‘We cannot go on fighting’<\/p>\n
As results became known late Monday night, people gathered at a pro-federalist gathering jumped out of their seats and cheered, chanting, “Canada! Canada!” <\/p>\n
Taking the stage at a Forever Canadian rally shortly before midnight, the group’s founder Thomas Lukaszuk said the results send a message to the rest of Canada that Alberta would not be the “weak link” in Confederation. <\/p>\n
“We Albertans are as proud to be Canadians as any other Canadian across the country,” he told the crowd.<\/p>\n
At the same time, Lukaszuk said it was important to not forget the contingent of Albertans who voted in the other direction, adding it would be important to develop a dialogue with pro-independence Albertans.<\/p>\n
“As Canadians, as Albertans, we cannot go on fighting with each other,” he said.<\/p>\n
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Forever Canadian founder Thomas Lukaszuk speaks at the pro Canada watch party in Edmonton on Oct. 19. (James Maclennan\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n
Polls have suggested<\/a> that numbers on the separation question have largely been baked-in for years, with the majority leaning toward remaining in Canada. <\/p>\n The independence question was added to the referendum ballot by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith earlier this year after she argued<\/a> having a vote was the proper way to respect the hundreds of thousands of Albertans who signed duelling citizen petitions.<\/p>\n But she has also been forced to grapple with a divide in her United Conservative Party. Polls have suggested<\/a> that a slight majority of UCP voters favoured the separation option as part of the referendum.<\/p>\n In a post on X, Smith wrote that she was “very pleased” to see the initial results from Elections Alberta showing “widespread support” for remaining in Canada.<\/p>\n “Albertans have voted for a stronger Alberta in a united Canada,” she wrote. “Thank you to all Albertans who took time to vote on these critically important referendum questions.”<\/p>\n Smith said she would address Albertans on Tuesday evening at 6:45 p.m. about the referendum results, and “where our province goes from here.”<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the premier said that should Albertans vote to remain in Canada, she would not hold<\/a> a second independence referendum as long as she was premier. <\/p>\n Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks at the Canada Strong and Free conference on Oct. 16. (Jeff McIntosh\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n In recent months, Smith has attempted to make the case for Confederation by championing what she has characterized<\/a> as improved relations with Canada, largely given a new approach from Prime Minister Mark Carney.<\/p>\n In a statement released on Tuesday morning, Carney wrote that the results on separation indicated that “Albertans and all Canadians will move forward together with renewed purpose and high ambition.”<\/p>\n “Canada is so much greater than the sum of its parts. Now it is our opportunity to take all that we have been given as Canadians \u2014 and we have been given the greatest country in the world \u2014 and make our country better for all of us,” Carney wrote.<\/p>\n Carney, in a stop in Alberta last week, suggested Albertans should vote \u201cNo to the Nine\u201d \u2014 referring to a prominent federalist advertising campaign that had urged Albertans to reject the nine ballot questions not concerned with separation.<\/p>\n Economic risks and sending a message<\/p>\n Over the course of the campaign, proponents for independence argued that Alberta has been mistreated for years by Ottawa and that the federal government\u2019s environmental policies stifled its oil and gas industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n Keith Wilson, one of the most prominent voices in the Alberta independence movement, said earlier Monday he was hoping for a strong turnout for the separatist side in order to \u201csend a message to Ottawa.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking after results were announced, Wilson said while final results are not yet known, it’s significant that around a quarter of Albertans feel that the province needs to be treated better in Confederation.<\/p>\n “Tonight concludes a campaign, but the conversation about Alberta’s future in Canada, and our place in Canada, and our role in Canada, will continue,” Wilson said.<\/p>\n Keith Wilson, co-leader of the pro-independence group Let Alberta Decide, speaks after results were released on Monday. (CBC News)<\/p>\n Federalists, meanwhile, warned that splitting Alberta from Canada would pose significant economic risks<\/a>.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s time to put the question of separation to rest and get to work building a stronger Alberta within a united Canada,” wrote Monte Solberg, founder of the pro-federalist campaign Vote to Stay, in a release.<\/p>\n The premier, who from the start said she\u2019d vote for Alberta to remain in Canada, has acknowledged that she has come to be regarded as \u201cpublic enemy number one\u201d amongst Alberta separatists, given her federalist stance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Many Albertans voted early<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792484291_74_default.jpg\")
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