Alberta voters reject push for separation process
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About 76% of Albertans voted to stay in Canada, defeating a measure that would have opened a path toward a future independence referendum amid anger at Ottawa and continued debate over federal neglect.
More than three-quarters of Albertans voted to stay in Canada, halting a proposal that would have started a legal process toward a possible future separation vote, election officials said early Tuesday. The referendum asked voters whether to remain in Canada or to begin a procedure that could eventually lead to a second vote on secession. With over one million ballots counted, 76% chose to remain, while 23% backed initiating the separation process.
The result was celebrated by Prime Minister Mark Carney as a win for national unity. > "Vote like Canada's future depends on it because it does," Carney told a rally in Edmonton on Friday.
Thomas Lukaszuk, a former Alberta deputy premier who led the Forever Canadian campaign, said the outcome reflected a country that still knows how to hold together. > "We are a solid country that's united from coast to coast to coast."
Some voters voiced anger toward the federal government. Dustin Degenhardt, a resident of Wainwright, said Alberta has been treated like a colony by Ottawa. Others, including Taylor MacIsaac, also from Wainwright, said they personally supported separation, arguing it would benefit a conservative Alberta. Dave Malka of Edmonton dismissed the vote as a distraction from health-care spending.
Although the proposal failed, separatist leaders said the movement had moved from the fringes to a more visible political force and would continue to press its case.