After a tumultuous year of broken promises from a flip-flopping Premier and a snap election that benefited no one, nearly half of Albertans now believe their province would be “better off” as its own country.
According to a poll released on December 28 from Research Co., 38 per cent of Albertans are now in favour of outright separation, up 10 per cent since August 2021.
“My province would be better off as its own country”
Canada – 25% (+4 since August)
Alberta – 38% (+10)
Quebec – 30% (+5)
Ontario – 23% (+7)
British Columbia – 22% (+4)
Saskatchewan and Manitoba – 18% (-2)
Atlantic Canada – 14% (=)https://t.co/SaeGMSKJmK— Mario Canseco (@mario_canseco) December 28, 2021
Moreover, while half of all Canadians surveyed believe they’d be better off with a new premier running the show, a staggering 73 per cent of Albertans want to see Premier Jason Kenney replaced with someone more representative of their values and collective vision for the province.
“Separatist sentiment in Alberta is currently near the levels observed in December 2019 (40%),” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Across the province, 16% of residents strongly agree with the idea that they would be better off as an independent nation.”
While less than one-in-five Canadians believe their provinces should separate from Canada and join the United States, a full quarter of Albertans hold the belief. And who can blame them? With the oil and gas industry unimpeded, Alberta would swiftly become one of the wealthiest states in the union.
Additionally, the poll found that Albertans are the most dissatisfied with the federal government leader Justin Trudeau, with 65 per cent being critical of his leadership.
In terms of methodology, Research Co. says that their results are “based on an online study conducted from December 15 to December 17, 2021, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error – which measures sample variability – is +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.”
