Alberta holds nonbinding vote on remaining in Canada

Alberta held a nonbinding referendum on October 19 asking voters whether the province should remain in Canada, in the first provincial separation vote outside Quebec. No results were available in the supplied reporting; polls were scheduled to close at 8 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time, with results expected as they arrived. The vote followed years of separatist sentiment and months of pressure on Premier Danielle Smith from a small but vocal group within her governing United Conservative Party. Smith called the referendum and has urged Albertans to remain in Canada. She said a majority vote for separation would lead her to seek a binding referendum, a further step that has not been authorized by the current vote. Polling indicated most voters opposed leaving Canada. An Angus Reid poll released Friday found that 66% of Albertans planned to vote to remain. That figure reflects intended votes, not the referendum result. The vote is nonbinding and does not itself separate Alberta from Canada. The campaign has been driven largely by economic grievances, according to the reporting. Separatists have argued that federal policies constrain Alberta’s oil industry and that the province...