A view of the Syncrude refinery at its Mildred Lake facility, which has a capacity of bitumen conversion to synthetic crude oil of 350,000 barrels per day, in the Wood Buffalo municipality of Alberta, Canada, on May 5, 2026.<\/p>\n
Daphne Lemelin | Afp | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has announced<\/a> plans for the oil-rich province to hold a non-binding vote in the fall on whether its residents wish to remain a part of Canada \u2014 or move ahead with a second binding vote on separation. <\/p>\n The move marks the first time in Canadian history that a province other than Quebec<\/a> has put the question of separation to the public and comes after months of campaigning from a group of separatists.<\/p>\n Speaking during a televised address on Thursday evening, Alberta’s Smith said she supports the province remaining in Canada and would vote as such in a provincial referendum.<\/p>\n “However, despite my personal support for remaining in Canada, I’m deeply troubled by an erroneous court decision that interferes with the democratic rights of hundreds of thousands of Albertans,” Smith said.<\/p>\n An Alberta judge had previously<\/a> thrown out a petition seeking for the province to separate from Canada. <\/p>\n Backers of the citizen-led group Stay Free Alberta said<\/a> that they’d collected more than 301,000 signatures in support of their campaign, which is partly driven by the view that the province has long been overlooked by decision-makers in Ottawa. <\/p>\n Opinion polls indicate<\/a> that separatism in Alberta lacks broad appeal, however. A separate petition calling for the province to stay in Canada says<\/a> it has gathered more than 404,000 signatures.<\/p>\n Danielle Smith, Alberta’s premier, speaks during the Alberta Next: Energy event in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on Thursday, May 21, 2026.<\/p>\n Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images<\/p>\n “Kicking the can down the road only prolongs a very emotional and important debate, and muzzling the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans wanting to be heard is unjustifiable in a free and democratic society,” Smith said. <\/p>\n “It’s time to have a vote, understand the will of Albertans on this subject, and move on,” she added. <\/p>\n The provincial vote, which is scheduled to take place on Oct. 19, will put the following question to Albertans: “Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?” <\/p>\n Alberta is Canada’s fourth most-populous province, with an estimated population of around 5 million people. <\/p>\n The province is well-known for its oil sands, which contribute significantly to Alberta and Canada’s economy. <\/p>\n Alberta’s oil sands’ proven reserves are equal to approximately<\/a> 158.9 billion barrels of oil, which means the province has the fourth-largest such reserves in the world, after Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Iran.<\/p>\n