TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday urged Alberta to remain in Canada, warning that a vote next week on whether to hold a referendum on leaving Canada would begin a “long and uncertain process” at a dangerous time for the country.
“This year, Thanksgiving is a bit different,” Carney said in a holiday message to Canadians. “A week from today, Albertans will have the opportunity to make an important decision about their future, whether to remain part of Canada or begin a long and uncertain process through which Alberta could separate from Canada.”
Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in October, unlike the U.S., where it falls in late November.
The Oct. 19 vote asks Albertans whether the province should remain in Canada or begin the process of holding a referendum on separation.
Alberta’s independence movement has grown after years of organizing. Some of its leaders emerged from the 2022 “Freedom Convoy,” which began as a protest against the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers and grew into weeks of demonstrations against pandemic restrictions and then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.
The vote comes as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and threats to Canada’s sovereignty have badly strained relations between the longtime allies. Trump has repeatedly talked about making Canada the 51st U.S. state.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who called the vote, supports remaining in Canada. She has said recent polling put support for separation at roughly 22%, a level she called “still too high for my liking.”
Keith Wilson, a leader of the independence movement, urged Albertans to back a path toward a separation referendum, arguing the province needs “leverage and lasting change” in its dealings with Ottawa. “What protects us when Ottawa turns against Alberta again?” he wrote on social media.
Carney, who grew up in Edmonton, pointed to a proposed West Coast pipeline from oil-rich Alberta as an example of what the province can achieve within Canada. The project is intended to open new markets and help Canada diversify its oil exports beyond the United States.
He also cited new housing and high-speed rail as he argued that Canada is building major projects again and that division would make that harder.
“Canada is working,” Carney said. “Truth is, we can’t achieve any of this if we’re divided. You can’t build big things on fault lines.”
Carney said Canada faces “real threats to our economy, to our security, to our way of life,” adding: “We have to be strong and we are stronger together.”
“Generations of Albertans helped build this country,” Carney said. “It’s yours. It’s ours. And it’s worth fighting for.”
Even a vote for separation in a future referendum would not automatically make Alberta independent. A 1998 Supreme Court ruling found that provinces cannot secede unilaterally and negotiations with the federal government would have to follow.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announces a new federal heat pump rebate program while visiting Dettson, a manufacturer of residential and commercial HVAC systems in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — A pumpkin named Rocky won a major annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California, tipping the scale at 2,389 pounds (1,083 kilograms), but fell far short of a possible new world record set just days earlier in Rhode Island.
Horticulture teacher Travis Gienger hauled his pumpkin across the country from Minnesota to win the contest for a fifth time. He's going home with $21,501 in prize money after beating dozens of other giant pumpkin-growers in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.
He missed out on last year's contest because his pumpkin broke while growing. Hoping for a comeback story, he named this year’s pumpkin “Rocky” after the iconic boxer played by Sylvester Stallone.
“Five-time champion, that’s what we came here to do,” Gienger said following the win.
Meanwhile on Saturday, a new world record for the heaviest pumpkin appears to have been set by Ron Wallace of Greene, Rhode Island, at a contest in New England. His giant squash weighed 3,156 pounds (1431.5 kilograms) — nearly the weight of three concert grand pianos. It hasn't yet been verified by the Guinness Book of World Records, which lists a 2,857-pound (1,296-kilogram) squash grown by Ian Paton, of Lymington, England. That record had been set only a few days earlier.
“My hat’s off to him, that’s a big pumpkin,” Gienger said.
Gienger grows his gourds in his backyard pumpkin patch in Anoka, a city on the banks of the Mississippi River north of Minneapolis, according to Ronan Fowler, the competition’s organizer. This year, Gienger had to deal with temperatures that dipped below freezing, and he says that in order to start competing more seriously, he'll likely have to start growing pumpkins in a climate-controlled environment.
“The fact that Travis can weather the elements, like 30-degree weather, and still grow this massive pumpkin is pretty unbelievable,” Fowler said.
Gienger and his family drove 35 hours over the weekend to get the pumpkin the size of a small car to California.
Hundreds attended the 53rd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off to enjoy food trucks, music, and pumpkin-related jokes. Earlier in the day, the crowd went wild when a very symmetrical pumpkin named Tinkerbell won the prettiest pumpkin contest.
The prize money was calculated at $9 per pound of pumpkin and Gienger's winning gourd will be showcased during a parade through Half Moon Bay this weekend. Gienger missed out on an extra prize of $30,000 for breaking the world record.
Sadly, these giants are grown for their size, not flavor, so there were no giant pumpkin pies at the end of the festival.
Rodriguez reported from San Francisco.
A woman looks toward a pumpkin that will be entered in the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Jesus Cruzaley, 10, midde right, celebrates with his grandfather, Harold Stern, after his pumpkin was weighed at the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
People prepare a pumpkin for the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
FILE - Brandon Dawson, left, celebrates after winning the Safeway 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
Miles, 6, drives past a large pumpkin that will entered in the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
