‘Just the first battle’: Alberta separatists say referendum result won’t end movement

EDMONTON – Some separatists who rallied in Alberta’s capital on the final weekend before a historic vote on the province’s place in Confederation insisted their gathering was no last hurrah.

Alberta’s separation movement will continue, they said, despite early polls indicating massive support for the province staying in Canada.

“I don’t listen to what polls say … This battle doesn’t stop,” said Madison Holmes, a 23-year-old from Calgary, during the rally on Saturday outside the provincial legislature in Edmonton.

“The cat’s out of the bag when it comes to independence,” said her 22-year-old sister, Maycee.

The sisters, each wearing the $200 pro-independence shirts they’ve been selling online since Premier Danielle Smith announced in May the vote on separation, said they’ve already cast their votes to leave and so have the dozens who braved the chilly weather to wave the Alberta flag at Saturday’s gathering.

“Most of these people don’t believe this stops because this is not a political whim,” said Madison. “This is a fight for our future.”

A few counter protesters wearing red hats and shirts and holding Canadian flags attended the rally.

On Monday, voters go to the polls to decide if Alberta should stay in Canada or if it’s time for a second, binding referendum on whether to leave the country. The results on the separation question are set to trickle in the next day.

On Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney wrapped up a two-day barnstorming tour of the province. 

During speeches in Edmonton and Calgary, he called the separatist sentiment a dangerous bluff and pointed to his government’s plan to fast-track an oil pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. coast as proof that a united Canada can still get things done.

Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has also spoken multiple times in recent days for a united Canada in front of his party supporters.

A unity rally is scheduled for Sunday also at the Edmonton legislature.

Smith, who announced this week she has cast her vote to stay, has defended the referendum.

She has said it is necessary because frustration with Ottawa has reached a boiling point among some Albertans, and a vote would finally put the question of independence to rest.

Critics, however, have said Smith isn’t resolving a broad-based existential debate and has validated latent fringe separatist sentiment, rolling the dice on the future of the country to appease hardliners in her United Conservative Party.

Jeffrey Rath, one of the leading figures of the separatist movement in Alberta, said Saturday he won’t be disappointed if his side doesn’t see a majority after Monday’s vote.

“It doesn’t matter what we get at this point if we have people voting for independence,” he said during the rally.

“This is just the first battle.”

He said that Smith has betrayed her party members who have supported her and efforts to replace her will get underway after Tuesday’s vote.

“We’re Albertans. We roll up our sleeves and we work harder,” he said.

“It’s time that we have a leader that respects the wishes of their members … A lot of us feel Danielle Smith needs to go. Once we get her replaced, we’ll keep moving forward toward an independent Alberta.”

Aside from the 10th question on separation, Smith has put nine other questions on the referendum ballot.

Those nine ask whether her government should take more control and impose new rules on immigration, and pursue constitutional changes that take power away from Ottawa. Smith has said she needs that mandate to negotiate a better deal with Ottawa.

Saturday was the final day for advance voting in the referendum.

Elections Alberta said over one million had voted already.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2026.