Voters in Canada’s oil-rich province of Alberta have rejected a proposal to begin a process towards independence, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation projected early on Tuesday, delivering a victory for Prime Minister Mark Carney and supporters of Canadian unity.

The vote was not a direct referendum on independence but would have set Alberta on a path towards a future vote on separation from Canada.

With more than one million votes counted, about 76 percent supported remaining in Canada, compared with 23 percent who backed beginning a process that could lead to separation.

Results were delayed after late openings forced more than 100 polling stations to extend voting hours on Monday. More than 1.35 million Albertans, or 43 percent of eligible voters, cast advance or special ballots.

Alberta, home to the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, is cowboy country and a conservative stronghold whose political culture has long had more in common with the American West than much of Canada. Resentment towards Ottawa runs deep, but has not traditionally translated into widespread support for independence.

With Carney pushing for unity amid US President Donald Trump’s trade war and annexation threats, Dave Malka, 59, of Edmonton, criticised spending money on a “referendum on a referendum” rather than healthcare.

“It seems to be happening at the absolute worst time when we should be united; instead we’re fighting among ourselves,” he said.

Jake Graham, 35, of Calgary, attended a Carney rally wearing maple leaf pants and a Canada hockey jacket. He hopes the vote ends the debate.

“I hope this squashes this for a long time to come and that it’s clear and decisive, that these grumblings disappear for a while and we can be a united Canada,” he said.

Even if the proposal fails, separatist leaders say they have turned a fringe cause into a movement that will not disappear.

Trump’s trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st US state have helped Carney rally support in Alberta, where Liberal prime ministers have historically been unpopular. (AP)



Edited by Altis Wong