A turbulent campaign that pitted federalists against separatists over Alberta’s future in Canada ended with the remain side securing an overwhelming victory.
asserted
side → pit → victory
CBC and CTV News initially projected a victory for the remain side around 1:30 a.m. Eastern time, showing about 76 per cent of Albertans voting to remain in Canada and roughly 23 per cent backing a second binding referendum on leaving the country.
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cent → project → country
At a watch party in Edmonton hosted by the federalist group “Forever Canadian,” a crowd of fewer than 100 jumped to its feet, hugging, cheering and waving Canadian flags as the call was made.
“Canada, Canada, Canada,” the crowd chanted.
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crowd → host → flags
The projections came before Elections Alberta had released complete official results.
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Alberta → come → results
More than 100 polling stations that opened late stayed open past the scheduled closing time, delaying the count until after midnight.
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that → open → midnight
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said on X that she would address Albertans Tuesday at 8:45 p.m. Eastern time regarding the results “and where our province goes from here.”
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province → say → results
“I’m very pleased to see the initial results from Elections Alberta show widespread support for remaining in Canada. Albertans have voted for a stronger Alberta in a united Canada,” Smith wrote.
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Smith → see → Canada
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a statement celebrating the results, saying the province had “made a clear choice” in Monday’s vote.
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province → issue → vote
“Above all, Albertans chose Canada.”
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Albertans → choose → Canada
He said that while all of the results have not yet been counted, “the defining question of separation” has been decided and victory for the federalist camp means that the country can now return to the job of advancing Canada “with renewed purpose and high ambition,” referring to his government’s agenda of increasing international trade and developing infrastructure, mining and energy projects across the country.
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country → say → country
He said that Canada was “unleashing our full potential as a global energy superpower with Alberta at its core.”
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Alberta → say → core
While federalists celebrated Monday’s victory, many were quick to note that 23 per cent of Albertans choosing the option to hold a vote on separation was not something to cheer about.
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cent → celebrate → separation
“I was hoping it would be like 85 per cent,” Dee Winn, a volunteer with the “Forever Canadian” campaign, told the Star as the early results came in.
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results → hop → Star
Amid the cheers and applause, Thomas Lukaszuk, who spearheaded the federalist group, told the crowd those voters could not be ignored.
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voters → spearhead → crowd
These are Canadians,” he said from the stage, adding that something had to be done to address what was driving their anger and frustration.
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what → say → anger
“We cannot go on like this.”
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We → go → this
Before the polls even closed, Mitch Sylvestre, a key separatist leader, told a crowd of volunteers and other independence supporters gathered at a nearby Edmonton bar that their movement had become something that was not going to disappear.
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that → close → bar
“Alberta has changed,” he said.
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he → change → ?
Monday’s vote took place under the shadow of tragedy after four people were killed and 39 others injured when extreme winds pushed an already burning fire onto troops conducting exercises at CFB Wainwright on Saturday.
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winds → take → Saturday
Polls opened as scheduled, with some voters in Wainwright worried about what would happen to the base, an integral part of the community’s identity and economy, should Alberta one day separate from Canada.
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Alberta → open → Canada
“This is a federal town,” said Greg Granger, who works in IT at CFB Wainwright.
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who → say → Wainwright
Elsewhere, the polarization that has taken hold across the province during the referendum campaign was on full display.
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that → take → display
Olivia Hughes, an Edmonton resident living with disabilities, walked to a polling station at an Anglican church in the city on Monday, wondering, “Why the f—- do I have to be out here?”
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I → live → Monday
Besides contemplating the impact secession would have on her quality of life, she said: “I’m a Canadian, I’m not just an Albertan.”
“I would like to remain a Canadian, so that’s why I’m here.”
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I → contemplate → life
Others arrived feeling fed up.
“I think we’ve been screwed over by the other provinces,” said fellow Edmonton voter Bill Lewis, who cast his ballot at a polling station in one of the city’s strip malls for the option to begin the process of holding a future vote to leave Canada.
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who → arrive → Canada
“I think our money should stay here instead of us getting nothing and the other provinces getting it all.”
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provinces → think → it
A record-breaking 1.3 million Albertans had already cast their ballots through advance polls or by mail, comprising 43 per cent of the province’s eligible voters.
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Albertans → break → voters
How Alberta came to this moment is a mix of historic grievance, COVID-fuelled populism and a premier who was unwilling to close the door on separatists.
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who → come → separatists
While western alienation is nothing new in the country’s largest oil-producing province, successive public opinion polls suggested an uptick in the sentiment after the election of Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose victory was viewed by some as another blow to the deep-blue Conservative province.
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victory → produce → province
Anger had been brewing for years during the tenure of former prime minister Justin Trudeau, whose environmental policies were viewed by many in the province as stymying resource development.
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policies → brew → development
Even before that, the Trudeau name triggered distrust among some Albertans, who remembered the legacy of the long-dismantled National Energy Program introduced by his father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau.
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who → trigger → father
But while Carney has sought to reset relations with Alberta, working with Premier Danielle Smith to advance a new million-barrel-a-day oil pipeline to the West Coast and overhauling federal regulatory processes with the goal of getting more major energy and infrastructure projects off the ground, another movement was brewing in the province.
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movement → seek → province
Independence organizers who entered Alberta’s political arena through opposition to COVID-19 pandemic measures got to work pushing for a referendum.
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who → enter → referendum
Sylvestre, the owner of a sporting goods store in Bonnyville, Alta., spent the dead of winter travelling the province collecting 300,000 signatures for a petition under provincial citizen-initiative rules to trigger a referendum on leaving Canada.
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Sylvestre → spend → Canada
Lukaszuk, a former deputy premier in a Progressive Conservative government, was busy collecting tens of thousands of signatures for his own “Forever Canadian” initiative under the same provincial rules in response to the separatist push.
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Lukaszuk → collect → push
Things came to a head this May when an Alberta judge quashed the separatist petition over concerns about the failure to properly consult First Nations.
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judge → come → Nations
One evening in late May, Smith addressed Albertans to announce that her United Conservative Party government would add an independence question to a previously decided set of nine referendum questions focused on taking greater control over immigration and pursuing constitutional reforms such as abolishing the Senate.
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government → address → Senate
That sparked criticism from all corners.
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That → spark → corners
Carney called the referendum a “dangerous bluff.”
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Carney → call → referendum
Other premiers panned the move, while federalists in Alberta mobilized supporters who wanted to remain in Canada to turn out and vote, warning that separatism remained a minority view but a vocal and highly motivated one.
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separatism → pan → Canada
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
