// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Alberta's decisive decision to stay in Canada gives Carney backing to take on Trump
"Let's move on": Albertans react to separatist movement referendum results
"Vote like Canada depends on it," Prime Minister Mark Carney declared to cheering crowds in Calgary last week on a stage emblazoned with bright red and white "Forever Canadian" banners.
It's a message that appears to have struck a chord with the electorate, as preliminary results show more than two-thirds of Alberta voters said they want to remain a part of Canada.
But the future of the federation does still rest on its richest province.
Alberta, with most of Canada's proven oil reserves and abundant gas and mineral wealth, is playing a pivotal role in Ottawa's drive to survive a punishing trade war with the US by diversifying trade, strengthening its economy, and forging new alliances on the other side of the world.
Carney, the former central banker who grew up in Alberta, is now Canada's builder-in-chief – at home, and beyond its borders.
Note the emphasis in his first statement after Monday's vote on separation in the province, as soon as the scale of the victory was clear: "They chose unity, to build together, and to take care of each other."
Albertans' overwhelming "yes" to stay in Canada gives him political bricks and mortar, too.
"Don't mess with Canada," warned Thomas Lukaszuk, a former lawmaker whose Forever Canadian campaign played a key role in this referendum's outcome.
Addressing elated supporters in Edmonton, the provincial capital, as the "yes" count for Canada kept tumbling in, Lukaszuk underlined that this vote "will send a very strong message to the rest of the world".