Alberta's decisive decision to stay in Canada gives Carney backing to take on Trump

Voters in Alberta have decisively rejected leaving Canada, with preliminary results showing more than two-thirds choosing to stay. The outcome strengthens Prime Minister Mark Carney as he tries to steer the country through a trade fight with the United States, since the oil-rich province is central to his plans to diversify trade and expand the economy. Carney, who grew up in Alberta, said Albertans had chosen unity and mutual care. Thomas Lukaszuk, a former lawmaker whose Forever Canadian campaign helped drive the result, told supporters in Edmonton the outcome would send a strong message abroad, apparently aimed at Trump, who has repeatedly floated making Canada the 51st state, according to BBC.

The separatist side drew scrutiny after some of its leading voices conceded they met State Department officials in Washington on three occasions during the previous year, pitching what an independent Alberta might provide, including a pipeline crossing U. S. territory to the Pacific. Carney, who has worked closely with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on a west coast pipeline, got his loudest applause at a rally when he said that project would cut reliance on the U. S.

Summarized by PolitiKool from BBC’s reporting. Read the full story at BBC →