that “Albertans and all Canadians will move forward together with renewed purpose and high ambition.” Thomas Lukaszuk, the former Alberta politician who founded the pro unity Forever Canadian movement, told a cheering crowd that the result sends a strong message to President Trump: “Canada is not up for grabs.” The independence campaign, a grassroots effort amplified heavily online, had drawn concern about foreign involvement after the Globe and Mail reported that Republican operatives had assisted top separatist leaders.

The separatists took what comfort the numbers offered. “We do not have the final results. I think the numbers are going to fluctuate, but it is fair to say that at least a quarter of Albertans feel that Alberta needs to be treated better,” said Keith Wilson, a leader of the separatist movement. A quarter of a province saying it wants the process toward leaving started is a large minority by any measure, and it is now on the record in an official count.

Monday's vote was the first plebiscite of its kind in Canada since the 1995 Quebec referendum, where the French speaking province voted against secession by a razor thin margin. Alberta's was not razor thin. The official result announcement is scheduled for October 29, and the result on the separation question is not binding on the provincial government.