Albertans voted against the idea of their province leaving Canada, with the majority backing the option to stay in a referendum on separation. The outcome is a political win for Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has been trying to hold the country together while trade conflict with the United States keeps escalating. Separatist feeling in Alberta is not new, and it usually swells when grievances over federal energy and equalization policy pile up. A vote like this is not legally binding, but it does set the tone for how separation talk is treated from here on. Opponents of secession now have a concrete result to point to when arguing that most Albertans prefer negotiating over walking out. The result also gives Carney something to point to as he absorbs American tariffs and searches for leverage. What follows in terms of provincial politics, and whether separatists regroup, remains to be seen.