Canada's birthday tests unity as Alberta and Quebec push separatist agendas

Canada Day arrives with national unity under pressure: Alberta prepares an October referendum on separation and Quebec's sovereigntist Parti Québécois leads polls with a pledge for a third independence vote by 2030, while Prime Minister Mark Carney travels to Edmonton to argue for a united Canada and has struck a deal to fast‑track a million-barrel‑a‑day oil pipeline; despite regional frictions, most Canadians remain hopeful for compromise and polls suggest separation remains unlikely.