Alberta votes on leaving Canada, separatist movement likely to outlast expected defeat

CALGARY – Oil-rich Alberta was holding a nonbinding referendum on Monday on whether the western province should secede from Canada, a debate many believe will not be settled by what is widely expected to be a defeat for the separatist cause. Polls have consistently shown that a majority of Alberta voters oppose splitting from Canada. Economic grievances have fueled the independence campaign in the province, which is home to 5 million people and slightly smaller than Texas but with one-sixth of the U.S. state’s population.

The Alberta separatist movement adds to the pressures on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has made defending the country’s sovereignty a central mission as he confronts U.S. tariffs and President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for Canada to become the 51st state.