Edmonton, 16 October. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking at a rally for national unity, urged Albertans to reject separation in the vote on 19 October, saying that "there are some outside our borders who are working to break us" (Anadolu, Kazinform).
Voters in the province will decide whether Alberta should remain in Canada or hold a second, binding referendum on separation; a declaration of independence is not on the ballot (Anadolu, Kazinform). The question is one of ten on the ballot: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith added it in May after independence supporters collected about 300,000 signatures; she herself opposes separation (Kazinform).
"Turnout will decide this referendum because polls don't vote; only people vote," Carney said; he also said the Pacific Link pipeline to the Pacific coast would reduce Canada's dependence on the United States (Anadolu). According to polls cited by Kazinform, about 70% of the province's residents oppose separation and roughly a quarter support it (Kazinform).
Background: Alberta accounts for about 80% of Canada's oil output; last year crude exports earned the country 142 billion Canadian dollars, and most of the province's oil goes to refineries in the United States. About 4.5 million of Canada's almost 42 million people live in Alberta. A study commissioned by the provincial government put the cost of separation at 50–170 billion Canadian dollars a year for the first five years (Kazinform).
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