She also put nine other questions to Albertans on Monday, most that seek to give the province more autonomy from Ottawa, including on matters like immigration.
The (very) preliminary results suggest that many might pass.
Some who voted in favour of a second binding separation referendum have said they didn’t want outright independence, but some leverage over Ottawa. Smith has said these other nine questions help give her just that.
Quebec, another province with similar sovereigntist sentiments, could offer clues on where Alberta’s separation movement might end up.
They held two separation referendums, in 1980 and 1995, both of which were defeated by a close margin.
Alberta independence supporters don’t hide the fact that they gain inspiration from the majority French-speaking province.
They view Quebec as having successfully used the threat of separation to gain significantly more autonomy over provincial affairs.
And despite support for Quebec sovereignty being at historic lows, a newly elected provincial government has pledged to hold a third referendum on independence by 2030.
Rath made a note of that as he pondered his side’s defeat.
“A predominantly rural Independence Party in Quebec has just formed the government of Quebec with 28% of the vote,” he said.
“It’s not out of the realm of possibility”, he added, that Alberta separatists could do the same in the future.
