A quarter of Albertans would vote to leave Canadian confederacy: poll

Should Alberta leave Canada?

That’s the question that was raised by Abacus Data in a recent survey of 1,500 Canadians, and while no one province saw a majority of respondents casting a hypothetical vote in favour of ditching the confederacy, there were a few that were a little more eager than others.

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Unsurprisingly, Quebec saw the highest percentage of would-be separatists as a result of the survey, with 28% of Quebecois respondents stating that their province should separate from Canada.

Quebec has previously seen two actual referendums on the issue, one failing at 40% and another at 49%, so separatist sentiments from Quebec are nothing new.

However, Alberta has apparently joined in on the kick-Canada-to-the-curb idea, as a full quarter (25%) of Albertan respondents would like to see their province leave the country.

Abacus Data

Alberta was followed by Saskatchewan, where 18% of respondents thought similarily. Contrast that to the national average of 14% in favour of leaving, and just 5% in Atlantic provinces, 10% in BC, and 6% in Ontario.

In Alberta, respondents were more likely to back separatism if they had voted for the UCP in the most recent provincial election, and if they intended to vote for the Conservative Party of Canada in the upcoming federal election.

Abacus Data

While Quebecois and Albertan separatists may have similar views when it comes to whether or not their respective province should leave Canada, that’s apparently where the similarities stop.

According to the study, separatist respondents in the two provinces had wildly different views when asked about climate change, immigration, and government regulations.

While the views of Quebec separatists generally aligned with the sentiments of Canadian respondents as a whole, the separatists in Alberta were much more likely to believe that there’s nothing that can be done about climate change (or that it’s a straight-up hoax), that immigrants are a burden on the country, and that governmental regulation of business does more harm than good.

Abacus Data

Only 6% of Quebecois respondents stated that they’d like to see their province join the United States if given the option (aligning with the fraction of Canadians as a whole who felt similarily), though a total of 17% of Albertan respondents would apparently jump at the chance at becoming part of the US.

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