The government of the Canadian province of Alberta will add to the referendum scheduled for autumn the question of whether the region should remain part of Canada or begin the legal process of voting on secession. This is reported by the Canadian broadcaster CBC.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a May 21 address that the referendum will not result in the province seceding from Canada. But if Alberta residents vote in favour, it will help the provincial government understand the direction in which citizens want to move.
The head of the Alberta government said she is in favour of the province remaining part of Canada, which is how she intends to vote in the referendum.
The vote is scheduled for 19 October.
Financial Times sources reported in January that representatives of US President Donald Trump’s administration met several times with representatives of the Alberta Prosperity Project, a separatist movement that favours Alberta’s independence.
Trump has suggested several times that Canada should become the 51st state of the United States. In response, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that “Canada will never be part of America in any way, shape or form.”
The province of Alberta will hold a referendum on secession from Canada