Symbolic imageAlbertans rejected separation in the nonbinding referendum held on Monday, 19 October. According to a CBC projection, about 76 percent of the more than one million votes counted backed staying in Canada, Al Jazeera reported.
Alberta, a western Canadian province with large oil and gas reserves, has a long-running separatist movement and tensions with the federal government in Ottawa. The referendum is nonbinding and asks voters whether to stay in Canada or to hold a second referendum on separation.
Voters in Alberta overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to begin a process toward independence, according to a CBC projection reported by The Guardian. With more than one million votes counted, about 76 percent backed remaining in Canada, Al Jazeera reported.
Albertans voted on Monday in a nonbinding referendum on staying in Canada or holding a second, binding independence vote. Polls pointed to defeat for the separatists, who say they will fight on.
Prime Minister Mark Carney was among the speakers at a rally in Calgary on Saturday calling for a united Canada and warning of the dangers of division, according to the New York Times. Bloomberg reports that support for Canada in Alberta is rising ahead of the separation referendum.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said the United States is trying to break Canada, according to The Hindu and Politika. Alberta holds a nonbinding referendum on Monday on whether to remain in Canada or hold a second referendum on separation, Telesur reports.