Albertans reject separation referendum, with about 75 per cent voting to remain in Canada
Alberta held a referendum on Monday 19 October with ten government-initiated questions, CTV News, The Globe and Mail, Global News and Radio-Canada reported. The tenth asked whether Alberta should remain a province of Canada or begin the legal process toward a binding separation referendum. CTV projected that about 75 per cent of voters chose to remain and just under 25 per cent chose to begin the process. The Globe and Mail reported that with 81 per cent of voting locations reporting, more than 1.4 million Albertans had voted to remain. CBC News and Radio-Canada projected the province would stay. Premier Danielle Smith said she was very pleased with the initial Elections Alberta results, and Prime Minister Mark Carney said Albertans made a clear choice. The other nine questions covered subjects including immigration, provincial services and voter identification and were not binding.
The vote measured how much support the separatist movement has among Albertans after a year of rallies, a court fight over a petition and a ballot question that half of poll respondents called confusing. A margin of about three to one gives Ottawa and the province a reference point, while the nonbinding nine other questions give Smith's government direction on provincial policy that voters can still be asked to confirm later.
If you live in Alberta, the official count from Elections Alberta is the figure to rely on, since projections and partial tallies differ slightly by outlet. If you live elsewhere in Canada, the result lowers the near-term chance of a binding separation vote but does not remove the pipeline, equalization and federal-provincial disputes that fed the campaign.
Federalists and the prime minister's office read the result as a decisive endorsement of unity, noting that roughly three in four voters rejected even starting the legal process. Carney said Albertans chose to build together, and Smith said the early results showed widespread support for remaining.
Separatist organizers and some analysts cautioned that a quarter of voters backing the process is still a large bloc and that the grievances behind it remain. Reuters reported before the vote that the movement was likely to outlast an expected defeat, and CTV noted that several of the other nine questions were closer.
Confirmed: a large majority chose to remain and both Smith and Carney welcomed it. Not confirmed: the final Elections Alberta count and the results on the nine other questions. Watch for the final tally, any statement from separatist organizers on next steps, and how the Smith government uses the answers on immigration and provincial services.
DailyDrop Canada edition No. 16 · Morning · TUE., OCT. 20, 2026