How Alberta separatism went from fringe cause to referendum

EDMONTON, Alberta -- For decades, Alberta separatism was a fringe cause. On Monday, voters in Canada’s oil heartland will decide whether to take the first step toward a referendum on leaving the country.Alberta, home to the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, is not voting to leave Canada on Oct. 19. Instead, voters will decide whether the province should remain in Canada or begin the legal process toward a future referendum on separation.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who called the vote but supports remaining in Canada, has said that support for starting the separation process, which was around 23% in a recent poll, is “still too high for my liking.”Alberta has long feuded with the federal government over oil and federal power. Liberal prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and, decades later, his son Justin became deeply unpopular in the province over energy policy. Justin Trudeau’s government imposed a national carbon tax and other climate measures that Alberta leaders said hurt its oil industry. Yet separatist parties typically drew only 1% or 2% of the vote, former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said.Then came the pandemic and the Freedom Convoy, which paralyzed parts of Ottaw...