Canada PM warns 'stakes are high' as Alberta separation vote nears

Canada PM warns 'stakes are high' as Alberta separation vote nears

The prime minister will spend the next two days in Alberta making the case for unity before Monday's separation referendum.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has called on Albertans to vote to stay in Canada ahead of Monday's independence referendum, saying the "stakes are high".

At a pro-unity rally in Calgary on Thursday, Carney said the referendum is happening "at the worst possible time" and urged voters to produce a "decisive result" against separation.

More than 450,000 Albertans have already cast ballots early or by mail on a question asking whether they want the province to remain in Canada, or begin the process of holding a binding referendum on separation.

Campaigners on both sides are making their final appeals, although polls suggest most Albertans support staying in Canada.

Even so, Carney said Albertans should not assume the outcome is settled based on polling alone.

"Turnout will determine the outcome," he told a crowd of more than 7,000 in Calgary.

Thursday's rally is one of two consecutive pro-unity events the prime minister is due to attend in Alberta, with another scheduled for tomorrow in Edmonton, his hometown.

Earlier in the day, Carney visited several businesses in Calgary and spoke with pro-unity volunteers as part of a get-out-the-vote effort.

The 19 October referendum was called earlier this year by provincial premier Danielle Smith after a grassroots group collected around 300,000 petition signatures calling for a binding referendum on separation.

Smith, a Conservative whose political base includes independence supporters, has argued for Alberta to stay in Canada but has said the referendum is an opportunity to hear directly from Albertans on the issue.

Supporters of separation say the oil-rich, landlocked province has been ignored by federal politicians in Ottawa despite the wealth it contributes to Canada.

They argue that successive Liberal governments over the past 10 years have prioritized environmental policies over helping Alberta expand its oil and gas sector, and that Alberta would retain more of its wealth if it left Canada.

Polls indicate that most Albertans would vote to remain in Canada.

Opponents of separation say a newly independent Alberta would be left with responsibility for billions of dollars in debt, and warn that the uncertainty would push thousands of jobs and investment out of the province.

Some, including Prime Minister Carney, have compared the Alberta referendum to "Brexit", when the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016, warning that a vote to leave could bring unintended economic consequences.

In his speech on Thursday, Carney said that "the frustrations that many Albertans have felt are real".

But he added that his government is prepared to support Alberta and its energy industry.

In the weeks before the referendum, Carney announced plans to fast-track approval of a new oil pipeline from Alberta to Canada's Pacific coast.

He has called the project "a demonstration of the power of Canada" and said it would help the country diversify its markets as it faces US tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.

Premier Smith is due to speak at a separate pro-unity event in Calgary on Friday alongside Conservative opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, who has also backed Alberta remaining in Canada.

Meanwhile, supporters of Alberta separation are planning a rally in Edmonton on Saturday in their own last-minute effort to mobilize voters.

Early figures point to a strong turnout, with the number of ballots already cast higher than in Alberta's last provincial general election.