[Brief] Alberta to vote on first step toward secession from Canada
According to Fortune, The New York Times and Reuters, Alberta — home to the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves — will hold a first-step secession referendum, marking a new political stage for the province’s separatist movement. The reports note that Alberta has had persistent disagreements with the federal government over energy policy, carbon taxes and interprovincial pipeline projects in recent years; the referendum is viewed by separatist supporters as a ‘procedural first step,’ with any actual move toward independence still requiring multiple rounds of votes and negotiations. The episode has again focused outside attention on Canada’s federal structure, the direction of its energy industry and the tension between provincial and federal governments.