Alberta support for Canada rises ahead of separation referendum
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People attend a Forever Canadian rally, ahead of a non-binding referendum on Alberta sovereignty, in Edmonton, Alberta, on Oct 16.
PHOTO: REUTERS
CALGARY, Alberta – Support for Alberta remaining in Canada gathered pace ahead of a referendum on whether the province should begin a legal process to separate from the country, according to a poll from Abacus Data.
The survey of 1,021 eligible voters, released on Oct 17, found 68% of Albertans would vote to remain in Canada, up from 64% last month. Support for beginning a legal process that could ultimately lead to separation was unchanged at 24%, while the share of undecided voters or those planning not to vote in the Oct 7 to 13 poll fell to 8% from 12%.
Albertans will decide on Oct 19 whether to remain a Canadian province or to set the stage for a second, binding vote on secession. At stake is the future of Canada’s largest oil-producing province, which pumps more than 4 million barrels a day, most of it for export to the US.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney urged Albertans to reject separation at a rally in Edmonton on Oct 16, warning that a vote against Canada would bring “years of deep uncertainty and lost opportunities”. An increasingly divided world makes national unity more important, he said.
Carney, who grew up in Alberta, also acknowledged longstanding grievances toward the federal government, saying frustrations over Ottawa’s treatment of the province’s resources and energy industry were “real”.
His government has made a number of policy moves to try address those tensions in the province of 5 million people, by easing restrictions on oil and gas development and promising to financially back a new oil pipeline, known as Pacific Link, capable of carrying 1 million barrels a day to the west coast for export to Asia.
Carney on Oct 16 cast the pipeline as part of the case for remaining in Canada, saying it would help reduce Alberta’s dependence on the US, open new export markets and generate more than 140,000 jobs.
“Canada is where we can build bigger, faster, and better than we ever could alone,” he said. “Don’t let anyone tell you this is already decided. Turnout will determine the outcome.” BLOOMBERG