Carney urges Alberta to stay in Canada before Monday vote

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney urged Albertans to remain in Canada at a rally in Calgary on Thursday, ahead of a Monday vote on whether to begin legal procedures for a possible future separation referendum. The ballot will not decide whether Alberta becomes independent; it asks voters whether the province should remain in Canada or instruct the government to start that process. Carney warned that the vote came at a time of heightened international tension. In a passage that did not explicitly name the United States, he said that some forces outside Canada were seeking to break the country apart to gain control of it. He has referred directly to the United States in other speeches, and his remarks came amid trade tensions and repeated statements by U.S. President Donald Trump about making Canada the 51st state. Carney urged voters not to use the ballot merely to send a message to the federal government, arguing that the result could shape the separation question for years. He also acknowledged that many Albertans have genuine grievances, including a sense that decisions in Ottawa have limited provincial control over natural resources and energy policy. The rally, held at...