Fewer than one in four Albertans are in favour of outright sovereignty

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There have been plenty of discussions about Alberta sovereignty, and while some may be in favour, the majority of Albertans aren’t interested.

A new study from Research Co. says fewer than one in four Albertans are on board with the idea.

Only 23% of people in Alberta were in favour of sovereignty, which is down two points from the same type of poll in early 2021. Meanwhile, 70% of Albertans are downright opposed to the idea of the province becoming independent from Canada.

If we brought our neighbours to the east along for the ride, the number goes up 1% to 24%. The support doesn’t change from that if Manitoba comes along as well.

The idea of a WEXIT with BC, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan joining Alberta has 30% support in the province with 61% opposed.

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So the idea of Alberta sovereignty seems like a pretty strong no.

What if we just slid our allegiance to the south and joined the States? Also, no. A total of 73% of Albertans are opposed to the idea of becoming state number 51. The number in favour is 21%, which does go up to 26% if you just look at ages 18-34.

In the event that things went down and people wanted to leave, half of those polled would head west for BC. Saskatchewan was a distant second at 11%

In terms of how people in the province view themselves, Research Co-president Mario Canseco was caught off guard by the numbers.

“There is a remarkable political divide when Albertans ponder their allegiance to province and country,” says Canseco. “While only 17% of those who voted for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the last provincial election say they are Albertans first, the proportion rises to 45% among those who supported the United Conservative Party (UCP).”

Overall 61% of Albertans view themselves as Canadian first, while 28% said they are Albertan first.

Other findings of the survey say Ralph Klein got the most votes for our province’s best premier at 37% while outgoing Premier Jason Kenney got the nod for worst recent premier at 40%.