加拿大石油资源丰富的阿尔伯塔省的选民将于周一投票，决定是否启动可能导致该省独立的程序，此举将考验加拿大的国家凝聚力。
Voters in Canada’s oil-rich Alberta province will decide Monday whether to begin a process that could lead to independence, testing national unity.
埃德蒙顿消息：加拿大石油资源丰富的阿尔伯塔省的选民将于周一投票，决定是否启动可能导致该省独立的程序。目前，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普发起的贸易战以及其将加拿大变为第51个州的言论促使加拿大民众更加团结，而此次投票也将成为对国家团结的一次考验。
ROB GILLIES EDMONTON, Alberta — Voters in Canada’s oil-rich Alberta province will decide Monday whether to begin a process that could lead to independence, testing national unity as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st state have rallied Canadians around their country.
此次投票并非直接针对阿尔伯塔省独立问题的全民公投。作为加拿大已探明石油储量最丰富的地区——其储量位居世界第四——阿尔伯塔省的选民将决定是继续作为一个省份存在，还是启动法律程序为未来的独立公投做准备。
Monday’s vote is not a direct referendum on independence Alberta, home to most of Canada’s proven oil reserves — the fourth largest in the world — will decide whether to remain a province or begin the legal process toward a future referendum on separation.
截至周一公投前，已有超过135万阿尔伯塔省居民，即43%的合格选民提前或通过特别方式投下了选票，这一数字远超2023年省级选举时的81万提前投票者。
More than 1.35 million Albertans, or 43% of eligible voters, cast advance or special ballots ahead of Monday’s referendum, far exceeding the 810,000 who voted early in the 2023 provincial election.
不过，即便阿尔伯塔省民众最终否决该提案，分离主义领袖们表示，这一原本属于边缘政治诉求如今已发展成为颇具影响力的政治力量，其影响力不会就此消退。
But even if Albertans reject the proposal, separatist leaders say the movement that has transformed a fringe cause into a force in provincial politics is not going away.
加拿大总理马克·卡尼在故乡省份结束为期两天的竞选活动时，呼吁阿尔伯塔省民众切勿对投票结果掉以轻心，并希望出现一个明确的结果。
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney urged Albertans not to take the outcome for granted and asked for a decisive result as he wrapped up two days of campaigning in his home province.
“请像对待加拿大的未来那样去投票吧，因为事实确实如此，”周五，卡尼在埃德蒙顿的一场支持加拿大的集会上说道。他本人便是在这座城市长大的。
“Vote like Canada’s future depends on it because it does,” Carney told a pro-Canada rally Friday in Edmonton, where he grew up. The vote also comes as Alberta reels from a deadly weekend fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright that killed four service members and injured 39 people, including 19 critically, during military training.
此次公投之际，阿尔伯塔省刚刚遭遇一场惨痛的灾难：周末时，韦恩赖特加拿大军事基地发生火灾，导致4名军人丧生，另有39人受伤，其中19人伤势严重。卡尼称这是和平时期加拿大军队在本土遭遇的最严重悲剧，并下令全国降半旗致哀。
Carney called it one of the worst peacetime tragedies for Canada’s military on domestic soil and ordered flags lowered to half-staff nationwide.
尽管本人反对独立，阿尔伯塔省省长丹妮尔·史密斯仍决定举行此次公投。她近期援引一项民调称，目前仅有22%的民众支持分离，但她认为这一比例仍然过高。
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who called the referendum despite opposing independence, recently cited a poll showing just 22% support for separation, a figure she said was still too high.
人群在卡尼谈及美国时欢呼雀跃 卡尼在卡尔加里和埃德蒙顿的集会上获得最大欢呼，是在谈论加拿大将贸易从美国多元化时。两场活动的人群都爆发出热烈掌声，凸显特朗普的贸易战和吞并威胁如何激发了加拿大民族主义情绪，即便是在传统保守的阿尔伯塔省也是如此。
Crowds erupt when Carney talks about the US The biggest cheers Carney received at rallies in Calgary and Edmonton came when he spoke about diversifying Canada’s trade away from the United States. Crowds erupted in applause at both events, underscoring how Trump’s trade war and annexation threats have fueled Canadian nationalism even in traditionally conservative Alberta.
卡尼在保守的阿尔伯塔省已成为一位异常受欢迎的人物，在那里，自由党总理长期以来因联邦能源政策而遭到怨恨。
Carney has emerged as an unusually popular figure in conservative Alberta, where Liberal prime ministers have long faced resentment over federal energy policies.
卡尼采取了更友好的能源立场，支持一条拟建的通往太平洋沿岸的石油管道，并与史密斯联手展示反对独立的团结。
Carney has taken a more energy-friendly approach, backing a proposed oil pipeline to the Pacific Coast and joining Smith in a show of unity against independence.
卡尼警告说，公投来得是“最糟糕的时机”，并敦促阿尔伯塔人不要仅仅为了向渥太华发出信号而投票。史密斯与贾斯廷·特鲁多经常发生冲突，她称赞卡尼改善了关系。
Carney warned that the referendum comes at the “worst possible time” and urged Albertans not to use their votes merely to send Ottawa a message. Smith, who frequently clashed with Justin Trudeau, praised Carney for improving relations.
“我认为我们可以达成一致的是，过去18个月我们确实发生了一些真正的变化，”她周五说。
“I think what we can agree on is that we have had some real change in the last 18 months,” she said Friday.
史密斯反对分离 史密斯呼吁举行她反对的公投，反映了她所属的统一保守党内分离主义活动人士的压力，这些活动人士帮助她上台。其中一些活动人士在2022年帮助赶走了前省长杰森·肯尼。
Smith opposes separation Smith called a referendum she opposes, reflecting pressure from separatist activists within her governing United Conservative Party who helped bring her to power. Some of those activists helped oust former Premier Jason Kenney in 2022.
肯尼说，分离主义传统上是一个边缘事业，独立党通常只能获得1%或2%的选票。他说，疫情动员了因公共卫生限制和政府权威而愤怒的活动人士。
Kenney said separatism had traditionally been a fringe cause, with independence parties typically attracting only 1% or 2% of the vote. He said the pandemic mobilized activists angry over public health restrictions and government authority.
分离主义领袖杰夫·拉斯说，联邦COVID-19疫苗强制令促使他走向独立，而“让阿尔伯塔决定”组织联合主席塔尼娅·克莱门斯说，疫情限制推动了政治组织。该组织另一位联合主席基思·威尔逊是2022年卡车司机车队的主要律师之一，该车队曾因抗议疫苗强制令和其他COVID-19限制而使渥太华市中心瘫痪数周。
Separatist leader Jeff Rath said federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates drove him toward independence, while Tanya Clemens, co-chair of Let Alberta Decide, said pandemic restrictions spurred political organizing. Keith Wilson, the group’s other co-chair, was a lead lawyer for the 2022 trucker convoy that paralyzed downtown Ottawa for weeks in a protest against vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions.
艾伯塔省的不满集中于能源政策。威尔逊认为，艾伯塔省的不满更为深层。由于加拿大大部分人口集中在安大略省和魁北克省，他说，自由党政府无需获得艾伯塔省的大力支持即可赢得选举，这使得该省容易受到其能源行业反对的联邦政策的影响。
Alberta’s grievances center around energy policies Wilson argues that Alberta’s grievances go deeper. With much of Canada’s population concentrated in Ontario and Quebec, he said Liberal governments can win elections without significant support in Alberta, leaving the province vulnerable to federal policies opposed by its energy industry.
威尔逊认为，卡尼提出的太平洋连接管道项目体现了这种失调，称联邦限制已阻碍私人投资，并可能导致纳税人为该项目买单。威尔逊反对艾伯塔省成为美国的一个州。
Wilson argues that Carney’s proposed Pacific Link pipeline illustrates the dysfunction, saying federal restrictions have discouraged private investment and could leave taxpayers financing the project. Wilson rejects Alberta becoming an American state.
“我无意用一个统治我孩子未来的渥太华主人，去换一个在华盛顿的新主人，”他说。
“I have no interest in substituting a master, that rules over my children’s future, who’s in Ottawa, with a new one who’s in Washington,” he said.
其他分离主义领袖已寻求与特朗普政府接触。拉思和其他独立倡导者在华盛顿三次与美国国务院官员会面，讨论艾伯塔省的未来。
Other separatist leaders have sought contact with the Trump administration. Rath and fellow independence advocates met three times with U.S. State Department officials in Washington to discuss Alberta’s future.
斯特金湖克里族酋长谢尔登·阳光表示，艾伯塔省未经原住民族同意不能离开加拿大，他援引了早于该省成立的条约。他说，即使艾伯塔人投票支持独立，他的民族仍将留在加拿大。阳光谴责分离主义领袖与美国官员会面。
Chief Sheldon Sunshine of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation said Alberta cannot leave Canada without First Nations’ consent, citing treaties that predate the province. He said his nation would remain part of Canada even if Albertans voted for independence. Sunshine condemned separatist leaders’ meetings with U.S. officials.
“这对加拿大人民、对艾伯塔人民来说，绝对是叛国行为，”他说。
“It’s absolutely treasonous to the people of Canada, people of Alberta,” he said.
分离主义者即使不获胜也视其为成功 威尔逊表示，公投运动引发了关于艾伯塔省在加拿大地位的前所未有的讨论。
Separatists see success even without victory Wilson said the referendum campaign had generated unprecedented discussion about Alberta’s place in Canada.
“看投票率，我认为我们已经取得了成功，”他说。“人们参与其中，人们就这个话题进行的讨论在历史上是前所未有的。”拉思表示，即使没有过半数，如果30%的艾伯塔人投票支持启动分离进程，他也会感到兴奋。他希望将史密斯赶下联合保守党领袖之位，并表示该党可能会分裂，从而可能催生一个新的亲独立政党。
“I think we’ve already hit success when you look at the voter turnout,” he said. “People are engaged and people are talking about this topic at a level that’s unprecedented historically.”Rath said he would be thrilled if 30% of Albertans voted to begin the separation process, even without a majority. He wants Smith ousted as UCP leader and said the party could splinter, potentially creating a new pro-independence political party.
分离辩论可能延续至周一投票之后 部分阿尔伯塔人希望周一的投票能终结争论，而非开启一场类似魁北克的长期独立斗争。
Separation debate may outlast Monday’s vote Some Albertans hope Monday’s vote ends the debate rather than beginning a prolonged independence struggle like Quebec’s.
59岁的埃德蒙顿政府雇员戴夫·马尔卡周日参加一场亲加拿大集会时批评，在本可将资金用于医疗保健的情况下，却花钱搞他所谓的“关于公投的公投”。
Dave Malka, a 59-year-old Edmonton government worker attending a pro-Canada rally Sunday, criticized spending money on what he called a “referendum on a referendum” when the funds could have gone toward healthcare.
随着特朗普威胁加拿大，马尔卡说：“这似乎发生在最糟糕的时刻，我们本应团结一致，却在内部争斗。”马尔卡预计会遭到决定性否决，但担心分离主义者不会放弃。“这只是分离末日的开始，可以说。这是他们的起点，”他说。
With Trump threatening Canada, Malka said, “It seems to be happening at the absolute worst time when we should be united, instead we’re fighting amongst ourselves.”Malka expects a decisive rejection but fears separatists won’t give up. “This is only the start of separation Armageddon, if you will. This is their starting point,” he said.
35岁的杰克·格雷厄姆来自卡尔加里，参加卡尼的集会时穿着枫叶裤和加拿大冰球夹克。他希望一场决定性投票能解决这个问题。
Jake Graham, 35, of Calgary, attended Carney’s rallies wearing maple leaf pants and a Canada hockey jacket. He hopes a decisive vote settles the issue.
“我希望这能长期平息这场争议，并且结果清晰、决定性，让这些抱怨声消失一段时间，我们能成为一个团结的加拿大，”他说。
“I hope this squashes this for a long time to come and that it’s clear and decisive, that these grumblings disappear for a while and we can be a united Canada,” he said.