People in the province of Alberta head to the polls on Monday to decide whether to hold a binding referendum at a later date on separating from Canada. The vote was called earlier this year by the leader of the province, Danielle Smith, after a grassroots group gathered about 300,000 signatures on a petition that asked for a binding referendum on separation.
Many of those who support separation say the oil-rich province's economic growth has been stifled by the environmental policies of Canada's central government in Ottawa. But those who want Alberta to remain part of Canada - who include Prime Minister Mark Carney - have called for the country to show unity in the face of external pressures.
Polls have suggested that the majority of Albertans would vote to remain in Canada, though the pre-vote debate alone has proven divisive. Another group collected signatures for its own petition that opposed separation, which was signed by more than 400,000 people.
The province's population is about five million people. If Albertans do vote on Monday to move ahead with a binding referendum, that could happen as soon as 2027, Smith has said.
Smith's decision to allow Monday's vote came in spite of the fact that a court blocked the pro-separation petition, saying it failed to consult indigenous First Nations whose land would be affected if the province separated from Canada. Smith, the leader of the United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP), has defended her decision to put the issue to voters.
She opposes separation herself, but says the process gives the province's residents a chance to have their say on the issue. The key question on the voting paper will ask: " Should Alberta remain a province of Canada or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?"
The separatist movement is led by Mitch Sylvestre, a gun shop owner from the town of Bonnyville, and Jeffrey Rath, a lawyer based in Calgary. They are both members of a group called the Alberta Prosperity Project, which argues that the province's economic growth has been hindered by years of Liberal party rule in Ottawa.
Successive Liberal governments of the last 10 years have put environmental policies above helping Alberta develop its oil and gas sector, they argue. They say Alberta would get to keep more of its wealth if it splits from Canada.
