Carney says Alberta is 'essential' to Canada as province plans vote on separation

Alberta's decision to hold a referendum on separation has been widely criticised, including by separatists who say the question is not definitive enough.

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The Canadian prime minister praised the "huge contributions" the province had made and said on Friday that his government was working to improve Canada, Alberta included.

"We're renovating the country as we go, and Alberta being at the centre of that is essential," Carney said as he toured work being done on Canada's parliament building.

The vote on Alberta's future is the first significant test of the country's unity in decades.

There has been a growing separatist movement in recent years in the oil-rich province, fuelled in part by a belief that it was overlooked by decision-makers in Ottawa.