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Despite a majority of Albertans who feel their views differ from those across the rest of Canada, most don’t support the idea of the province separating to form its own country, a new poll suggests.

Three in 10 Albertans believe Alberta would be better off as its own country, while 62 per cent disagree, according to the online survey conducted by Research Co. from July 23 to 25.

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“The proportion of Albertans who appear to be flirting with separation has risen,” said Research Co. president Mario Canseco. “It is important to note that the level of strong disagreement with this statement dropped from 58 per cent in December 2018 to 44 per cent now.”

Support for Alberta separatism has risen by five percentage points since a similar survey conducted by Research Co. toward the end of last year.

The new poll, which surveyed 700 adults in Alberta, found that 56 per cent of respondents think their views “are different from the rest of the country,” including 64 per cent of men, 63 per cent of those aged 55 and up, as well as 72 per cent of those who voted for the United Conservative Party in April’s provincial election.

Data was statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in Alberta.

In a video shared on social media on Saturday, Premier Jason Kenney blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for problems facing Alberta, calling for, “if necessary, a constitutional vote on equalization.”

“Rather than focusing on Alberta separating from the Canadian federation, I’d like to focus on separating Justin Trudeau from the Prime Minister’s Office,” Kenney said in the video, promising to fight for “fairness in this federation.”

“I will never give up on Canada. I do, however, recognize that Alberta is getting a raw deal right now,” Kenney said. “Let me just put it this way: I don’t think we should allow Justin Trudeau to push us out of our country.”