Canada's oil-rich province of Alberta will proceed with a non-binding referendum in October on whether its residents want to remain part of Canada, a largely symbolic move that could still pose a major challenge for Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The ballot box question would not trigger separation, Premier Danielle Smith said, but would instead ask residents if the Alberta government should start the legal process to hold a binding referendum on independence at a later date.
"It's time to have a vote, understand the will of Albertans on this subject, and move on," Smith said in an evening televised address on Thursday.
It promises to be divisive not only within Alberta but more broadly in Canada, as Carney attempts to lead a united Canadian front in grappling with US tariffs and the renegotiation of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement in coming months.
"As we take note of Premier Smith's address this evening, we remain focused on building a stronger Canada for all, in full partnership with Alberta and to the benefit of all Albertans and all Canadians," Minister of Internal Trade Dominic Leblanc said.
The announcement comes after months of campaigning by a vocal group of separatists who want a referendum on leaving Canada, in spite of polling that has consistently shown separation is supported by only about one-third of the province's voters.
They were dealt a setback when a provincial court on May 13 ruled in favour of a First Nations bid to halt the referendum petition - a decision Smith promised to appeal.
Jeff Rath, a spokesman for Stay Free Alberta, criticised Smith's remarks, writing on social media that her question was "a referendum on having a referendum" and ignored Albertans who wanted to vote on independence.
BREAKING NEWS! @ABDanielleSmith deals a referendum question from the bottom of the deck.
— Jeffrey Rath (@JeffreyRWRath) May 22, 2026
To hell with 301,620 Albertans who were promised a vote on their question.
LETS HAVE A REFERENDUM ON HAVING A REFERENDUM.
DANIELLE SMITH JUST LOST HER BASE! pic.twitter.com/CuqJGzW1Pu
Smith, who has been accused by critics of fanning separatism by halving the number of signatures required to prompt a citizen-led referendum, said she unequivocally believed Alberta's position was in Canada and would cast her own vote to that effect.
"Now is not the time to give up hope in our country," she said, adding that her government had successfully lobbied Carney to roll back several of his predecessor's environmental measures.
Many Albertans had been angered by those policies, which they said undermined the province's oil and gas industry.
The question of national unity is highly sensitive in Canada, particularly after a referendum in Quebec in 1995 that only just failed to back independence for the province.
Separatists delivered a petition to Elections Alberta in May that they said had more than 300,000 signatures - more than enough to trigger a vote on leaving Canada under provincial law.
