Alberta said no — 76 per cent of voters backed remaining in Canada

EDMONTON — Albertans decisively rejected the path toward a separation vote in Monday's referendum, with early unofficial returns showing about three in four voters choosing to remain in Canada over beginning the legal process toward a future binding referendum on separation.

With more than 1.5 million ballots counted, roughly 76 per cent backed the remain option and about 24 per cent backed starting the constitutional process toward separation, according to unofficial results from Elections Alberta reported by the Associated Press. The CBC called the result late Monday after a third of ballots had been tallied.

Question 10 — the separation question — is being counted first, by hand. An earlier Global News tally, with about 1.3 million votes counted as of 1 a.m. MT, put the remain side at 1,005,641 votes against 310,672 for the leave option.

Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the outcome in a statement Tuesday. "On October 19, Albertans made a clear choice. They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other. Above all, Albertans chose Canada," he said. Carney said the result would let Canadians move forward together and accelerate efforts to diversify trade, develop major infrastructure projects and build Canada into "a global energy powerhouse, with Alberta at its core."

Premier Danielle Smith, who called the referendum under pressure from separatists inside her United Conservative Party despite opposing independence herself, welcomed the early results. "Albertans have voted for a stronger Alberta in a united Canada," she posted on social media, adding that she would address the province Tuesday evening about the results and Alberta's future.

The margin was wider than months of polling suggested. Polling since January had consistently shown about 70 per cent of Albertans wanted the province to remain, and a January Ipsos poll found that while about three in 10 residents supported independence, only about half of those were truly committed when faced with the costs and consequences, according to a Global News analysis of the polling.

Separatist leader Keith Wilson cautioned the numbers could still shift, telling the AP it was fair to say "at least a quarter of Albertans feel that Alberta needs to be treated better." Thomas Lukaszuk, the former Alberta deputy premier who led the Forever Canadian campaign against separation, called it a victory for national unity: "We are a solid country that's united from coast to coast to coast."

What the vote settles — and what it doesn't

The result means Alberta will not begin the constitutional and legal process toward a binding referendum on separation. The Question 10 result is not binding, but Smith has said she expects everyone to accept the outcome and move on.

Votes on the other nine questions — covering immigration powers, voter ID rules and constitutional proposals including Senate abolition — were still being counted, with results expected by Wednesday. Smith has said she wants a yes on those questions to gain leverage in negotiations with Ottawa, while Carney has urged Albertans to reject them.

The referendum drew record turnout: more than 1.35 million advance and special ballots were cast before election day, up from about 810,000 in the 2023 provincial election, and Elections Alberta hired more than 48,000 workers to conduct the hand count around the clock.