Central Alberta split on Alberta separation referendum results
Province-wide, Albertans voted to remain in Canada by a wide margin, but several central Alberta ridings showed much tighter results.
Why it matters
The close results in some central Alberta ridings show support for separation is stronger in parts of the region than the provincial outcome suggests.
Alberta's referendum on separation concluded with more than 1.4 million votes to keep the province in Canada, compared to over 470,000 votes in favour of holding a binding referendum on separation, according to early results reported Tuesday morning.
Central Alberta ridings showed a mixed pattern. In Red Deer-North, 14,927 of 21,388 voters chose to stay in Canada, while in Red Deer-South, 18,224 of 25,868 voters did the same. Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, Lacombe-Ponoka, Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills all also favoured remaining in Canada by wider margins.
Two ridings were far closer. In Drumheller-Stettler, 9,643 voted to stay in Canada versus 9,068 for a binding separation referendum. In Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, the vote actually tipped the other way, with 12,568 supporting a binding referendum compared to 12,120 for staying in Canada, out of 24,688 votes cast.
Vote counts in several districts were still being finalized at the time of reporting. Results for the other nine referendum questions on the ballot are available through Elections Alberta.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.