Alberta independence referendum puts Canada's unity to the test

Flying Alberta's flag with pride, a small group of separatists prepare to convoy through communities just outside of Calgary. Their goal? To help spread the message of Alberta independence. Canada, they say, doesn't represent them, and they want out. It was a pretty good place to live. It's completely corrupted now. We have a corrupted government system. Separatists argue Alberta's energy wealth is subsidizing poorer parts of the country and that Ottawa, 3,000 kilometres to the east, has stifled the province's economy. Albertans are now voting on whether to start the process for a second binding referendum on separating from Canada. Mitch Sylvester says 300,000 people signed his group's petition, a campaign he credits with forcing separation onto the ballot. I never thought I'd live long enough to see the federal government sabotage our industry. I never thought I'd live long enough to see all that and what happened there. So there's some very, very severe things that have happened to the people of Alberta that are actually going to prompt a severe reaction back. We're not giving up. Thomas Lukasik started his own campaign, touring the province by bus, handing out lawn signs and encouraging Albertans to vote. He says the separatist movement is a coalescence of small anti-government and anti-establishment groups emboldened by the 51st state rhetoric and other dynamics. We started with Brexit in the United Kingdom. You know, you can have a majority and still lose if the majority feels so confident that they will not lose and simply not vote. Researchers who track foreign interference say MAGA-aligned individuals are helping amplify the voices of Canadian separatists. Now we know that the Alberta separatists actually have Republican consultants on the ground helping them mobilize and professionalize their campaign. This raises all sorts of questions on the legality of this, of outsized influence, where we have all these actors actually contributing to an event that might break up Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney appealed to Albertans at unity rallies just days before polls closed. Show your pride. Bring a friend and vote like Canada depends on it, because it does. More than one million people have already cast their ballots in advance voting. And while recent polls suggest that 70% of Albertans would vote to remain in Canada, the big uncertainty is whether the majority actually shows up to vote. David Mercer, Al Jazeera, Calgary.