Albertans vote Monday on whether to remain in Canada or begin the process of pursuing separation, the culmination of a campaign that has divided the province and transfixed the country.
asserted
that → vote → country
Premier Danielle Smith announced in May that she would use a previously planned referendum on a range of other issues to also ask Albertans to weigh their future in this country.
uncertain
she → announce → country
The question asks whether Alberta should remain in Canada or the province should start the process to have a second, yes-or-no vote on separating into its own country.
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province → ask → country
The separatist and federalist camps made their final pitches in duelling rallies at the Alberta legislature in Edmonton over the weekend, part of a last-minute push that also saw Prime Minister Mark Carney make several stops in the province late last week urging Albertans to vote to remain in Canada.
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Carney → make → Canada
At the federalist event on Sunday, leader Gil McGowan led the crowd in a moment of silence for victims and first responders at Alberta’s Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, where a fire had killed four service members the night before.
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fire → lead → members
He said fellow Canadians responded to the call for help when it came.
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it → say → help
“That’s why we are stronger together in one Canadian federation,” Mr. McGowan said to cheers and applause.
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McGowan → ’ → cheers
A day earlier, more than a thousand people gathered on the legislature grounds, many dressed in blue and waving Alberta flags, to cap off the separatist campaign.
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many → gather → campaign
Supporters were bused in from across the province to hear speeches from leaders imploring people to get out and vote.
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Supporters → bus → people
Lawyer Keith Wilson, one of several prominent voices who have emerged in the campaign, predicted that whatever happens on Monday, the separatist movement is here to stay.
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movement → emerge → Monday
“We’re going to get stronger.
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We → go → ?
We’re going to get smarter.
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We → go → ?
We’re going to get more clear,” he said.
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he → go → ?
The push for independence has dominated Alberta politics for well over a year, with petition drives by the federalist and separatist camps gathering signatures from hundreds of thousands of residents.
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drives → dominate → residents
It has inflamed debate about national unity at a time when the country’s sovereignty is also being challenged by the trade policy and rhetoric of the Trump administration in the United States.
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sovereignty → inflame → States
And Monday’s vote takes place just two weeks after Quebec’s provincial election brought a separatist government to power there.
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election → take → power
Multiple polls of Albertans have shown respondents are much more likely to say they prefer to remain in Canada, but separatists mounted a vocal campaign as they criss-crossed the province holding town halls and other events.
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they → show → halls
Federalists such as former Alberta premier Jason Kenney have warned voters in the province who support remaining in Canada that they must make sure to vote rather than becoming complacent.
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they → warn → Canada
In a speech in Calgary last Thursday night, Mr. Carney said the referendum “comes at the worst possible time,” pointing to what he described as a more dangerous and divided world.
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he → say → world
Ms. Smith, who joined the Prime Minister at an event in Red Deer, Alta., on Friday, also urged Albertans to choose Canada, citing the promise of a new bitumen pipeline to the West Coast as proof that the country can work for the province.
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country → join → province
While the Premier has come under fire for not being vocal enough about her support for federalism, she has made it clear in recent days that she would vote to stay in Canada.
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she → come → Canada
Separatists have dismissed Ms. Smith’s argument that her thawing relationship with Mr. Carney shows Ottawa can be a generous partner for the province.
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Ottawa → dismiss → province
Independence leaders have spent the better part of the past year telling supporters that secession is the only way to free the province from the demands of the federal government, which they argue undermine Alberta’s prosperity.
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they → spend → prosperity
More than a million residents have so far voted by mail or at advance polls, and Elections Alberta is expecting turnout to be significantly higher than in most elections.
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turnout → vote → elections
Polls across the province will open Monday from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m., with results expected late into the night or early Tuesday morning.
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results → open → night
The referendum also asks nine other questions on proposals to limit some non-permanent residents’ access to social services, charge them fees for health care and education, and other constitutional changes such as abolishing the federal Senate.
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referendum → ask → Senate
The Aporia
