Alberta voters reject a move toward independence in referendum backing Canadian unity

EDMONTON, Alberta — Voters in oil-rich Alberta province overwhelmingly backed remaining in Canada, according to referendum results released Tuesday, delivering a boost to Prime Minister Mark Carney's push for national unity as U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and annexation threats rally Canadians around their country.

艾伯塔省埃德蒙顿——周二公布的公投结果显示，石油资源丰富的艾伯塔省选民以压倒性多数支持留在加拿大，在美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的贸易战和吞并威胁将加拿大人团结起来之际，这为总理马克·卡尼推动民族团结提供了动力。

With more than 1.8 million votes counted and results reported from 84% of voting areas and locations, 75% of voters supported remaining in Canada, while 25% backed beginning a process toward separation, according to unofficial results from Elections Alberta.

根据艾伯塔省选举局的非官方结果，超过 180 万张选票已清点，84% 的投票区和地点报告了结果，75% 的选民支持留在加拿大，而 25% 的选民支持开始分离进程。

The referendum was not a direct vote on independence.

这次公投并不是对独立的直接投票。

Approval would have set Alberta on a path toward a future vote on separation from Canada.

如果获得批准，艾伯塔省将走上未来就与加拿大分离的投票之路。

"It's a great result for Canada that Albertans have chosen unity," Carney told reporters Tuesday before a Cabinet meeting in Ottawa.

卡尼周二在渥太华举行的内阁会议前对记者表示：“阿尔伯塔人选择团结，这对加拿大来说是一个伟大的结果。”

Carney said that the roughly one-quarter of Albertans who voted to begin the separation process did not necessarily want independence, saying only a smaller "hard core" group may actually want to leave Canada.

卡尼表示，投票开始分离进程的艾伯塔省人中约有四分之一并不一定想要独立，并表示只有较小的“核心”群体可能真正想离开加拿大。

Some voters said they supported another referendum to express frustration with Ottawa rather than a desire to leave Canada.

一些选民表示，他们支持再次举行公投，以表达对渥太华的不满，而不是离开加拿大的愿望。

"The result is absolutely clear.

“结果是绝对清楚的。

It's a vast majority in favor of staying in Canada.

绝大多数人赞成留在加拿大。

And now is the time to work together for all Albertans and all Canadians," Carney said.

现在是所有阿尔伯塔人和所有加拿大人共同努力的时候了，”卡尼说。

Carney said he spoke with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Tuesday morning about the referendum's results and greater federal-provincial cooperation, including immigration.

卡尼表示，他周二上午与艾伯塔省省长丹妮尔·史密斯讨论了公投结果以及包括移民在内的联邦与省级合作。

He said their first priority was supporting victims and families affected by the deadly military training fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright.

他说，他们的首要任务是支持加拿大温赖特军事基地致命军事训练火灾的受害者和家庭。

Alberta's separatists, however, saw a silver lining.

然而，艾伯塔省的分离主义者看到了一线希望。

"It is fair to say that at least a quarter of Albertans feel that Alberta needs to be treated better," said Keith Wilson, a leader of the separatist movement.

“公平地说，至少四分之一的艾伯塔省人认为艾伯塔省需要得到更好的对待，”分离主义运动领导人基思·威尔逊(Keith Wilson)说。

Smith welcomed the early results, saying they showed widespread support for remaining in Canada.

史密斯对早期结果表示欢迎，称这些结果表明人们普遍支持留在加拿大。

"Albertans have voted for a stronger Alberta in a united Canada," Smith posted on social media.

史密斯在社交媒体上发帖称：“阿尔伯塔人投票支持在统一的加拿大建立一个更强大的阿尔伯塔省。”

Smith, who called the referendum amid pressure from separatists within her governing United Conservative Party, or UCP, despite opposing independence, said that she would address the province Tuesday evening about the results and Alberta's future.

尽管反对独立，史密斯还是在执政的联合保守党（UCP）内部分离主义者的压力下召开了公投，她表示，她将于周二晚上向全省发表讲话，讨论公投结果和艾伯塔省的未来。

"We are a solid country that's united from coast to coast to coast," Thomas Lukaszuk, a former Alberta deputy premier who led the Forever Canadian campaign against separation, told supporters.

“我们是一个坚固的国家，从东海岸到西海岸都团结一致，”领导“永远加拿大”反对分裂运动的阿尔伯塔省前副总理托马斯·卢卡斯祖克(Thomas Lukaszuk)对支持者说。

The results were delayed after late openings forced more than 100 polling stations to extend voting hours Monday.

周一投票时间延迟，迫使 100 多个投票站延长投票时间，结果被推迟。

A fringe cause has become a movement that won't disappear

一项边缘事业已成为一场不会消失的运动

Alberta, home to the world's fourth-largest proven oil reserves, is cowboy country and a conservative stronghold whose political culture has long had more in common with the American West than much of Canada.

阿尔伯塔省拥有世界第四大已探明石油储量，是牛仔国家和保守派据点，其政治文化长期以来与美国西部的共同点比加拿大大部分地区还要多。

Resentment toward Canada's federal government in Ottawa runs deep, but hasn't traditionally translated into widespread support for independence.

人们对渥太华加拿大联邦政府的不满根深蒂固，但传统上并没有转化为对独立的广泛支持。

Despite the overwhelming rejection, separatist leaders have said they turned a fringe cause into a movement that won't disappear.

尽管遭到压倒性的拒绝，分离主义领导人表示，他们将一项边缘事业变成了一场不会消失的运动。

Separatist parties traditionally attracted only 1% or 2% of the vote, former Premier Jason Kenney said.

前总理杰森·肯尼 (Jason Kenney) 表示，传统上，分离主义政党只吸引 1% 或 2% 的选票。

Anger over COVID-19 restrictions helped mobilize activists who later embraced the separatist movement, he said.

他说，对 COVID-19 限制的愤怒帮助动员了后来支持分离主义运动的活动人士。

Trump's trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st U.S. state have helped Carney rally support in Alberta, where Liberal prime ministers have historically been unpopular.

特朗普的贸易战和让加拿大成为美国第51个州的威胁帮助卡尼在艾伯塔省赢得了支持，而自由党总理在该省历来不受欢迎。

At a separatist referendum night gathering at an Edmonton restaurant, the crowd fell quiet as results rolled in.

在埃德蒙顿一家餐厅举行的分离主义公投之夜聚会上，随着结果的公布，人群安静了下来。

"We're not going anywhere," said Jeff Rath of the Alberta Prosperity Project.

“我们不会去任何地方，”艾伯塔省繁荣项目的杰夫·拉斯说。

"We've dominated the conversation in the last year.

“去年我们主导了对话。

We've been educating Albertans on the benefits of independence, and we're going to continue moving forward."

我们一直在教育艾伯塔人独立的好处，我们将继续前进。”

Rath had said he would be thrilled with 30% support.

Rath 曾表示，如果能获得 30% 的支持，他会感到非常高兴。

He wants Smith ousted as UCP leader and said the party could splinter, potentially creating a new pro-independence party.

他希望史密斯被罢免 UCP 领导人的职务，并表示该党可能会分裂，并可能创建一个新的支持独立的政党。

Ian Brodie, a prominent conservative and political scientist at the University of Calgary who served as chief of staff to former prime minister Stephen Harper, dismissed current independence organizers Rath and Mitch Sylvestre as "nobodies."

卡尔加里大学著名保守派和政治学家伊恩·布罗迪（Ian Brodie）曾担任前总理斯蒂芬·哈珀（Stephen Harper）的幕僚长，他将现任独立组织者拉斯·西尔维斯特（Rath Sylvestre）和米奇·西尔维斯特（Mitch Sylvestre）斥为“无名之辈”。

"Even on a very soft question — whether to hold a referendum on separation — they couldn't gain real traction in the Olds-Didsbury district," said Brodie.

布罗迪说：“即使是在一个非常温和的问题上——是否就分离问题举行公投——他们也无法在奥兹-迪兹伯里地区获得真正的支持。”

The district elected a Western Canada Concept separatist in a 1982 provincial byelection.

该选区在 1982 年的省补选中选出了一位加拿大西部概念分离主义者。

Edmonton voter Shawn Campbell said he voted to begin the separation process even though he doesn't want Alberta to leave Canada.

埃德蒙顿选民肖恩·坎贝尔表示，尽管他不希望阿尔伯塔省离开加拿大，但他还是投票决定开始分居程序。

"It sends a message to Ottawa that Albertans are not happy," he said.

“这向渥太华传达了一个信息，即阿尔伯塔人不高兴，”他说。

Dustin Degenhardt, a voter in the town of Wainwright, said that Albertans have long been mistreated by Canada's federal government.

温赖特镇选民达斯汀·德根哈特表示，阿尔伯塔人长期以来一直受到加拿大联邦政府的虐待。

"Alberta has essentially been treated as, you know, a colony," he said after voting Monday.

“阿尔伯塔省本质上被视为殖民地，”他在周一投票后说道。

"They want to take and take and take from us, and not return anything."

“他们想从我们这里拿走，却不归还任何东西。”

Dave Malka, 59, of Edmonton, criticized spending money on a "referendum on a referendum" rather than health care.

59 岁的埃德蒙顿人戴夫·马尔卡 (Dave Malka) 批评把钱花在“公投上的公投”上，而不是医疗保健上。

With Trump threatening Canada, Malka said, "It seems to be happening at the absolute worst time when we should be united.

在特朗普威胁加拿大的情况下，马尔卡说：“这似乎发生在我们应该团结起来的绝对最糟糕的时刻。

Instead we're fighting among ourselves."

相反，我们是在互相争斗。”