Written with files from Cheryl Brooks at 840 CFCW

Alberta referendum results didn’t come in until very late last night, but in the end, more than 76 per cent of eligible voters said they wanted the province to remain part of Canada.

The separatist side picked up over 23-percent of the vote, as they were hoping to get a binding referendum on the matter.

Thomas Lukaszuk, the head of the “Forever Canadian” group, says he’s definitely happy the “stay in Canada” side won, but he also says those who wanted to leave Confederation shouldn’t be ignored, as they deserve to be heard.

“We need to develop a dialogue with separatists in Alberta, because they cannot continuously be upset and angry.”

He does say the results send a strong message to the world: that “Canada is not up for grabs.”

As for the separatist side, Jeffrey Rath of the Alberta Prosperity Project says their “committed base” will carry on.

“It’s the result tonight following a campaign where everything was stacked against us. Does the NDP when they get a similar result at an election say ‘we’re going to pack up our tent and go home and we’re no longer going to be the NDP?’ I doubt it.”

There are still nine questions from the ballot, which focused largely on immigration and constitutional changes, but those results aren’t expected until sometime tomorrow.

Premier Danielle Smith is planning to give a public address this evening for details on where the province goes from here.

A memo from the prime minister states that Albertans chose unity in the Monday vote.

Mark Carney writes that following these results, “Albertans and all Canadians will move forward together with renewed purpose and high ambition”

He added that Canada is in the process of building and, “unleashing our full potential as a global energy superpower with Alberta at its core.”