Good morning. Today’s Alberta referendum will either crush or buoy the separatism movement, shape how the province serves immigrants and illuminate how voters feel about the Constitution. Meanwhile, the Canadian military and public grieve the victims of the fire at CFB Wainwright about 200 kilometres southeast of Edmonton. More on that below.

Albertans vote today on whether to remain in Canada or begin the process of pursuing separation through a future binding referendum. Polling stations are open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. MT, and Elections Alberta expects substantial turnout. More than a million residents voted by mail or at advance polls.

Last push: Prime Minister Mark Carney filled convention centres at stops in Calgary and Edmonton, where he urged people to vote to stay in Canada. And prominent separatists joined hundreds of supporters outside the provincial legislature for a final rally before the ballots are tallied.

Brush up: Review our answers to reader questions about the referendum, plus our guide to the nine ballot questions that concern immigration and constitutional issues.

In depth:

• Separatists who helped bring Premier Danielle Smith to power now hope to unseat her.
• So-called soft separatists, who don’t necessarily want to leave but crave leverage with Ottawa, form an influential voting bloc.
• Those looking to rip apart this country would turn Alberta into a vassal state, the editorial board writes.

The blaze at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright that killed four soldiers and wounded dozens began as a smouldering grass fire that was whipped by high winds into a “wall of flame,” which shifted rapidly toward personnel who were part of live-fire exercises, according to internal military communications and officials.

The deceased: The Department of National Defence identified the late soldiers as Sergeant Morgan Wong, Private Shaun Farrell, Private Aidan Goulding and Private Hayden Lykkemark. Alberta stands with their families, said Smith, who confirmed an additional 39 people were injured.

Quoted: Carney said the country was in mourning and called the fire “one of the worst tragedies that our armed forces have experienced on Canadian soil in peacetime.” He praised those who fought it “throughout the night in some of the worst conditions imaginable, risking their lives to protect their fellow Canadians.”

Roundup: Here is everything we know so far about the fire, the victims, the medical response and the outpouring of condolences from around the country. Our reporters provided live coverage and context.

On the ground: The main gate to CFB Wainwright is minutes from the town’s Main Street. While military visitors tend to stay on the base, the two communities are inextricably linked, say residents, several of whom gathered at the Church of the Nazarene to pray for those affected by the fire.

Pete Fry, the first Green candidate who will lead a major Canadian city, plans to prioritize dealing with community safety and getting people off the streets in a thoughtful manner. Vancouver’s mayor-elect said the issue will top his to-do list once he is sworn in alongside a largely progressive council.

The winner: The city swung to the left to elect Fry, who was born in Dublin to Anglo-Trinidadian parents – his mother is the veteran Liberal MP Hedy Fry – and moved to Vancouver when he was two. Fry supplanted the one-term incumbent Ken Sim, whose right-leaning ABC party campaigned on a steady-as-she-goes platform.