At Canada's biggest rodeo, the starting gun is fired in the fight over Alberta separation

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Watch: Albertans weigh in on independence from Canada By Nadine Yousif Senior Canada reporter , Reporting from Calgary, Alberta Published 20 minutes ago Over a million people descend on the Calgary Stampede every year to marvel at the iconic chuckwagon race, a sport invented in the Albertan city where carriage drivers race teams of horses around the track to the sound of pounding hooves, or be amazed by the speed of bareback riders racing in First Nations horse relays. The 'Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth' is the marquee event on Alberta's summer calendar, a distinctly western Canadian spectacle where political leaders also have to test their mettle, judged on the quality of their pancake flips at community Stampede breakfasts and their ability to pull off a cowboy hat. This year, however, looming over the festivities and carnival music of the stampede grounds is the upcoming referendum on Alberta's place in Canada. In October, Albertans will vote on whether they want the province to remain in the country, or hold a binding referendum later on separation. It is, in some ways, the starting gun of what is shaping up to be a hard fought battle over the future of Alberta. "The referendum is the cloud over everything," said Corey Hogan, a Liberal MP from Calgary who invited dozens of his colleagues from across the country to this year's stampede to promote unity. "It underpins every other conversation we might want to have." 'We have more in common with America than the rest of Canada' Published 26 April 2025 Canada celebrates its birthday as Mark Carney battles to keep it intact Published 2 July Those who are rallying for a united Canada are using the Calgary Stampede as the stage to make their case. At his own stampede speech, Hogan called separatism "a poison" dividing families across the province. Prime Minister Mark Carney is slated to make his own appearance in Calgary this weekend, where he is expected to deliver a unity message. "Everybody wants to make sure they're here at this moment," Hogan told the BBC. Image source, BBC News/Eloise Alanna Image caption, Liberal MP Corey Hogan (centre in the red plaid shirt) invited dozens of his colleagues to the Calgary Stampede to promote unity. Polls suggest the pro-unity side will comfortably win in October. But those who want Alberta to remain told the BBC they were still anxious about the outcome, fearing a Brexit-style upset, when the UK voted to leave the European Union, in which the "Remain" side grows complacent, only to lose in the end. "The shadow of Brexit is hanging over this whole thing," said Andrew Kemle, a graduate student at the University of Calgary, at Hogan's stampede breakfast. "An entire country sleepwalked into an economic disaster." They'll have the challenge of winning over people like Justin Perkins, who spoke to the BBC about his thoughts on the referendum while fuell