ALBERTA VOTERS DECIDE WHETHER TO PURSUE SEPARATION REFERENDUM

Alberta voters head to the polls on Monday to decide whether their government should begin the legal process for a binding referendum on separating from Canada. Premier Danielle Smith called the vote in May after a petition seeking a binding referendum gathered about 300,000 signatures. The ballot asks voters whether Alberta should remain a Canadian province or begin the process required under the Canadian Constitution for a later vote. Smith opposes separation but says residents should have a say on the issue. She has said a binding referendum could take place as soon as 2027 if voters approve the next step.

Supporters of separation say environmental policies set by the federal government in Ottawa have restricted growth in oil-rich Alberta. Prime Minister Mark Carney and other opponents have called for national unity in the face of external pressures. “The world has become more dangerous and divided. Some outside our borders are working to break us so they can own us,” Carney said. A separate petition opposing separation gathered more than 400,000 signatures. Alberta has a population of about five million.

A court blocked the petition seeking a separation referendum, saying its organisers had failed to consult First Nations whose land could be affected. First Nations groups have called Smith’s decision to proceed with Monday’s vote “undemocratic” and “authoritarian”. Mitch Sylvestre, a gun shop owner from Bonnyville, and Jeffrey Rath, a Calgary lawyer, lead the movement for separation. Polls before the vote have suggested that most Albertans favour remaining in Canada.