Por primera vez, la provincia canadiense de Alberta, rica en petróleo, somete a un referendo no vinculante la cuestión de la posible separación de Canadá. Más de 1,35 millones de habitantes, un 43% de los ciudadanos con derecho a voto, han emitido su sufragio de forma anticipada. Si bien los sondeos muestran que apenas una cuarta parte de los albertanos apoyan la independencia, el movimiento celebra haber instalado un debate que se prolongaría más allá de esta elección.
A pocas semanas de las elecciones de mitad de legislatura, los demócratas intentan ganarse a los electores latinoamericanos, algunos de los cuales votaron por Donald Trump en 2024. En Phoenix (Arizona) y sus alrededores, las dificultades económicas y el miedo a los desahucios lastran el día a día de esta comunidad, que representa más de un tercio de la población.
OTTAWA: Residents of Alberta began voting Monday in a non-binding referendum that will determine whether the western-Canadian province should pursue separation from Canada.
The vote comes at a time when the province is mourning the deaths of four soldiers, while dozens of others were injured from a fast-moving fire that burned through a military base in Alberta.
While the results of a poll involving 1,021 respondents released by Abacus Data on Saturday showed that 74% of decided voters favor Alberta remaining within the Canadian Confederation, the independence issue won’t disappear for the nearly 30% who want Alberta’s government to begin the process to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether Alberta should separate from Canada, according to veteran separatist organizer Cory Morgan, who leads a group called Pathway to Independence.
"It will say that about one in three Albertans have had it," Morgan told Fox News Digital. "There is a big rift within Alberta and if things don’t change, it will be a growing faction in this province — so this vote is an important one."
About 3 million Albertans are eligible to vote in the referendum.
Another recent Abacus poll found that 61% of the 1,021 eligible voters surveyed expect Albertans will vote again on separation, even if most choose to remain in Canada.
On Friday, the Angus Reid Institute released the results of its poll that found 62% of 1,010 Albertans surveyed believe "there will never be an end to the separatist movement" in the province.
Morgan, who led the short-lived Alberta Independence Party from 2000 to 2001, said that while "a vocal minority" within the separatist movement favor Alberta becoming the 51st state, most pro-independence Albertans "don’t want to become a small fish in an even bigger pond." He added that "Albertans in general are not too thrilled with President Trump right now and that makes them less inclined to leave the federation."
At a "Forever Canadian" rally on Friday in Edmonton, where he was raised, Prime Minister Mark Carney told a crowd of over 5,000 people that "this referendum comes at the worst possible time." He said that "the world is becoming more dangerous and divided [and] some outside our borders are working to break us so they can own us," making an indirect reference to Trump’s trade war against and annexation talk about Canada.
Alberta-born and raised, 55-year-old Morgan said that his home province is "politically and culturally different" than eastern Canada. "There’s a lot more focus on individual freedoms and property rights," he noted, acknowledging that those values are traditionally viewed as American.
"Most Albertans are going to feel much more comfortable sitting down for a beer with people from Great Falls, Montana, than they would in Ottawa," said Morgan. He explained that when Alberta became a Canadian province in 1905, its population grew largely from a migration of Montanans, and when oil was discovered in the 1940s, U.S. companies Chevron and Mobil helped develop what became Alberta’s biggest industry.
Also, earlier this year during an appearance on Real America’s Voice at Davos, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described Alberta as "a natural partner for the U.S." and described Albertans as "very independent people."
In response, Carney said that he "expect[ed] the U.S. administration to respect Canadian sovereignty."
Earlier this month, The Globe and Mail reported that Alberta separatist leaders met with Republican strategists in Calgary in January to look at software designed to identify and mobilize supporters. Separatist leaders also reportedly suggested exchanging water and oil for U.S. support when they met with State Department officials in Washington last year.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told CBC News that if most Albertans support staying in Canada, she would not hold another referendum on the matter as long as she heads the provincial government.
However, on Oct. 18, 2027, residents of the province will vote again in a general election, and Smith could be out of her job by then, warned Morgan, a founding member of the former conservative Wildrose Party, for which Smith served as leader.
That party merged with the then-Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta in 2020 to form the United Conservative Party (UCP) that Smith heads. But Morgan explained that more than half of the UCP’s nearly 55,000 members support Alberta’s independence. The premier has said that she will vote to keep the province in Canada.
Angus Reid, founder and chairman of the Angus Reid Institute, told Fox News Digital that in his firm’s recent polling, 67% of the 293 UCP voters who support a future binding referendum on separation said that they would either "definitely support" or "consider" supporting the creation of a separatist provincial political party – not unlike the Parti Québécois, which won the recent election in Quebec.
The emergence of an independence party in Alberta "would probably spell the death of the UCP since it is so badly divided between separatists and non-separatists, and it would likely end the career of Danielle Smith because of the amount of breakage in her party," said Reid, whose firm’s survey found that 60% of the respondents who support a future binding referendum are "more likely sending a message to Ottawa" about the Canadian government’s often fractious relationship with Alberta.
"Separatist types are looking at how much leverage Quebec has been able to achieve in Canada as a result of its threats of exiting, and saying ‘Hold it, we can play that game too,’" explained Reid.
As of Saturday, more than 1.2 million Albertans had cast a ballot on the referendum, which, in addition to the question on separation, has nine others, five focusing on immigration, such as one asking voters whether their province should take more control "for the purposes of decreasing immigration to more sustainable levels, prioritizing economic migration and giving Albertans first priority on new employment opportunities."
Several Manitoba politicians are offering their condolences to those who were killed and seriously injured at Canadian Forces Base in Wainwright on Saturday.
Several Manitoba politicians are offering their condolences to those who were killed and seriously injured at Canadian Forces Base in Wainwright on Saturday.
O incêndio deflagrou durante um exercício de treino na base militar de Wainwright. Dezanove feridos estão em estado crítico e as autoridades estão a investigar as causas do incidente
The Parti Québécois, which advocates for the independence of the French-speaking province, has won the elections in Quebec but failed to secure a clear majority to govern alone. The party returns to power for the first time since 2014, and the outcome poses a significant political challenge for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. With over […]
Ontario government inspectors checked several career colleges that had experienced "concerning" growth in applications for the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), a government financial aid program that helps eligible students pay for post-secondary education. The investigators found problems that raised "serious concerns" at three Academy of Learning institutions, like signs that other people might have been doing students' schoolwork for them—for example, some students finished whole courses in a single day, or even just minutes. A few students could not even name their school or program of study. The inspectors also found shared computer logins from many different locations and said the schools could not prove that OSAP-funded students were really taking the classes they claimed to be enrolled in. These three locations took in more than $219 million in student aid money for about 14,800 students in one year, so the province decided to stop letting new students use that aid at the schools. The colleges deny most of the claims and are fighting the decision in court.
Voters to be asked whether province should remain part of Canada or hold a second, binding independence vote
Albertans are going to the polls to decide their place in Canada, in a referendum that has exposed deep divisions within the province, not least in the separatist movement itself.
On Monday, voters will respond to the question of whether Alberta should remain in Canada, or hold a second, binding independence referendum.
El presidente estadounidense, Donald Trump, aseguró que busca evitar medidas que alejen a Rusia de las negociaciones para poner fin a la guerra en Ucrania. Marco Rubio dijo que el mandatario se tomará hasta 60 días para evaluar las sanciones, mientras Volodímir Zelenski confirmó que Washington reanudó el intercambio de inteligencia con Kiev.
El primer ministro canadiense, Mark Carney, explicó que un "incendio violento que se propagó rápidamente" provocó "una de las peores tragedias" sufridas por las Fuerzas Armadas canadienses en su territorio.
Canadian officials said Sunday that four service members were killed and dozens more injured after a fast-moving fire swept through soldiers conducting live-fire training at a military base in Alberta.
The deadly fire erupted Saturday at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, where a sudden shift in powerful winds sent flames sweeping toward troops training in the area, according to The Associated Press.
Officials said 39 people were hospitalized, including 19 in critical condition. Eight others were listed as stable, while 12 were being treated for less serious injuries.
Maj. Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of the Edmonton-based 1st Canadian Division, said military officials had been aware of the fire for hours but believed it was contained enough for training to continue, AP reported.
"The fire was a kilometer away when the wind shifted. That is not normal for a fire to move a kilometer in 36 seconds," Rutland said.
Investigators have not yet determined what sparked the fire.
Those killed were identified by the military as Sgt. Morgan Wong and Privates Shaun Farrell, Aidan Goulding and Hayden Lykkemark, AP reported.
Wong was a member of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, while the three others belonged to the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. All four were serving with the Edmonton-based battalion.
Prime Minister Mark Carney called the blaze one of the worst peacetime tragedies to strike Canada's armed forces on home soil, according to Reuters.
"I cannot recall such an incident in my short time for sure as a minister, but I cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory," Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty told reporters.
The 39 injured people were being treated at hospitals in Wainwright, Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary.
Air ambulances from Edmonton and Saskatoon were also sent to the base Saturday to help transport patients.
Several hospitals across Alberta activated a "Code Orange," an emergency designation used for mass-casualty incidents, as medical personnel prepared to treat the wounded.
Military and civilian firefighters battled the flames through the night as intense winds fueled the fire.
The fire crossed the base perimeter into the surrounding area, but officials said no evacuation orders were issued. By Sunday, local authorities said the blaze was not expected to spread beyond its existing boundaries.
Un segmento en el que el presentador Félix Contreras condenaba los ataques contra la comunidad inmigrante latinoamericana desapareció durante varios días de la versión de YouTube del ‘Tiny Desk’ de la banda mexicana los Tigres del Norte en NPR Music, la rama musical de la radio pública estadounidense. Luego de días de presión y protestas, ha sido restituido, tras una supuesta “revisión editorial”.
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