EDMONTON — Leaders across Canada are responding to Albertans voting Monday to remain in Canada, as both federalists and nationalists tout the roughly 76% to 24% vote split as a victory for their side. .Premier Danielle SmithSmith responded to the results shortly after midnight on Tuesday morning, saying she is "pleased" to see the initial results showing support for Alberta remaining in Canada."Albertans have voted for a stronger Alberta in a united Canada," wrote Smith in her X post. "Thank you to all Albertans who took time to vote on these critically important referendum questions."The premier will address Albertans Tuesday at 6:45 p.m., reflecting on the available referendum results and discussing Alberta's next steps. .Prime Minister Mark CarneyCarney offered his reaction in a statement at 12:12 a.m. on Tuesday, saying the referendum results on Alberta remaining in Canada mean Albertans and Canadians will move forward united with "renewed purpose and high ambition." "We are building that future, bigger and faster than ever before," wrote Carney. Canada is securing new trade partners around the world, fast-tracking major, nation-building projects in every part of the country, and unleashing our full potential as a global energy superpower with Alberta at its core." "Canada is so much greater than the sum of its parts. Now it is our opportunity to take all that we have been given as Canadians - and we have been given the greatest country in the world - and make our country better for all of us." The prime minister did not address Smith's other nine referendum questions, many of which involve varying degrees of federal cooperation. As of 6:45 a.m., unofficial early results suggest Smith could win support for all of her immigration questions and some of the constitutional ones. .Tanya Clemens (Let Alberta Decide) Clemens, the co-leader of one of the leading nationalist TPAs, expressed appreciation and optimism in a video filmed Tuesday."Think about where we were even a year ago," said Clemens. "A conversation about Alberta independence that was once taking place around kitchen tables and in small community halls has now reached a national and international audience.""People across Canada, and around the world, have been paying attention, and most importantly, Albertans themselves are having these conversations about their future. We brought those questions into homes and communities across this province, and ultimately to a province-wide referendum. I consider that an extraordinary accomplishment." Despite the movement's progress, it ultimately fell short of the 50%+1 support for Option Two needed to move the independence movement's current phase toward a binding referendum, but Clemens said that does not mean Albertans' frustrations with Ottawa and the rest of Canada have gone away. "For generations, Albertans have worked to achieve greater sovereignty within Canada," Clemens said. "We've elected governments, advocated for reforms, and tried countless approaches to address our grievances with Ottawa, and those grievances remain." "And to the Albertans who voted for Option One because they believe our future is better within Canada, I sincerely hope you'll continue to be part of this conversation, because if we're going to remain within Confederation, surely we should expect that relationship to work better for Alberta. I have no doubt this conversation will continue." She concluded by thanking her Let Alberta Decide co-leader Keith Wilson, and the other volunteers who committed to progressing the movement. "It has been the honour of my lifetime to work alongside you," Clemens said. "I'm a farmer. I never imagined finding myself helping lead this province-wide referendum campaign, but through this work and the extraordinary Albertans I've met, I found something I hadn't felt in a long time: hope. And I haven't lost that hope tonight.""I hope my children will someday understand why their mom cared enough about their future to stand up for what she believed in, even when the outcome wasn't guaranteed. Tonight's vote may have settled the question on the ballot, but it hasn't settled the questions Albertans have been asking for generations, and I hope Ottawa is paying attention."
