The referendum results are not quite final, but it’s clear northern Albertans more strongly supported separation, especially rural voters.
Central Peace-Notley, which includes the towns of Fox Creek and Valleyview, saw the highest support for Option 2 — to hold a second, binding referendum on separation — at 50.4 per cent.
“Obviously there is some disillusionment, I think, with the federal government in this area,” said Robert Willing, reeve of the Municipal District of Peace, in the Peace River riding in northern Alberta. With all but one poll remaining, 42.5 per cent of voters there were on the separatist side.
“There seems to be a disconnect between the federal government and Alberta, especially with the oil and gas industry,” Willing said in an interview with CBC News.
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Ottawa’s previous reluctance to build a pipeline through Alberta to the West Coast was viewed as an attack on the province by some in the area, he said, and likely contributes to separatist feelings.
“I don’t think that the previous prime minister was at all interested in Alberta,” Willing said. “I think that Prime Minister [Mark] Carney is definitely taking the right steps.”
The proposed Pacific Link pipeline is helping Carney’s reputation in regions of Alberta reliant on oil and gas, he added.
What do the preliminary counts in Alberta’s referendum show so far?
In Grande Prairie, 450 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, support for separation sits at 37.5 per cent, while the rural riding surrounding the city, Grande Prairie-Wapiti, is at 46.9 per cent.
Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton said the count reflects how rural Albertans feel about the province’s relationship with Ottawa.
“I know there are, across Alberta, many people that are still upset with Ottawa and what has been done in the past about how Alberta has been treated,” Clayton said.
Robin Coward, the owner of Bullets and Broadheads Shooting Center in Grande Prairie, said he’s disappointed in the results of the referendum, but accepts them, because “Alberta has spoken.”
“To me, the results are basically Albertans saying, ‘we don’t want our votes to count federally anyway. We’re going to trust the Liberal government,’ and I just don’t believe that,” Coward said.
“That’s why we had a referendum in the first place. We feel like our voices don’t matter.”
Alberta should have more independence within Canada — like Quebec, Coward said.
“Our farmers, our cowboys, our oil workers — that’s a different society than anywhere else, and you can see that every time we have a federal election. I think there’s room for us to take some pages from Quebec’s playbook.”
Chief Sheldon Sunshine of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation said he isn’t surprised that Albertans voted to remain in Canada.
“I’ve said pretty much all along that [the referendum] was just a waste of time,” Sunshine said in an interview with CBC News. “We knew what the result was going to be.”
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The nation’s only polling place, in the community hall, showed the lowest support for separation in the Central Peace-Notley riding, with just seven of 289 voters choosing Option 2.
It was a record turnout for the nation in a provincial vote, Sunshine said, and mirrors high engagement in the referendum by First Nations across Alberta.
“We really encouraged our people to come out,” he said. “What I’m hearing all across First Nation lands is that we really stepped up, got out, and made sure we were heard.”
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“It was about defending our treaty, defending our way of life.”
In Alberta’s biggest cities, voters were much more likely to choose Option 1 to remain in Canada, with most ridings topping 80 per cent, and one, Edmonton-Strathcona, over 90.
As of publication, the Edmonton riding with the lowest support for remaining in Canada was Edmonton-West Henday, at 82.2 per cent. In Calgary, it was Calgary-South East, at 76.7.
Full referendum results are expected Wednesday night.
