Alberta’s referendum to begin the process of seceding from Canada failed by a wide margin on Monday, keeping Canada’s oil wealth intact and delivering a major political win to Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Residents of Alberta voted against secession by a margin of 76 percent to 23 percent, with some vote counting still underway. If the motion had passed, a second vote would have been held before commencing the secession process.
“Albertans chose Canada. All Canadians will move forward together with renewed purpose and high ambition,” Carney said in a statement applauding the vote.
Thomas Lukaszuk, a former lawmaker who heads the anti-secession Forever Canadian organization, portrayed the vote as a rebuke to President Donald Trump, who has spoken of annexing Canada.
“Canada is not up for grabs,” Lukaszuk told a crowd of cheering supporters when the results of the vote were announced. “We are a solid country that’s united from coast to coast to coast and we stick up for each other.”
Trump made his latest humorous bid to take over Canada at a rally in Kansas on Monday.
“I promise them, if they become a 51st state … I said, ‘I will let you keep ice hockey, and I will let you keep your O Canada national anthem.’ They can have it as a state anthem,” he said.
