From Fortune · Rob Gillies · · 2m
Alberta votes on first step toward leaving Canada
Canada's oil-rich province holds a referendum Monday on whether to begin the legal process of separation, driven by pandemic anger and energy disputes.
In brief
Canada's oil-rich province holds a referendum Monday on whether to begin the legal process of separation, driven by pandemic anger and energy disputes. Alberta voters decide Monday whether to start a legal separation process from Canada, with support for leaving rising from historic lows to around twenty-three…
Alberta votes on separation Monday
On October 19, voters in Canada's oil heartland will decide whether to begin the legal process toward a future referendum on leaving the country.
The province's oil wealth and exports
Alberta holds the world's fourth-largest proven oil reserves and sends roughly ninety percent of its crude oil exports to the United States.
Support for separation is rising
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who called the vote but supports remaining in Canada, said support for starting the separation process was around twenty-three percent in a recent poll.
Decades of federal energy disputes
Alberta has long feuded with the federal government over oil and federal power. Liberal prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and Justin Trudeau became deeply unpopular over energy policy.
Pandemic and convoy sparked separatism
The two thousand twenty-two Freedom Convoy and pandemic restrictions supercharged separatism. Former Premier Jason Kenney said separatist parties drew only one or two percent of votes before.
“They needed a new cause. And it naturally morphed into separatism.”
Independence leader's breaking point
Jeff Rath, a leader of the independence movement, said federal vaccine rules preventing unvaccinated Canadians from flying were his breaking point over COVID restrictions.
“If Trudeau won't let me leave Alberta, I'm just going to pick up my whole province and go.”
Mark Carney's energy-friendly approach
Prime Minister Mark Carney has made getting Alberta oil to new markets a national priority and backs a proposed pipeline to the West Coast, making him unusually popular in conservative Alberta.
Separatists meet with U.S. officials
Alberta independence advocates met with U.S. State Department officials three times and presented a document outlining what an independent Alberta could offer the United States.
Separatists see leverage in the vote
Keith Wilson, an Alberta independence leader, said separatists see the vote as a way to give Alberta more leverage in dealing with Ottawa, even short of independence.
“That's right, because it's called leverage. It's called negotiation.”
What it means
Alberta voters decide Monday whether to start a legal separation process from Canada, with support for leaving rising from historic lows to around twenty-three percent.
