Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney says Alberta separation vote comes at ‘worst time’

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday there “couldn’t be a worse time” for oil-rich Alberta to start down a path toward a future referendum on separation from Canada, as he campaigned for national unity in Calgary during advance voting.

Monday’s vote is not a direct referendum on independence. Alberta, which has the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, will decide whether to remain a province or instruct the government to begin the legal process toward a future referendum on separation.

“There couldn’t be a worse time for this referendum,” Carney told pro-Canada volunteers working to turn out voters. “It’s a dangerous and divided world. And it’s time for us to come together and stand up for ourselves and take care of each other.”

Carney did not mention U.S. President Donald Trump, but his warning came amid Trump’s trade war with Canada, economic uncertainty from tariffs and repeated threats to make Canada the 51st state. Carney has repeatedly argued that Canada needs to become more economically resilient and less dependent on the United States.

“We are stronger together and Canada is worth fighting for,” Carney told the volunteers.

Carney opened Thursday with three stops before heading to the day’s main event, a Forever Canadian rally at the BMO Centre, where he was expected to make the case for keeping Alberta in Canada. Organizers were also holding a second rally with Carney in Edmonton on Friday.

He pointed to the many Albertans who were born or educated elsewhere in Canada and to firefighters who come from across the country to help Alberta during wildfires as examples of the ties binding the province to the rest of Canada.

“We’re making ourselves stronger as a country, stronger as Albertans,” Carney said. He urged volunteers to make sure voters cast their ballots by Monday.

The setting is striking for a Liberal prime minister. Alberta has spent decades feuding with Liberal governments in Ottawa, particularly over energy and federal power. But Carney has broken with some of the policies associated with his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, fast-tracked a proposed new oil pipeline to the Pacific and called Canada an energy superpower.

That has complicated the separatists’ case. Tanya Clemens, co-chair of the pro-independence group Let Alberta Decide, acknowledged Carney presents a challenge.

“He’s formidable for sure,” Clemens told The Associated Press.

Clemens argued, however, that Carney’s agreements with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith amount to “pinky promises” that do not resolve long-standing grievances with Ottawa.

Smith, who called the vote but supports remaining in Canada, cast her ballot Wednesday and said she voted for Alberta to remain in Canada. She has said support for separation remains too high for her liking.

“Canada can still work,” Smith said after voting. “We just need to make some changes.”

Thomas Lukaszuk, a former Alberta deputy premier who leads the pro-Canada group Forever Canadian, said Carney has found surprising support among traditional conservatives.

At a recent fundraiser at Calgary’s Ranchmen’s Club, a private club popular with oil and gas executives, Lukaszuk said one prominent executive called himself a “Carney conservative” — and the room applauded.

Lukaszuk said the political landscape would be “very much” different if Trudeau were still prime minister.

Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University, called Carney’s popularity in Alberta “highly unusual” for a Liberal prime minister. He said Carney has also benefited from a “Trump effect,” as Trump’s trade war and 51st-state threats have rallied Canadians around their leader — even in Alberta.

The referendum marks a remarkable rise for a cause long relegated to Alberta’s political fringes. After the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 Freedom Convoy, activists who had organized against vaccine mandates and other restrictions turned their attention to Alberta independence.

The convoy began over vaccine requirements for cross-border truckers but grew into a broader protest against pandemic restrictions, paralyzing downtown Ottawa and blocking major Canada-U.S. border crossings.

Clemens said COVID accelerated the movement by teaching people how to organize politically and become more involved in party politics. She said separatists also see Monday’s vote not simply as a step toward independence but as a way to give Alberta leverage in negotiations with Ottawa.

Advance voting runs through Saturday, with the final vote Monday.

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney, center, meets with supporters at a restaurant in Calgary, Canada, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney, center right, meets with supporters at a restaurant in Calgary, Canada, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, meets with supporters at a restaurant in Calgary, Canada, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada Prime Minister, center, meets with University of Calgary students in Calgary, Alberta, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, arrives with Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta Brad Lafortune to meet volunteers at Bridgeland Riverside Community Association Park in Calgary, Alberta, on Thursday Oct. 15, 2026. (Mike Sturk/The Canadian Press via AP)

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Student-led demonstrators clashed Thursday with Albanian police in the capital Tirana for a third day running, joining a broader anti-government movement launched in opposition to a major development project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Youths protesting Albania's long-serving Socialist government hurled rocks at a police cordon outside the Education Ministry, and riot police responded with tear gas and water cannons. Police detained several demonstrators.

Protesters in masks aimed fireworks at government offices and set fire to trash bins, sending thick clouds of smoke into the air. Television reporters gasped for breath during live broadcasts as smoke and tear gas filled the air.

The latest clashes followed hours-long riots on Wednesday when protesters attacked government buildings, banks and businesses, leaving dozens of people injured.

The protests were led by student groups seeking education reforms. They have joined the so-called flamingo movement, which is calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama over allegations of widespread corruption and in opposition to the large luxury tourism development on Albania’s southern coast, associated with an investment firm founded by Kushner.

The movement earned the name after protesters used signs depicting the pink birds, which live in their thousands in a nature reserve on the island where the development is planned.

On Thursday, high school students joined thousands of protesters on marches through the center of the capital, chanting “Rama Resign!” as they brought the city to a standstill.

“We will be in the square every day,” Mateo Yskollari, a prominent protest organizer, wrote in an online post. “Our response to any attempt to silence us will be to expand the protest, civil mobilization, and disobedience.”

Though initially peaceful, the rallies turned violent when confronting police cordons. Groups of youths also broke away from the rallies to attack government buildings and commercial storefronts.

Police prioritized protection of government buildings. They joined government officials in appeals to parents to keep their teenage children at home.

National police chief Skender Hita said 71 officers had been injured. He urged police to act with “professionalism and restraint,” adding: “The national police guarantee the right to peaceful protest and assembly but that cannot be used as cover for violence, arson and vandalism.”

As smaller clashes broke out in at least three other Albanian cities, the country's education minister, Mirela Kumbaro, issued her appeal in a video message.

“As minister of education, but also as a mother, I want to share with you a call for cooperation," she said. "While the ‘dark hands’ create dark smoke with destructive actions against public properties and private businesses, we must not let our children near that smoke.”

Rama Thursday greeted cleanup crews and issued a video message from a burned-out college building. He directly accused political opponents of inciting the violence, promising to stay on as prime minister to further Albania's bid to join the European Union.

“We will all get through these difficult hours together because Albania will continue to climb, because Albania will continue on its path to Europe,” he said. “No one can grab Albania by the throat. Anyone who thinks the law does not apply to them is mistaken.”

Rama's Socialists won a fourth consecutive election victory last year and Albania is not due to hold another parliamentary election until 2029.

The conservative opposition Democratic Party backed the student protests and called on Rama to appoint a caretaker government to prepare for early elections. It retained a group of lawyers to provide legal assistance for detained protesters.

“This movement is not simply a protest against the government,” the party said. “It's a revolt against a model of government created by Edi Rama that has stolen hope from young people, violated citizens’ trust and is increasingly distancing Albania from its European future.”

A European Union delegation in Albania called late Wednesday for a proportionate response from authorities, expressing concern at “the violent escalation at the protest in Tirana.”

Gatopoulos reported from Athens, Greece

A protester reacts to the effects of tear gas during clashes in Tirana, Albania, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, as students joined the Flamingo anti-government movement. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)

Police spray a protester with a water cannon during clashes as students join an anti-government demonstration in Tirana, Albania, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)

Hooded protesters vandalize a bank during clashes in Tirana, Albania, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, as students joined the Flamingo anti-government movement. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)

EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - A hooded protester raises his middle fingers as fire engulfs the Justice Ministry during a violent escalation of anti-government unrest in Tirana, Albania, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)