Voting in Canada's Alberta preliminary independence referendum has concluded. When will the results be known?

The question put to the vote was not about Alberta's separation from Canada, but whether a new referendum on the matter should be held, writes the BBC.

The full results of the referendum may only be known two days after polling stations close.

This is because millions of ballots will be counted manually, and each polling station has four vote-counting teams, each with two people. Each such team can process only about 400 ballots per hour.

Exit polls are not conducted in this referendum, but Canadian media may at some point predict the results of the vote based on official data already received.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CBC News promises that such a forecast will be made "as soon as the trend becomes clear."

The question of independence is one of ten that residents of oil and gas-rich Alberta are answering during this referendum. The others mainly concern the scope of local authorities' powers. However, the results of the referendum will not have binding legal force.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith included the question of independence on the ballot in May of this year, responding to a petition under which proponents of separation collected about 300,000 signatures.

The Electoral Commission reports that it will first count ballots related to the independence question, and only then — those on other issues.

What do the polls show?

Public opinion polls show that the overwhelming majority of Alberta's population opposed independence: sociologists reported that less than 25% of residents supported separation from Canada. However, the referendum became a major political event in Canada: leading politicians in the country spoke about it, and rallies and demonstrations took place in Alberta.

Canadian Prime Minister Marc Carney, who grew up in Alberta, urged the province's residents to oppose separation. He also expressed willingness to amend the Canadian Constitution to grant the territory more powers, though he called for voting against the amendments proposed in the referendum.

The question of holding a referendum is included on the ballot under number 10, while the others concern strengthening migration control and expanding Alberta's autonomy. The latter requires amending the country's Basic Law.

"To be clear: amendments can be made to the Constitution, but this requires a genuine consensus on what exactly needs to be changed and what elements the reform should consist of," Carney said. "Am I ready to consider constitutional reform? Yes, I am, provided that the foundations for achieving consensus are laid first."

What do proponents and opponents of separation say?

Alberta is Canada's main oil and gas-producing province: it accounts for about 80% of the country's oil production. Crude oil is Canada's main export item: last year it brought in 142 billion Canadian dollars (100 billion US dollars).

Located in western Canada, Alberta is landlocked, and most of its oil is exported to refineries in the United States.

Proponents of independence complain that the province gives too much money to the central government and receives too little in return. They point out that Alberta ranks fourth globally in terms of oil reserves after Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Iran.

Furthermore, they believe that the Liberal Party, which has governed Canada for the past ten years, pays too much attention to combating climate change and hinders the development of Alberta's oil and gas sector.

However, opponents of independence, including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, argue that in the event of separation from Canada, the province would have to spend between 50 and 170 billion Canadian dollars (35-120 billion US dollars) annually on creating a new state during the first five years.

An independent Alberta would have to create all state institutions — from the tax service to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense, develop and adopt its own constitution, build its own judicial system, and also share federal property with Canada, including national parks and military bases. In addition, as opponents of separation warn, Alberta would have to assume a proportional share of Canada's national debt.

Furthermore, according to forecasts by opponents of independence, due to political instability, the province could lose billions in investments and part of its foreign trade.

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