Canada’s Alberta province has overwhelmingly rejected a plan to begin the process of seeking independence from Canada.

Canadian Public broadcaster CBC and leading private network CTV projected a decisive victory for the federalist side, with official results showing more than 76% support for remaining in Canada after roughly a third of the votes had been counted.

According to preliminary results from the chief provincial electoral office, Elections Alberta, nearly 77% favoured staying with Canada with roughly one million votes counted, while 23% supported independence.

“Albertans made a clear choice. They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement. “Above all, Albertans chose Canada.”

“While votes on all questions continue to be tallied, tonight’s results on the defining question of separation mean that Albertans and all Canadians will move forward together with renewed purpose and high ambition.”

The nonbinding referendum asked residents whether they wanted to stay in Canada or start the legal steps needed for a future binding vote on separation. Although it was not a full referendum on independence, a victory for separatists would have set in motion further steps to pursue that goal.

The vote marks the first such Canadian independence referendum held outside Quebec, where past independence movements have been driven by language and cultural differences.

‘For a stronger Canada’

On Monday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith posted on social media that, ‘Albertans have voted for a stronger Canada in a united Canada’.

Smith will address Albertans on Tuesday evening about the results of the vote.

Smith, who opposes independence from Canada, was forced to call the vote after pressure from within her United Conservative Party. She said she hoped holding the vote would put the question of breaking away from Canada to rest for good.

Home to the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves, Alberta is largely rural and conservative.

Its independence campaign was largely fuelled by economic grievances. The oil-rich province is almost double the size of Germany in terms of land mass but is much more sparsely populated, with around five million residents. Almost half live in its two main cities, Edmonton and Calgary.

Independence-minded Albertans say too much of their revenue goes to the federal government and that leaders in Ottawa have been unfair to the province over energy and environmental policy.

The push for independence has also been encouraged by US President Donald Trump, who has been sharply critical of Canada, one of America’s oldest and most trusted allies. Trump has repeatedly suggested making Canada the 51st US state and launched a trade war that remains ongoing.

In the run-up to the vote, Alberta independence advocates held meetings at the US State Department in Washington, D.C., and received coaching from US Republican political operatives. Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, called Alberta a ‘natural partner’, while Trump’s biggest donor, billionaire Elon Musk, recently posted on X that Alberta ‘should separate’ from Canada.

Monday’s result is a significant setback for separatist groups and their supporters and a much-needed win for Prime Minister Mark Carney as he attempts to keep the country unified amid the ongoing trade war with the US.

DW