As we've been reporting, there are nine other questions being voted on in today's Alberta referendum, which have been overshadowed by question 10, on separation.
Five deal with the province gaining more control over immigration. They also relate to giving Alberta more autonomy but would require reforms to Canada's constitution, which can be no easy task.
Depending on the amendment put forward, it can require support from the House of Commons, the Senate, and a minimum number of provincial legislatures.
One ask - abolishing the un-elected federal Senate - would require unanimous agreement between Parliament and all 10 provinces. (Senators are appointed in Canada).
Last week in the province, Prime Minister Mark Carney told supporters "vote no to the nine".
In a podcast hosted by Ryan Jespersen, a radio host, that was posted on Friday, he went into more depth on the subject.
"The Constitution is not un-amendable, to be clear, but it requires building a real consensus around what's necessary to change and which elements you are going to change," he said.
"I get the point about an unelected Senate," he noted, but added that Canada does update the number of seats in the House of Commons to reflect growing populations in places like Alberta.
"Am I open to Constitutional reform? Yes, I'm open to it, or I'm open to it with laying the groundwork for consensus."
He said he was focused more on "co-operative federalism", when federal and provincial governments work together towards mutual goals.
'This country is better with you in it': Canadian premiers send message of unity to Alberta
Getty Images"We share families, jobs, a border and a lot of history," the premier of British Columbia, pictured earlier this year, said today
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.
How a vote to leave Canada could impact Alberta's economy
Jessica Murphy
Canada digital editorGetty ImagesAs we just mentioned, one key issue has become central to the independence debate: Would Alberta be richer if it were to become an independent country?
Alberta separatists argue that the province has been short-changed by being part of Canada, and that more of the oil and gas wealth would be kept within its borders instead of being shared with Ottawa, delivering it tens of billions in savings.
But many disagree with their accounting.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who opposes independence, predicts a more sober outcome. She says the province could risk paying C$400bn ($283bn; £213bn) in transition costs alone, while bleeding billions more in lost investments and trade due to the political upheaval.
A report commissioned by her government released earlier this month calculated the costs of separation as between C$50bn and C$170bn over five years - and a highly unpredictable outlook over the long term.
Both sides held rallies in Alberta's capital over the weekend
Just 24 hours before the polls opened today, the Alberta Federation of Labour held a large Canada Unity Rally outside the provincial legislature on Sunday.
Crowds of supporters donning red and white and waving Canadian flags gathered as members of the Alberta New Democratic Party, the Forever Canadian movement and a First Nations chief spoke out against the push to leave Canada.
LightRocket via Getty ImagesPro-unity supporters gathered in Edmonton, Alberta, at the Canada Unity Rally on Sunday
LightRocket via Getty ImagesJust a day before, pro-independence voters gathered in front of the same building at an Alberta Independence Rally to voice their support for leaving Canada.
AFP via Getty ImagesSupporters of Alberta independence gather in front of the Alberta legislature building in Edmonton on Saturday
AFP via Getty ImagesSeparatists are frustrated over taxation. But leaving would hurt Alberta's pockets, expert says
Grace Eliza Goodwin
Live reporterReutersMany of the grievances separatists have with the federal government are economic in nature, Feodor Snagovsky, a political science professor at the University of Alberta tells the BBC.
Particularly, separatists are fed up with the way federal tax revenues are distributed among the provinces according to their economic capacity, Snagovsky says.
"Poorer provinces get more money," he explains. "Richer provinces like Alberta get less money."
Alberta is the richest province in Canada, with the highest incomes and some of the lowest levels of taxation.
But if Alberta were to separate from Canada, Snagovksy says, the province as a whole would become poorer.
The province's economy would decrease by levels even greater than the British economy did after Brexit, he adds.
"You'd have a much, much greater economic shock."
Read more about how Alberta's economy might fare if it broke away from Canada.
Some polling stations will stay open late due to delayed openings
ReutersMore than 100 voting locations across Alberta failed to open on time this morning, prompting the province's election authority to extend hours at those locations.
Those extensions will delay the release of unofficial results, which will only begin after all polling sites have closed, Elections Alberta says.
Regular voting hours are 9:00 (11:00 EDT/16:00 BST ) to 20:00 local time, but now with the extended hours at some locations, the last site to close will do so at 22:00.
Meanwhile, voters in Louis Bull Tribe, an Alberta First Nation, had to wait to cast their vote after their local polling site ran out of ballots, the Edmonton Journal reported.
Louis Bull Tribe Chief Desmond Bull said Elections Alberta should have been better prepared, adding that people "want to have their voices heard, especially when it comes to our treaties and how they will be impacted", according to the Edmonton Journal.
For some, referendum is a tool for putting 'pressure on Ottawa'
Nadine Yousif
Reporting from Edmonton, AlbertaDonald says he voted for the independence referendum so that Ottawa would listen to Alberta's demands
Donald Blackwell, who lives in Edmonton, tells us he voted for the independence referendum to “put pressure on Ottawa.”
“I don't necessarily want to separate,” he says, “I just want to put pressure on Ottawa".
He's lived in Alberta for 20 years, and thinks voting for a referendum might put pressure on the federal government in Ottawa to listen to the province’s demands.
Patrick tells the BBC he wants Alberta to remain a part of Canada
Another voter, Patrick Cunningham, says he voted the other way. He’s lived in Edmonton for most of his life, and thinks the vote to stay in Canada will come out on top.
“I do not want Alberta to separate," he says. “That would be a stupid, bad waste of money and not beneficial to Albertans or Canadians.”
Alberta referendum: A breakdown of what's on the ballot
Rebecka Pieder
US reporterReutersAlbertans are heading to the polls today to vote on the future of the province's independence movement
The independence question is just one of 10 issues Albertans are voting on today.
As part of the referendum, they will be asked to answer 10 separate questions, each printed on its own numbered, colour-coded ballot. Each ballot is then placed in its corresponding ballot box.
The first nine questions require a “yes” or “no” answer. Five deal with immigration, while the other four focus on the Canadian constitution.
Among other things, voters are being asked whether they support giving Alberta’s provincial government greater authority to restrict immigration to the province, limit access to certain social services and introduce legislation that requires certain additional forms of identification to vote.
The tenth ballot is the only question that does not call for a “yes” or “no” answer.
Instead, voters must choose between two options:
- Option A: Remain in Canada
- Option B: Begin the legal process to hold a binding referendum on Alberta’s independence
When will we know the results?
All the ballots - a separate colour-coded one for each question - will be counted by hand.
Officials have 48 hours to complete the count, which starts at 20:00 local time on Monday (03:00 BST Tuesday) and can be delayed if there are voters still in line.
Question 10, the one about separation from Canada, will be counted in its entirety first, given the high interest in that result.
Alberta Elections said that results for that question should be available in the early hours of Tuesday.
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