Alberta voters back Canada with 76% in early count
The nonbinding vote would have started a process toward a later separation ballot in the oil-rich province.
Alberta voters backed remaining in Canada by about 76% with more than one million ballots counted on Tuesday, Al Jazeera said in an Oct. 20 article.
The nonbinding referendum was Alberta’s first separation vote; 23% supported beginning a process that could lead to a later vote on leaving Canada.
Al Jazeera, citing early results, reported that residents rejected the option of beginning a path toward separation. The vote was not a direct referendum on independence.
The result gives Prime Minister Mark Carney a political reprieve as he seeks to hold Canada together during a trade war with the United States, according to Al Jazeera’s report.
Alberta’s position is economically significant because the province is oil-rich. Atlas360 reported on Oct. 19 that the vote put 84% of Canadian oil in focus and concerned a legal step toward independence, not immediate separation.
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