Alberta referendum saw 70.4% turnout — highest voter participation in decades

The historic Alberta referendum on separation saw voters trek to the polls in the highest numbers in decades.

That’s according to official results from Elections Alberta, which peg voter turnout on the separation question at 70.4 per cent.

The turnout is the highest for a provincewide vote since at least 1975, but it fell short of breaking the record of 81.8 per cent turnout seen in the 1935 general election.

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Last week’s vote was on 10 questions, with three-quarters of voters saying they want to stay in Canada rather than hold a second, binding referendum on separation.

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Alberta referendum: What we can learn from past and present separatist movements

The other nine questions saw voters approve the province pursuing changes to immigration policies while rejecting questions urging them to approve the province taking more action to wrest power from the federal government.

The government has said the earliest Albertans could expect to see legislation on immigration is next spring.

— More to come…