Alberta Referendum

 

• Canadians in Alberta are voting today on whether they want to remain a part of the country or move ahead with a referendum on independence - here's what else is on the ballot

• More than a million people voted early, Elections Alberta - the agency overseeing the vote - says, representing over 43% of the electorate

• "I don't even consider myself to be Canadian anymore," one voter tells the BBC, while another calls today "a turning point in Canada's history"

• Separatists argue the province - which has the fourth largest oil reserves in the world - has been overlooked by Ottawa

• Meanwhile, indigenous Albertans have been working to block the vote for months, arguing separation would violate their land treaties

• How are Canada's allies viewing this long-shot vote? Our chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet weighs in from Ottawa

• What happens next? If a majority vote for independence, it would kick-start the process of holding a binding referendum on separation

As Albertans head to the polls, the leaders of other Canadian provinces are advocating for a strong, unified Canada.

British Columbia Premier David Eby had a message for Alberta on referendum day.

"We share families, jobs, a border and a lot of history," Eby said on X. "We don’t always see eye to eye. We argue, and we stay together. You’re our neighbours and our family, and this country is better with you in it."

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew posted a video message on X, in which he said: "As a Manitoban, I know what it's like to feel like eastern Canada ignores us here in the west sometimes."

"But as a Canadian, I also know that the way we work through difficult things is not by running away," he added. "It's about sitting down and hashing out our differences together."

The premiers of other provinces including Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have also previously spoken out against Alberta's separation from Canada.

Meanwhile, Quebec's incoming Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon campaigned on his own province separating from Canada, and has said he would support an independent Alberta.