Alberta counts votes on independence referendum — Channel NewsAsia

Canada’s province of Alberta has begun counting votes after the October 19 ballot on holding a legally binding referendum on independence from Canada. As Channel NewsAsia reports, if a majority supports secession, provincial Premier Danielle Smith has promised to proceed with a referendum whose result would be binding.

Advance voting

Elections Alberta reported that 1.4 million of the 3.1 million eligible voters cast ballots in advance. The counting of these ballots began at 17:00.

Most polling stations were due to close at 20:00, but more than 100 of them remained open longer due to delays in opening. Elections officials said results might only arrive in the early hours of Tuesday.

Polls before the vote indicated that fewer than a quarter of residents of the western province support independence. At the same time, Mitch Sylvestre, leader of the separatist Alberta Prosperity Project, said his supporters hoped to win.

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Smith’s and Carney’s positions

Alberta’s conservative premier, Danielle Smith, said she herself was voting against independence but called the vote to settle an issue that has divided the province. According to her, if supporters of the federation win, the question of secession should be considered closed.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the vote one taking place “at the worst possible time” and urged Canadians to unite amid a trade war and annexation threats from US President Donald Trump. He also warned that even a non-binding vote for independence could cause significant economic uncertainty, citing the experience of Brexit.

Alberta has the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves. Some independence supporters criticize the sharing of oil revenues with the rest of Canada and federal government policy on oil extraction. The independence movement has also drawn the attention of Trump’s allies: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Alberta a “natural partner” of the United States, while Elon Musk wrote on social media platform X that the province “should secede.”