It was nice while it lasted, that dream of escaping and the camaraderie of planning it all.

Sadly, for many, it was not to be.

The province of Alberta went to the polls yesterday, and one of the 10 items on the ballot - question 10, in fact - was whether a referendum should be put to the people about separating Alberta from the Canadian Confederation.

In other words, asking Albertans if they would care to have an opportunity to democratically choose independence from Ottawa and the rest of Syrupean clingers.

It turned out that, for all the bitchin', three-quarters of Albertans are perfectly happy, or happy enough, with the way things are, and are not interested in changing.

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Voters in oil-rich Alberta province overwhelmingly backed remaining in Canada, according to referendum results released Tuesday, delivering a boost to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s push for national unity as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and annexation threats rally Canadians around their country.

With more than 1.8 million votes counted and results reported from 84% of voting areas and locations, 75% of voters supported remaining in Canada, while 25% backed beginning a process toward separation, according to unofficial results from Elections Alberta.

The referendum was not a direct vote on independence. Approval would have set Alberta on a path toward a future vote on separation from Canada.

Sure, the Leave folks are pissed, but I don't know that there is anything nefarious that could have influenced a gap that huge. Not election hanky-panky or the tragic loss of Canadian soldiers in the still-unexplained horror of Saturday at Wainwright CFB.

Albertans overwhelmingly want to be Canadian.

The ballot was an interesting breakdown though. While they might still have a fondness for the Syrupean maple leaf flag, they don't want to be dictated to by Ottawa. It's kind of wild trying to reconcile that with the referendum losing so decisively, but there it is.

The other questions on the ballot mostly focused on asserting Albertan independence from diktats from the capital.

It's a laundry list of 'provincial control' fever dreams.

These all passed with significant majorities. Everything but the actual item number that would have started the ball rolling towards never having to negotiate with Ottawa again.

As one wag put it, Albertans want to control their own borders in a borderless country - make it make sense.

As it is here, immigration-related wish-list items were by far the most popular.

Their insufferable Prime Minister, Mark Carney, took a victory lap.

And Alberta Premier Danielle Smith seemed relieved it was all over.

YAY! UNITY!

Thank you to all Albertans who took time to vote on these critically important referendum questions.  

Tomorrow evening, October 20, I will address Albertans live at 6:45 p.m. to discuss the results of all referendum questions for which results are available, and where our province goes from here.

The independence guys said they're not going away any time soon. Even as they lost, the gains they made were historic.

A fringe cause has become a movement that won't disappear

Alberta, home to the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, is cowboy country and a conservative stronghold whose political culture has long had more in common with the American West than much of Canada. Resentment toward Canada’s federal government in Ottawa runs deep, but hasn’t traditionally translated into widespread support for independence.

Despite the overwhelming rejection, separatist leaders have said they turned a fringe cause into a movement that won’t disappear.

Separatist parties traditionally attracted only 1% or 2% of the vote, former Premier Jason Kenney said. Anger over COVID-19 restrictions helped mobilize activists who later embraced the separatist movement, he said.

Had it not been for anger at the tariff war whipping up backing for Carney, whom Albertans traditionally would never support, they felt the numbers might well have been even higher.

This has them feeling bummed but far from out.

That's the spirit.

And when everything the Remainers voted for gets crushed like bugs in Ottawa, one item after the next, the Leavers will be even more popular than before.