Alberta residents come out against the province's withdrawal from Canada

A majority of residents of the Canadian province of Alberta voted on October 19 against the region's withdrawal from Canada: 76.4 percent voted to keep the province within the country, and 23.6 percent voted for independence.

As the CBC television network reports, citing preliminary voting results, the vote was held on the question of launching the procedure for holding a binding referendum on independence.

Commenting on the first results, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she was very pleased with the broad support for a stronger Alberta within a united Canada.

According to an October Ipsos poll, 23 percent of respondents supported the province's independence, while 70 percent expressed a desire to remain part of Canada.

According to the Angus Reid Institute, separation was supported to a greater extent by backers of the United Conservative Party (UCP): as of October 16, 63 percent of that party's voters supported independence, while 37 percent favored retaining the status of a Canadian province.