With more than one million votes counted, about 76 percent supported remaining in Canada.
Published On 20 Oct 2026
Alberta residents have voted to remain part of Canada in the province’s first-ever referendum on separation, in a much-needed win for Prime Minister Mark Carney as he attempts to unify the country amid an ongoing trade war with the United States.
With more than one million votes counted, about 77 percent supported remaining in Canada, compared with 23 percent who backed beginning a process that could lead to separation, early results showed on Tuesday.
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The vote was not a direct referendum on independence but would have set oil-rich Alberta on a path towards a future vote on separation from Canada.
Carney welcomed the result and said Albertans had made a “clear choice” in favour of unity.
“They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other,” he said in a statement on X.
Jeffrey Rath, a top leader of the secessionist Alberta Prosperity Project, told reporters his push for an independent Alberta will “absolutely” continue, despite the result from Monday’s vote.
“We’ve learned a lot of lessons from this fight,” he said.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, a conservative, said she voted against independence but called the referendum to settle an issue that has divided the province.
She has said a win for the federalists would close the secession question.
Alberta has the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, and much of the secessionist momentum has been driven by anger over oil industry management.
Smith has blamed Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau for igniting the secessionist fire, accusing him of trying to crush oil production to advance his pro-climate agenda.
Alberta’s independence push has also drawn sustained interest from the allies of US President Donald Trump, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who called Alberta Washington’s “natural partner”. Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and eminent Trump supporter, also posted on X that Alberta “should separate”.
Carney, who grew up in Alberta, has worked to improve relations between the province and Ottawa since taking office last year. He has partnered with Smith on advancing a new pipeline to export more Alberta bitumen overseas, a project considered a nonstarter during Trudeau’s tenure.