Support for Alberta’s separation from Canada is on the rise, with 36% of residents in favor, according to a new poll. Some are now pushing to make the province the 51st U.S. state.
The election of liberal Mark Carney as Canada’s prime minister last week has increased pressure from some Albertans to make the move. They cite federal restrictions they believe are holding the oil-rich region back.
Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith, has proposed a referendum on independence for 2026 if a citizen petition gathers signatures from at least 10% of eligible voters.
Smith is not personally in favor of the move, but has said that if Ottawa continues to attack the province as it has over the last decade, “ultimately that will be for Albertans to decide.”
Alberta is a province of Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, the Northwest Territories to its north, and the U.S. state of Montana to its south. Alberta and Saskatchewan are the only two landlocked Canadian provinces. The eastern part of the province is occupied by the Great Plains, while the western part borders the Rocky Mountains. The province has a predominantly continental climate, but seasonal temperatures tend to swing rapidly because it is so arid. Those swings are less pronounced in western Alberta because of its occasional Chinook winds.
