Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that the province will hold a referendum on Oct. 19 on whether to take legal steps under the Constitution toward leaving Canada. The question will ask voters whether Alberta should stay in Canada or take legal steps under the Constitution to hold a binding referendum on leaving the country, rather than asking directly about separation.

"I want to be clear. I support Alberta remaining in Canada, and this is how I would vote on separation in a provincial referendum. It is also the position of my government," Smith said.

The referendum was set after three members of the United Conservative Party of Alberta caucus passed a motion in committee asking the premier and cabinet to put the issue to a vote on Oct. 19. A yes vote in a binding referendum would not trigger independence, and negotiations with the federal government would have to take place before any separation. Under a 1998 Supreme Court ruling, provinces cannot secede unilaterally from Canada.

Federal Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc also commented on the vote. "Canada's government strongly believes that the interests of Albertans and all Canadians are best served when we work together," LeBlanc said.

Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University, said support for Alberta separation is slightly less than 30% and that a future referendum on separation is likely to lose.

"Politically Smith seems committed to do so to appease supporters of her own party who want a referendum. If she doesn't follow suit, she might face a potentially perilous mutiny within her partisan ranks," Béland said.

He said the structure of the question could shape voter behavior. "It might lower the apparent stakes, making it perhaps easier for some voters to think they can send a political message to the rest of the country without taking the risk of leading the province to the point of no return," Béland said.