Alberta to Vote Monday on Starting Separation Referendum Process as Carney Urges Unity
Alberta residents will vote on Monday on whether their provincial government should begin the legal process toward a binding separation referendum. A "yes" vote would not split Alberta from Canada; it would initiate the legal steps toward a future referendum. Polls show about 70 percent of Albertans want to stay in Canada.
Prime Minister Mark Carney warned on Thursday that the United States is trying to break Canada so it can "own us," urging oil-rich Alberta not to begin the separation process. Carney's warning came as US President Donald Trump wages a trade war with Canada and has repeatedly threatened to make Canada the 51st US state. Carney has argued Canada needs to become more economically resilient and less dependent on the United States.
Alberta holds the world's fourth-largest proven oil reserves. Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Carney both urged unity ahead of the vote. The result will decide whether the western energy province formally enters the legal path toward a separation referendum. (GSM, based on Associated Press and Canadian media reports)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 埃德蒙顿艾伯塔省议会大厦。 Photo by WinterE229 WinterforceMedia, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
