By making Monday's result non-binding, she got around a court decision blocking the pro-separation petition because it failed to consult indigenous First Nations whose land would be affected if the province separated.

That gamble could test her leadership of the United Conservative Party, which she has led since 2022.

"She's lost the confidence of the (party) base," said Rath.

Albertans who voted against an independence referendum told the BBC throughout the campaign that they were motivated by a desire to keep the country united, especially as Canada grapples with tariff threats from the US, its longtime ally.

They also feared that an independent Alberta could be vulnerable to outside influence - or even annexation.

Thomas Lukaszuk, a prominent pro-unity campaigner, told a crowd of supporters on Monday night that the early results made him proud to be Albertan.

At a pro-unity results watch party in Edmonton, Lukaszuk appealled directly to separatists, saying that "some of the issues they have raised are legitimate", and that the province must do the hard work of healing the divisions laid bare by this debate.

"I don't want to see us doing another referendum like this ever again," Lukaszuk said.

Premier Smith told CBC earlier in the week that she would not hold an independence referendum if Albertans vote against it as long as she is premier.

Some of the rifts can't easily be smoothed over.

The separatist sentiment has its roots in "western alienation" which is a term that has been used for decades by some in Canada's western provinces to describe a feeling of being ignored or overlooked by the federal government in central Canada.

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