Very good article Mr. Solberg. So nice to hear someone who has a clear head and is not parroting the “ poor me “ argument that independence is the best and only solution. Canada is a great country and we should all be working together to keep it great.
Blame shifting and scapegoating has been an Alberta Conservative family value for generations. What has been ignored is the vast sums of money which was squandered away on very substantial boondoogles for ages, by none other than the Conservatives in this province. Peter Lougheed's rainy day savings vanished. The oil booms went into a bust, and here we are. Justin Trudeau isn't at fault for Saudi Arabia and Russia deciding they were going to make oil prices collapse the year before he became prime minister. Albertans do not pay more than their fair share of federal taxes, because the federal tax rate is the same across Canada. Currently, there is a rise in oil prices, but that is due to a bloody war caused by the US president, DJT. Leave it to the UCP to flush it down the drain, while the misinformed point their fingers elsewhere. These separatists are very lost.
You're right we don't pay more per person, but somehow the eastern welfare provinces don't seem to understand we receive far less back. At some point, if your brother in law refused to actually get a job and move out of the basement, he needs to be kicked out.
When exactly will the loser provinces fix themselves? They've had 60 years of Albertans paying their bills, and no closer to actual maturity.
I object to the demonization inherent in the epithet "the eastern welfare provinces". This is a huge slop of shit on the heads of tens-of-millions of people and it is not fair.
Alberta is extraordinarily rich (even though successive UPC and Conservative governments have been imprudent in their management of those riches). As such, it pays more in taxes.
End of story.
That does not justify ugly mischaracterizations of most of the rest of Canada.
AC, you object to the term "eastern welfare provinces" so please enlighten me.
Are any of those provinces west of Manitoba?
Are any of those provinces not on national welfare, i.e. equalization?
Are any of those jurisdictions not provinces?
So, if you cannot argue any of those words then the overall term is correct - with the exception, I suppose, that Manitoba is not usually considered the "east."
I suggest that you simply don't like the truth: all those provinces are on welfare and have not taken real steps to get off that welfare.
I object to the premise. It is, as I've suggested elsewhere on this comment thread, a trope to demonize "the other" (in this case, the "non-Albertans who oppose the push to break Alberta way from the rest of Canada").
As such, the use of the premise is meant not to enrich or encourage debate, but to invalidate or "cancel" altogether the validity of the position advocated by opponents of Alberta separatism.
You seem to forget that those " welfare" provinces paid to educate many people who today work and pay taxes in Alberta. In many cases, their parents are pensioners still living in those provinces, and using the health care system there.
Alberta isn't rich. Far from it. When you have decades of utter fiscal mismanagement from a longstanding Conservative government, who turned Peter Lougheed's rainy day savings into squat, from epic boondoogles, it's the furthest thing from rich.
Alberta decided those funds would be better off in the hands of citizens instead of a top down government run fund. It's a difference in the ideological role of the state.
That's not even happening. On the other hand, Alberta had over 50 years (by now) of Conservative governments, who turned Peter Lougheed's rainy day savings into nothing, by doing the most priciest boondoogles, one right after another, year after year, which squandered a very vast sums of money . Then, the citizens lie, and blame another government for this, that being the federal Liberals, and when the oil prices collapse, and the money dries up, they have a pity party. This time, we have an increase in oil prices, due to a bloody war, caused by DJT, and the UCP will try and boast about their fiscal acumen, when they have none. Besides this, we have the UCP, who have a government that is mirroring fascism. In Alberta, the electorate did it to themselves. It's time to for Albertans to grow up, and accept responsibility for their own political ignorance.
Anon, you - and others in this thread - are arguing, among other foolish things that we in Alberta are choosing separatism because we are enjoying very high oil prices.
Wrong!
Many of us have been separatists for years, if not decades. We have lived through price booms and price busts; that is what you do when you sell a fungible commodity. The point is that we have learned to do those things.
Oh, and just a f'r instance about price collapses. Think back to, oh, was it 2014? GM announced that it would close an Oshawa plant ONE YEAR HENCE, i.e. giving notice and that 2,500 workers would be laid off IN ONE YEAR. The National did it's next day broadcast from Oshawa; there were Parliamentary debates; the headlines about the "crisis" were endless. Contrast that to 2014-2015 when over 100,000 oil workers lost their jobs in Alberta. Reaction from our worsers (definitely not our betters) in Central Canada: nada; nothing; ho hum; your fault for depending on a commodity.
Yes, we depend on a commodity (but we are widely diversified even though Central Canada and Central Canadians just refuse to believe it) but we know how to live through it. Painfully, but successfully.
So, this foolishness about current oil prices promoting separatism? Just that: foolishness. Check back and you will find that this current move to hold a referendum has been ongoing for some time, much, much pre-dating current oil prices.
Your comment simply shows that you have no knowledge of we in Alberta.
It's not even happening. Here's the reasons for that. Saudi Arabia and Russia decided they were going to make oil prices plummet, the year prior to Justin Trudeau becoming PM. Those two countries reduced oil prices by three quarters. Besides that, Alberta has had over 50 years of Conservative governments who squandered away Peter Lougheed's rainy day savings on so many boondoogles.
Fascism. Where to begin with that and the UCP? Picking on minorities, and those who cannot defend themselves, such as the handicapped. Supporting the interests of a select group, while ignoring the wishes and needs of many. Scapegoats, such as immigrants. A lust and a desire for absolute power and control. Striking down those who oppose the UCP's very poorly thought ought policies, such as teachers. Having a propaganda outlet, which is her radio talk show. Shutting down debate. Look how short the Alberta Legislature sits. Gerrymandering electoral boundaries to favour the UCP candidates. Having a vice grip control over municipalities, boards, and others. Wanting a police state. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is a duck.
I’m not sure which one of your claims is the most ridiculous. To say Russia and Saudi Arabia decided to lower oil prices before Trudeau came to power, shows a complete lack of economic knowledge. “The UCP are fascists” is beyond stupid. The everyone I disagree with is a fascist is getting tiresome.
“Having a propaganda outlet, which is her radio talk show.”
This one is my favorite. As if the publicly funded CBC and all the other mainstream media outlets currently on the government dole are representing all sides of the argument, presenting hard facts and speaking truth to power.
All you had to tell me was that you weren't sure, and left it at that. Saudi Arabia, and Russia had a major role in oil prices taking a major tumble in 2014. Oil prices were basically halved by the end of that year, and by 2026, they went substantially lower.The United States also had a shale oil boom. The Saudi Arabian minister said a decade ago, about his dislike for higher cost oil producers. Jim Prentice even said there were problems with the oil industry, and that was the affect of low oil prices. Another point of information is that the UCP certainly don't have a democratic government. It's the opposite.
Ah. The shifting goalposts. You originally said Albertans aren't being mistreated by a federal government, and are defending that position by invoking...Saudi Arabia?
Wild, man.
Literally none of what you mentioned in the second half of your diatribe are hallmarks of "fascism"... Did you save any of your selective outrage for a SC that says one day there is no right to strike, and the next day says there is?
Those who espouse ideology that is properly described as "fascism" invariably reach for propaganda tools such as the following to advance their agenda:
* Scapegoating.
In places like Nazi Germany, this was focused on demonizing the Jews, gay people, Roma and so forth. In the modern-day USA, it has been manifest in diatribes from Donald Trump and his supporters against immigrants (including those who came in via regular channels, and those who entered the United States as irregular migrants, i.e.: not through regular border crossing and without proper documentation). Most notable in this context has been Donald Trump's out-and-out racist attacks on Americans of Somali origin.
* "Revolutionary Image".
What is the push for a separate state than a revolutionary act of destruction? In this case, the object hated by advocates of Alberta separatism is the confederation of Canada. Fascist ideologues often work to discredit the existing order as "decadent" (which, in the present context, could include tropes such as "they, i.e.: the rest of Canada, subsist on welfare funded by Alberta").
* Appeal to "Christian doctrine"
This is not universal amongst fascist movements, past and present, but it has been a thread that keeps popping up, often in juxtaposition against the secularism of mainstream, especially liberal-democratic, political movements. For example, Tim Stephens, an evangelical pastor in Calgary, is known for having linked "support for independence [with a] deep spiritual longing on the part of some [Alberta] Christians".
* Popular violence
I do not believe that violence is the main goal of most Alberta separatists. However, I will observe that the Convoy Movement of 2022 certainly contained within it groups that advocated "accelerations" political doctrine focused on overthrowing the existing political order. While most of this played out in Ottawa, we cannot forget that there were some in Southern Alberta organizing to mount violent attacks on symbols of authority at border crossings and elsewhere.
* Appeals to Cultural Myths
If there is one thing that Alberta separatists like to play up it is the belief that "Ottawa" (or, more recently, the rest of Canada) works to frustrate Alberta's interests. This is less fact than it is mythos, built up over decades, in part by on-the-make politicians who have acted to reinforce certain popular narratives. It doesn't matter that, at best, the myth is only half-truth. The aim is to play up the importance of loyalty to one's own group, and the demonization of perceived enemies who are allegedly working against the group. It is not rational, but it is appealing to many.
- - - - - - -
I think that one might say a thing or two about the Alberta separatist movement that, at the very least, raises questions that link back to this (incomplete) list of features characterizing fascist movements, past and present.
I know that this won't be a popular post, but I think that many people in Canada, including many in Alberta, worry about this.
Contrary to what another person said, merely disagreeing with a government, doesn't make them fascist. It's how they are governing that does. With the UCP, there are parallels.
If there is a very tight grip on municipalities, and council members can be removed, simply because the UCP doesn't like them, that's not democracy. When federal grants to universities are heavily screened by the UCP, and must meet the UCP's criteria, that's definitely not democracy. Bullying people who have the right to peacefully assemble and strike, over unjust working conditions, isn't democracy. Naming a law after a quack doctor, who was discredited, and defending his improper speech with the law named after him, can't be called democracy. Kicking the poor when they are already down, such as those on AISH, and targeting minority groups isn't democracy. Having outsiders, who weren't elected, manipulate the UCP into doing their bidding, isn't democracy either. Targeting immigrants for the economic woes of the province is flat out racist and xenophobic. Silencing the opposition isn't democracy at all. Trying to manipulate the outcomes of criminal investigations against themselves, for severe corruption, that being the UCP, isn't democracy. Wanting a police force that is merely for power and control, even though the electorate opposes it, isn't democracy. Absorbing other ridings, by a gerrymandering power grab, is not what you can call democracy. This all looks like fascism.
Ah! The denial. Can't accept that decades of fiscal mismanagement by the provincial Conservatives in Alberta put us in this big mess. Where is Peter Lougheed's rainy day savings? When oil prices take a nosedive, due to complacency of a belief in a permanent oil booms, the scapegoating and pity party begins. Anyone who can't accept these realities is basically lying.
Oof. Imagine thinking sending $600 billion to Ottawa to die in the last 40 years has no effect on Albertans. How's about the eastern loser provinces send that money back, and we'll debate economic positions.
Oh wait. That money is gone with no effect on economic growth in those provinces? Color me shocked.
This should make it even clearer. Alberta isn't being mistreated by the federal government. When Covid-19 hit us all, the federal government gave Alberta the highest amount of Covid-19 assistance in the entire country. The UCP being greedy, took federal government assistance money during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the other political parties in Alberta flat out rejected taking that money, because they could see how many Albertans were struggling.
Three provinces, being British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, were given federal government assistance money for orphan oil well remediation. Alberta got the bulk of the money, and even had to hand back $137 million to the federal government, because the UCP neglected to use the money for its specific purpose.
In another generous gesture, the federal government gave the provinces and territories a $200 per month top up for their provincial disability support program. Being cold-hearted, the UCP clawed that money back.
Somehow, Justin Trudeau was being abusive to Alberta, despite the fact that he had absolutely nothing to do with a very severe economic downturn that began in 2014, which coincided with a very steep decline in oil prices. Had he not been in power, the oil industry in Alberta would have been tanking. Stephen Harper was in power before he was, and the oil industry was already suffering badly.
“Indeed, Albertans make an outsized net contribution to Canada—to the tune of $285.1 billion from 2007 to 2024. Put differently, during that 17-year period, Albertans contributed $285.1 billion more to the federal government (in taxes and other payments) than Ottawa spent or transferred to Alberta. And Albertans contributed more than four times as much (on net) as British Columbians or Ontarians. The other seven provinces, most notably Quebec, were net recipients, meaning Ottawa spent or transferred more money to those provinces than it collected.”
As to the constant reference to the 2014 oil price collapse. Companies don’t make a multi-year design, engineering and permit application for a 50 year Oilsands mine on a spot price.
This piece is mostly hot air that dodges the real grievances separatists raise and the structural rot in Canada.
You can't coast on past wins forever while telling people "it's not that bad." Harper's era is ancient history at this point. Trudeau Sr.'s NEP already proved Ottawa can kneecap Alberta energy whenever it suits the Laurentian elite. Solberg's claim that Trudeau's damage wasn't "typical" of the Alberta-Ottawa relationship is nonsense.
The "still one of the most admired countries" line is pure cope. Foreign polls chase vibes and maple syrup branding. They ignore Canada's free fall: happiness ranking dropped to 25th in 2026 (worst ever), housing is the most unaffordable in the OECD, healthcare ranks near the bottom among developed nations with chronic wait times and bed shortages, and cost-of-living pressures have crushed young Canadians.
Telling Albertans to feel grateful for what they have is condescending bullshit. Alberta's 2024 GDP per capita sat at about $71k, the highest in Canada, sure, but it trails Texas ($79-85k range), North Dakota ($94-100k), and lags the US average while energy peers grew faster under fewer federal handcuffs.
Alberta set oil production records in 2025, but we're still stuck selling most of it discounted to the US because pipelines to better markets got delayed for years by Ottawa and green activists. TMX helped narrow the WCS-WTI spread some and boosted non-US shipments, yet the discount persists and revenues could be far higher without the chronic takeaway constraints. We could sell at world prices to Asia instead of subsidizing American refiners.
Federal-provincial "cooperation" sounds nice until you remember Albertans have poured hundreds of billions net into Confederation over decades: $244 billion from 2007-2022 alone, billions yearly into equalization with zero back—while getting lectures about unity and decency. The warmth-of-the-people stuff is irrelevant when policy screws the resource base that funds it all.
Tall poppy syndrome in full effect. Alberta's success inside Canada is real, but pretending endless net transfers, regulatory and market access sabotage are just minor flaws worth defending with Olympic cheers and passport hypotheticals is weak.
Separatist frustration isn't baseless fantasy. It's a rational response to repeated evidence that Ottawa treats Alberta like a cash cow that should shut up and pay.
Trudeau's NEP didn't kneecap anything. In 1975, the Vietnam war ended, after 20 years, and a glut of oil resulted - worldwide. Ottawa doesn't treat Alberta like a cash cow. In this province of Alberta, Conservative governments, did one pricey boondoogle, after another, time and time again, for a long time, evaporating Peter Lougheed's rainy day savings. Danielle Smith must have taught people the art of lying, because she always blames someone else for the failures of the UCP. As I recall in this province, we happened to have a premier, Jim Prentice, who instructed us to take a look in the mirror.
• Vietnam war 1975 oil glut: False. NEP launched in 1980 during Iranian Revolution, spiking to $37/barrel; real glut hit 1986 after NEP drained Alberta revenues.
• Ottawa doesn't treat Alberta like a cash cow: Alberta sent net $244.6 billion more to Ottawa than received, 2007-2022, with annual net outflows often $15-27 billion. Alberta hasn't received equalization since 1965 and contributes billions yearly to the program (e.g. ~$4.2B of $26B total in 2025-26) while getting zero back. That's the textbook definition of a cash cow.
• Alberta Conservatives boondoggled away Lougheed's fund: True later PC governments stopped Heritage Fund contributions in 1987 and diverted earnings. Doesn't negate the NEP's separate $50-100B revenue grab and oil rig exodus in 1980-85.
• Danielle Smith taught lying by blaming others and Jim Prentice "look in the mirror": Red herrings irrelevant to NEP.
In what way is Albertan separation a solution to any of the (real or imagined) problems that you identified? An independent Alberta would not pay taxes to the rest of Canada, but otherwise none of your grievances would be addressed. You have not presented an argument that Albertan democracy is stronger in any way that democracy in the rest of Canada, such that it would result in better policy outcomes if left to its own devices.
An independent Alberta would need to pay for its own military in order to resist American or other foreign pressures. Money would be saved from not sharing tax revenue, but any Albertan military force would necessarily have a smaller economy of scale. And then you can forget about ever having a friendly Conservative government in the newer version of Canada, with the lost federal representation of Albertan voters.
Random thoughts: we in Alberta make the most most money so we pay the most taxes so while I'm not happy with Equalization it's not the my biggest beef. My bigger beef is the structure of the government system which is stacked against us, misallocation of Senate seats, multiple structural privileges given to Quebec, since most of Western Canadians cannot speak any or acceptable French we are denied access upper level government or major government supervised companies. Until these inequities and the long list of other structural inequities are accepted as a major unfairness to AB and the west by Central Canada and actions are taken to resolve I/we will never feel good or accepted as a equal partner in the country we call Canada.
Hypocrisy? It exists in Alberta in bulk. Can't be griping about democracy not existing at the federal level, while it certainly is lacking in Alberta with the UCP. Imbalance of power? Such as rural ridings in Alberta having more political power than urban ridings do, despite urban ridings having more population. Gerrymandering ridings, USA style, to grab more power. Shutting down the Alberta Legislature so it hardly ever has sittings. Panels that have a fixed agenda. Behaving like bullies to municipal leaders, teachers and others, who show legitimate distrust of the UCP. Using the Notwithstanding Clause in an undemocratic way, to kibosh the rights people have. Silencing the Auditor General. Making weak excuses to delay the provincial election. Shameful!
Your response is pure deflection. The issues you raise are not structural (and the ones that you say are structural are either untrue or overstated). AB has had a watershed change in government more recently than Ottawa has.
Proponents against the Notwithstanding clause are happy to ignore an unelected activist Supreme Court aggressively encroaching on the elected legislative branch. Nothing to see here.. their wisdom is above criticism and reproach, and you must be anti-democratic to suggest otherwise! There was no “right to strike” until the SCC reversed their previous ruling and deemed it to be so. Ironically Peter Loughheed specifically cited a fear that the Supreme Court may someday determine this as his reason for supporting the Notwithstanding Clause. Fancy that.
Back to your point on AB - yes there are some serious issues with this government. No question, you’re right to raise them (just not in the way you are). The point being is AB is far more likely to make them pay a price for their sins than Eastern Canada is to the Liberals for what I would suggest are far more egregious sins. And why is that? Well - it’s the structural issues the original commenter made.
I’m not a separatist. But ignoring or deflecting away the issues cited just bolsters their position, not yours.
What you said is absolute rubbish. Alberta hasn't had a change in government. What activist judges? The courts play a vital role in protecting our democracy, which is what the UCP doesn't like.
Very well stated! Surprised that you didn't sign the petition, knowing full well as you do that there is no reforming this system that Alberta is currently subjected to.
I see many (all?) easterners still subscribe to Clifford Sifton's vision of "Canada":
"We desire, and all Canadian Patriots desire, that the great trade of the prairies shall go to enrich our people to the East, to build up our factories and our places of work, and in every legitimate way to our prosperity."
When exactly will the eastern welfare provinces grow up and carry their own weight?
I really don’t have to. I have heard the prattling on too many times before on the same subject matter.
Mr. Solberg has a pension and benefits that other Canadians can only imagine. From his political days it appears he has slithered effortlessly into a “post political position” quite seamlessly.
I have no pension.
I have no benefits.
When we sold our companies, we incurred capital gains taxes on funds that had already been taxed over, and again.
I am thrilled that Mr. Solberg is firmly attached to the prime teat of the Canadian economic belly.
Mine is not a rant based on argumentum ad hominem; I am just very, very tired and chagrined of the arguments that go breathlessly something like “Canada is such a great place to live” or “we are so lucky to live here” as it is patently obvious that we could be doing so much better as a functioning Nation.
The Canada in which I was raised is gone; it no longer exists. If we are left only to grasp for stray threads to which we should gratefully cling because we are marginally better off than countries with zero natural resources, corrupt or dysfunctional systems of government, and a lack of proximity to the wondrous American economic market, it really isn’t a ringing endorsement, in my opinion.
As George Grant put it in 1965, Canadians “were left like fish on the shore of a dying lake.”
Ten years of happy talk and sunny ways have led us to this point; please forgive me if I fail to fall for the myth.
Thanks for the honesty. Here's another piece of honesty; the LPC got rid of JT because he hurt their reelection chances, not because they did not love him.
The author has his head stuck deep into a dark tight pipe while high on strong psychedelics, and thus fails to see, let alone acknowledge the realities of THIS actual Canada. Canada is rapidly becoming a dystopian racist hard-leftist dictatorship, and if lots people seem to want to live in that kind of a corrupt hole, I and many others absolutely do not.
The many cases for ditching Canada are right in the open.
We send 5 billion a year to New Brunswick in order to greatly subsidize the Irving Empire, the largest private land owners in North America. They pay 3.50 stumpage fee then charge the province 3.90 to "manage" the provincial forests. a 2000/acre tax on their 2.5 million acres of privately owned forests would reduce federal transfer payments to NB to zero. They also have similar holdings right across the border in Maine and yet Maine's GDP is 20k more. The only difference is jurisdictional governance. The Family Compact is alive and thriving...
To Monte and Jen: Please check the political chessboard. Any secession referendum is the Albertan Knight's move to assert Section 92 provincial rights onto the Core Centre Squares, as successfully demonstrated by the impious Quebec Bishop. Lack of subsequent action to build trans-national pipelines and west coast tanker ports would put the exposed Laurentian Elite into immediate checkmate. It's a proven feint that will ultimately unify the country by wresting control from the PMO Rooks who guard Ottawa's insular ramparts.
Unfair treatment and abuse? That would be self inflicted by many years of gross fiscal mismanagement by the provincial Conservatives in Alberta. Again, where is Peter Lougheed's rainy day savings? The fact is that many Albertans can't handle the truth.
I rather suspect you are a disgruntled dipper who was shocked-SHOCKED!- to discover the Albertans didn't care to be lectured by leftist blowhards. But there you have it.
Okay, I have read your commentary Mr. Solberg, but just what is the case for Canada?
You tell the reader that Canada has worked in the past. You point out that (thankfully!) the Face Painter (I still cannot say his name, my animus is so great) is gone. That is true. But, but, but ..... the same voting coalition that imposed itself on Canada and attempted to destroy Alberta is still in power and even were they not, the way this country is organized it could return at any time and do even greater damage to Alberta.
There is absolutely no way that there can be substantive change in the political structure in this country. The risk of the center just "knowing" how we MUST live our lives remains and will not simply evaporate.
I, therefore, have signed the petition and will vote in the affirmative in the referendum.
When did Trudeau say this: "No country would find 173 billion barrels of oil in the ground and just leave them there"? And the feds must have done a piss-poor job of trying to destroy Alberta when the province's oil production went up almost every year the federal Libs were in power.
Bill, I am sitting in my car waiting for my granddaughter, which means that I don't have my computer available to me right now. I am therefore working from memory.
The Face Painter - as I recall - made that statement right here in Calgary. It was either when he was running for the leadership or in his first national election campaign.
Funny you should mention that: yes, the damned feds did do a piss poor job of just about everything. Except destruction of the national economy where they were damned spectacular.
During that period the feds obstructed pretty well all new oils and plants and pipelines. Demonizing the validity of the industry is the first step in clout down.
The Face Painter's various actions deliberately violated the constitutional separation of powers and it is only the vigorous actions of the provinces that slowed him down.
Trudeau made the '173 billion' comment in March 2017, at an oil conference in Houston, Texas. The national economy was doing fine until COVID hit. Then we had a bout of inflation, then Trump attacked some of our major industries with tariffs. Trudeau did see that the TMX project was completed -- something which almost no Alberta politician, let alone conservative partisan, gives him credit for. Two questions, Ken: Do you believe that dangerous climate change is real and largely caused by humans burning fossil fuels? Should oil companies pay for the cost of cutting carbon emissions, given that they are the ones profiting from resource extraction?
You demean your own province if you link its entire economic worth to just one industry. Albertan prosperity so much more than the just the One Thing, as you surely realize?
We have traveled in over 60 countries in Asia, Middle East and Europe. As Canadians we are always getting friendly greetings and happy to see us......even in the States under the current administration strangers say thanks for coming...apologize for their President...followed by the odd one saying "he is a idiot". The only time we received a negative, and it wasn't really negative more sympathetic, was during Justin's reign when folks in the Baltic Countries would say with a smile/laugh..."how about the Prime Minister of yours??"
Having lived in Europe for a number of years, I can honestly state that we never ran into anyone that every mistook us for Canadians, as that place was too far away for them to contemplate generally and Canadians are considered to be some strange northern human species that never ventures far from their icy homes. We were mistaken for Dutch, German, Danes, northern Euros mainly. Strangely, never American or British. We weren't loud enough I guess. Canada was never in the news until Trudeau won the election in 2015 (the Euros love him of course) and we never heard mentioned nor noticed Canada coming up for discussion in any other way. Canada just didn't matter to them, had zero impact on either Europeans or world affairs in general and one had to go out of their way (flag patches?) to be recognized as Canadian. Hardly a ringing endorsement of Canada's great contributions or admiration on the world stage.
The Canadian chattering classes are obsessed with what they are thought of in places like New York, Paris and London. The NY Times and Economist matters much more to them than what Canadians think of them.
The biggest takeaway from this article is that most of us Albertans have no 'personal' reason to leave Canada. A toxic self-defeating culture has too much sway right now . Far more than it deserves.
Very good article Mr. Solberg. So nice to hear someone who has a clear head and is not parroting the “ poor me “ argument that independence is the best and only solution. Canada is a great country and we should all be working together to keep it great.
“Canada is a great country for welfare provinces to never have to grow up.”
Fixed it for you.
Ugly and inaccurate.
You're half right...
Corporate welfare province, like Alberta?
Are we now arguing what provincial governments do with the money their citizens pay in taxes?
Blame shifting and scapegoating has been an Alberta Conservative family value for generations. What has been ignored is the vast sums of money which was squandered away on very substantial boondoogles for ages, by none other than the Conservatives in this province. Peter Lougheed's rainy day savings vanished. The oil booms went into a bust, and here we are. Justin Trudeau isn't at fault for Saudi Arabia and Russia deciding they were going to make oil prices collapse the year before he became prime minister. Albertans do not pay more than their fair share of federal taxes, because the federal tax rate is the same across Canada. Currently, there is a rise in oil prices, but that is due to a bloody war caused by the US president, DJT. Leave it to the UCP to flush it down the drain, while the misinformed point their fingers elsewhere. These separatists are very lost.
You're right we don't pay more per person, but somehow the eastern welfare provinces don't seem to understand we receive far less back. At some point, if your brother in law refused to actually get a job and move out of the basement, he needs to be kicked out.
When exactly will the loser provinces fix themselves? They've had 60 years of Albertans paying their bills, and no closer to actual maturity.
More ugly and inaccurate propaganda.
Care to share which part is inaccurate? Or is it more accurate to say the facts hit you right in the feelz?
I object to the demonization inherent in the epithet "the eastern welfare provinces". This is a huge slop of shit on the heads of tens-of-millions of people and it is not fair.
Alberta is extraordinarily rich (even though successive UPC and Conservative governments have been imprudent in their management of those riches). As such, it pays more in taxes.
End of story.
That does not justify ugly mischaracterizations of most of the rest of Canada.
AC, you object to the term "eastern welfare provinces" so please enlighten me.
Are any of those provinces west of Manitoba?
Are any of those provinces not on national welfare, i.e. equalization?
Are any of those jurisdictions not provinces?
So, if you cannot argue any of those words then the overall term is correct - with the exception, I suppose, that Manitoba is not usually considered the "east."
I suggest that you simply don't like the truth: all those provinces are on welfare and have not taken real steps to get off that welfare.
I object to the premise. It is, as I've suggested elsewhere on this comment thread, a trope to demonize "the other" (in this case, the "non-Albertans who oppose the push to break Alberta way from the rest of Canada").
As such, the use of the premise is meant not to enrich or encourage debate, but to invalidate or "cancel" altogether the validity of the position advocated by opponents of Alberta separatism.
This isn't my first debating rodeo, Ken.
Do the eastern welfare provinces accept money extracted from Albertans to pay their basic expenses?
Yes.
Is that welfare?
Yes.
Is it endless, with no attempt by the welfare provinces to extricate themselves from this economic situation?
Yes
You don't have to like the facts, but the facts don't care about your feelz.
How's about you bring some of this confiscatory taxation energy to the eastern welfare provinces and chivvy them to do better?
These are not “facts”. They are carefully curated (and misrepresented) propaganda talking points. We’re done “talking”.
What money from Albertans?
You seem to forget that those " welfare" provinces paid to educate many people who today work and pay taxes in Alberta. In many cases, their parents are pensioners still living in those provinces, and using the health care system there.
Alberta isn't rich. Far from it. When you have decades of utter fiscal mismanagement from a longstanding Conservative government, who turned Peter Lougheed's rainy day savings into squat, from epic boondoogles, it's the furthest thing from rich.
Alberta isn't rich because Albertans have had $600 billion extracted for the grifting of welfare provinces...
Alberta decided those funds would be better off in the hands of citizens instead of a top down government run fund. It's a difference in the ideological role of the state.
we receive about 12 per cent of federal government spending, about in line with Alberta's share of the national population.
So, to confirm, Albertans can handle being punched in the face repeatedly by a rapacious central government, so we should continue to do so.
Not the most compelling argument.
That's not even happening. On the other hand, Alberta had over 50 years (by now) of Conservative governments, who turned Peter Lougheed's rainy day savings into nothing, by doing the most priciest boondoogles, one right after another, year after year, which squandered a very vast sums of money . Then, the citizens lie, and blame another government for this, that being the federal Liberals, and when the oil prices collapse, and the money dries up, they have a pity party. This time, we have an increase in oil prices, due to a bloody war, caused by DJT, and the UCP will try and boast about their fiscal acumen, when they have none. Besides this, we have the UCP, who have a government that is mirroring fascism. In Alberta, the electorate did it to themselves. It's time to for Albertans to grow up, and accept responsibility for their own political ignorance.
Anon, you - and others in this thread - are arguing, among other foolish things that we in Alberta are choosing separatism because we are enjoying very high oil prices.
Wrong!
Many of us have been separatists for years, if not decades. We have lived through price booms and price busts; that is what you do when you sell a fungible commodity. The point is that we have learned to do those things.
Oh, and just a f'r instance about price collapses. Think back to, oh, was it 2014? GM announced that it would close an Oshawa plant ONE YEAR HENCE, i.e. giving notice and that 2,500 workers would be laid off IN ONE YEAR. The National did it's next day broadcast from Oshawa; there were Parliamentary debates; the headlines about the "crisis" were endless. Contrast that to 2014-2015 when over 100,000 oil workers lost their jobs in Alberta. Reaction from our worsers (definitely not our betters) in Central Canada: nada; nothing; ho hum; your fault for depending on a commodity.
Yes, we depend on a commodity (but we are widely diversified even though Central Canada and Central Canadians just refuse to believe it) but we know how to live through it. Painfully, but successfully.
So, this foolishness about current oil prices promoting separatism? Just that: foolishness. Check back and you will find that this current move to hold a referendum has been ongoing for some time, much, much pre-dating current oil prices.
Your comment simply shows that you have no knowledge of we in Alberta.
That's not even happening? What color is the sky on your world?
The charge of fascism carries no weight anymore- you people have used it to describe everything you don't like far too often.
It's not even happening. Here's the reasons for that. Saudi Arabia and Russia decided they were going to make oil prices plummet, the year prior to Justin Trudeau becoming PM. Those two countries reduced oil prices by three quarters. Besides that, Alberta has had over 50 years of Conservative governments who squandered away Peter Lougheed's rainy day savings on so many boondoogles.
Fascism. Where to begin with that and the UCP? Picking on minorities, and those who cannot defend themselves, such as the handicapped. Supporting the interests of a select group, while ignoring the wishes and needs of many. Scapegoats, such as immigrants. A lust and a desire for absolute power and control. Striking down those who oppose the UCP's very poorly thought ought policies, such as teachers. Having a propaganda outlet, which is her radio talk show. Shutting down debate. Look how short the Alberta Legislature sits. Gerrymandering electoral boundaries to favour the UCP candidates. Having a vice grip control over municipalities, boards, and others. Wanting a police state. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is a duck.
I’m not sure which one of your claims is the most ridiculous. To say Russia and Saudi Arabia decided to lower oil prices before Trudeau came to power, shows a complete lack of economic knowledge. “The UCP are fascists” is beyond stupid. The everyone I disagree with is a fascist is getting tiresome.
“Having a propaganda outlet, which is her radio talk show.”
This one is my favorite. As if the publicly funded CBC and all the other mainstream media outlets currently on the government dole are representing all sides of the argument, presenting hard facts and speaking truth to power.
All you had to tell me was that you weren't sure, and left it at that. Saudi Arabia, and Russia had a major role in oil prices taking a major tumble in 2014. Oil prices were basically halved by the end of that year, and by 2026, they went substantially lower.The United States also had a shale oil boom. The Saudi Arabian minister said a decade ago, about his dislike for higher cost oil producers. Jim Prentice even said there were problems with the oil industry, and that was the affect of low oil prices. Another point of information is that the UCP certainly don't have a democratic government. It's the opposite.
Saudi-Russian Oil Price War - IER https://share.google/fweSuQXLzEJ8P81Xk
https://youtu.be/axoxTyRbL-Y?si=y-bj57ym0GZ9es8h
https://youtu.be/uR3zvk7g1bg?si=1an8h4Wtw-mTuwAb
8 Reasons You Should Be Worried About Democracy In Alberta https://share.google/Sx5RS70iAbmDQe0z3
Ah. The shifting goalposts. You originally said Albertans aren't being mistreated by a federal government, and are defending that position by invoking...Saudi Arabia?
Wild, man.
Literally none of what you mentioned in the second half of your diatribe are hallmarks of "fascism"... Did you save any of your selective outrage for a SC that says one day there is no right to strike, and the next day says there is?
Those who espouse ideology that is properly described as "fascism" invariably reach for propaganda tools such as the following to advance their agenda:
* Scapegoating.
In places like Nazi Germany, this was focused on demonizing the Jews, gay people, Roma and so forth. In the modern-day USA, it has been manifest in diatribes from Donald Trump and his supporters against immigrants (including those who came in via regular channels, and those who entered the United States as irregular migrants, i.e.: not through regular border crossing and without proper documentation). Most notable in this context has been Donald Trump's out-and-out racist attacks on Americans of Somali origin.
* "Revolutionary Image".
What is the push for a separate state than a revolutionary act of destruction? In this case, the object hated by advocates of Alberta separatism is the confederation of Canada. Fascist ideologues often work to discredit the existing order as "decadent" (which, in the present context, could include tropes such as "they, i.e.: the rest of Canada, subsist on welfare funded by Alberta").
* Appeal to "Christian doctrine"
This is not universal amongst fascist movements, past and present, but it has been a thread that keeps popping up, often in juxtaposition against the secularism of mainstream, especially liberal-democratic, political movements. For example, Tim Stephens, an evangelical pastor in Calgary, is known for having linked "support for independence [with a] deep spiritual longing on the part of some [Alberta] Christians".
* Popular violence
I do not believe that violence is the main goal of most Alberta separatists. However, I will observe that the Convoy Movement of 2022 certainly contained within it groups that advocated "accelerations" political doctrine focused on overthrowing the existing political order. While most of this played out in Ottawa, we cannot forget that there were some in Southern Alberta organizing to mount violent attacks on symbols of authority at border crossings and elsewhere.
* Appeals to Cultural Myths
If there is one thing that Alberta separatists like to play up it is the belief that "Ottawa" (or, more recently, the rest of Canada) works to frustrate Alberta's interests. This is less fact than it is mythos, built up over decades, in part by on-the-make politicians who have acted to reinforce certain popular narratives. It doesn't matter that, at best, the myth is only half-truth. The aim is to play up the importance of loyalty to one's own group, and the demonization of perceived enemies who are allegedly working against the group. It is not rational, but it is appealing to many.
- - - - - - -
I think that one might say a thing or two about the Alberta separatist movement that, at the very least, raises questions that link back to this (incomplete) list of features characterizing fascist movements, past and present.
I know that this won't be a popular post, but I think that many people in Canada, including many in Alberta, worry about this.
You really need to read what AI gives you...
Contrary to what another person said, merely disagreeing with a government, doesn't make them fascist. It's how they are governing that does. With the UCP, there are parallels.
If there is a very tight grip on municipalities, and council members can be removed, simply because the UCP doesn't like them, that's not democracy. When federal grants to universities are heavily screened by the UCP, and must meet the UCP's criteria, that's definitely not democracy. Bullying people who have the right to peacefully assemble and strike, over unjust working conditions, isn't democracy. Naming a law after a quack doctor, who was discredited, and defending his improper speech with the law named after him, can't be called democracy. Kicking the poor when they are already down, such as those on AISH, and targeting minority groups isn't democracy. Having outsiders, who weren't elected, manipulate the UCP into doing their bidding, isn't democracy either. Targeting immigrants for the economic woes of the province is flat out racist and xenophobic. Silencing the opposition isn't democracy at all. Trying to manipulate the outcomes of criminal investigations against themselves, for severe corruption, that being the UCP, isn't democracy. Wanting a police force that is merely for power and control, even though the electorate opposes it, isn't democracy. Absorbing other ridings, by a gerrymandering power grab, is not what you can call democracy. This all looks like fascism.
Ah! The denial. Can't accept that decades of fiscal mismanagement by the provincial Conservatives in Alberta put us in this big mess. Where is Peter Lougheed's rainy day savings? When oil prices take a nosedive, due to complacency of a belief in a permanent oil booms, the scapegoating and pity party begins. Anyone who can't accept these realities is basically lying.
Oof. Imagine thinking sending $600 billion to Ottawa to die in the last 40 years has no effect on Albertans. How's about the eastern loser provinces send that money back, and we'll debate economic positions.
Oh wait. That money is gone with no effect on economic growth in those provinces? Color me shocked.
This should make it even clearer. Alberta isn't being mistreated by the federal government. When Covid-19 hit us all, the federal government gave Alberta the highest amount of Covid-19 assistance in the entire country. The UCP being greedy, took federal government assistance money during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the other political parties in Alberta flat out rejected taking that money, because they could see how many Albertans were struggling.
Three provinces, being British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan, were given federal government assistance money for orphan oil well remediation. Alberta got the bulk of the money, and even had to hand back $137 million to the federal government, because the UCP neglected to use the money for its specific purpose.
In another generous gesture, the federal government gave the provinces and territories a $200 per month top up for their provincial disability support program. Being cold-hearted, the UCP clawed that money back.
Somehow, Justin Trudeau was being abusive to Alberta, despite the fact that he had absolutely nothing to do with a very severe economic downturn that began in 2014, which coincided with a very steep decline in oil prices. Had he not been in power, the oil industry in Alberta would have been tanking. Stephen Harper was in power before he was, and the oil industry was already suffering badly.
When you take the emotive language and aspersions out you make some good points! But then there is this reality to also consider:
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/commentary/canadians-should-understand-albertas-outsized-contribution-amid-separatist-sentiment
To summarize
“Indeed, Albertans make an outsized net contribution to Canada—to the tune of $285.1 billion from 2007 to 2024. Put differently, during that 17-year period, Albertans contributed $285.1 billion more to the federal government (in taxes and other payments) than Ottawa spent or transferred to Alberta. And Albertans contributed more than four times as much (on net) as British Columbians or Ontarians. The other seven provinces, most notably Quebec, were net recipients, meaning Ottawa spent or transferred more money to those provinces than it collected.”
As to the constant reference to the 2014 oil price collapse. Companies don’t make a multi-year design, engineering and permit application for a 50 year Oilsands mine on a spot price.
This piece is mostly hot air that dodges the real grievances separatists raise and the structural rot in Canada.
You can't coast on past wins forever while telling people "it's not that bad." Harper's era is ancient history at this point. Trudeau Sr.'s NEP already proved Ottawa can kneecap Alberta energy whenever it suits the Laurentian elite. Solberg's claim that Trudeau's damage wasn't "typical" of the Alberta-Ottawa relationship is nonsense.
The "still one of the most admired countries" line is pure cope. Foreign polls chase vibes and maple syrup branding. They ignore Canada's free fall: happiness ranking dropped to 25th in 2026 (worst ever), housing is the most unaffordable in the OECD, healthcare ranks near the bottom among developed nations with chronic wait times and bed shortages, and cost-of-living pressures have crushed young Canadians.
Telling Albertans to feel grateful for what they have is condescending bullshit. Alberta's 2024 GDP per capita sat at about $71k, the highest in Canada, sure, but it trails Texas ($79-85k range), North Dakota ($94-100k), and lags the US average while energy peers grew faster under fewer federal handcuffs.
Alberta set oil production records in 2025, but we're still stuck selling most of it discounted to the US because pipelines to better markets got delayed for years by Ottawa and green activists. TMX helped narrow the WCS-WTI spread some and boosted non-US shipments, yet the discount persists and revenues could be far higher without the chronic takeaway constraints. We could sell at world prices to Asia instead of subsidizing American refiners.
Federal-provincial "cooperation" sounds nice until you remember Albertans have poured hundreds of billions net into Confederation over decades: $244 billion from 2007-2022 alone, billions yearly into equalization with zero back—while getting lectures about unity and decency. The warmth-of-the-people stuff is irrelevant when policy screws the resource base that funds it all.
Tall poppy syndrome in full effect. Alberta's success inside Canada is real, but pretending endless net transfers, regulatory and market access sabotage are just minor flaws worth defending with Olympic cheers and passport hypotheticals is weak.
Separatist frustration isn't baseless fantasy. It's a rational response to repeated evidence that Ottawa treats Alberta like a cash cow that should shut up and pay.
Trudeau's NEP didn't kneecap anything. In 1975, the Vietnam war ended, after 20 years, and a glut of oil resulted - worldwide. Ottawa doesn't treat Alberta like a cash cow. In this province of Alberta, Conservative governments, did one pricey boondoogle, after another, time and time again, for a long time, evaporating Peter Lougheed's rainy day savings. Danielle Smith must have taught people the art of lying, because she always blames someone else for the failures of the UCP. As I recall in this province, we happened to have a premier, Jim Prentice, who instructed us to take a look in the mirror.
• Vietnam war 1975 oil glut: False. NEP launched in 1980 during Iranian Revolution, spiking to $37/barrel; real glut hit 1986 after NEP drained Alberta revenues.
• Ottawa doesn't treat Alberta like a cash cow: Alberta sent net $244.6 billion more to Ottawa than received, 2007-2022, with annual net outflows often $15-27 billion. Alberta hasn't received equalization since 1965 and contributes billions yearly to the program (e.g. ~$4.2B of $26B total in 2025-26) while getting zero back. That's the textbook definition of a cash cow.
• Alberta Conservatives boondoggled away Lougheed's fund: True later PC governments stopped Heritage Fund contributions in 1987 and diverted earnings. Doesn't negate the NEP's separate $50-100B revenue grab and oil rig exodus in 1980-85.
• Danielle Smith taught lying by blaming others and Jim Prentice "look in the mirror": Red herrings irrelevant to NEP.
In what way is Albertan separation a solution to any of the (real or imagined) problems that you identified? An independent Alberta would not pay taxes to the rest of Canada, but otherwise none of your grievances would be addressed. You have not presented an argument that Albertan democracy is stronger in any way that democracy in the rest of Canada, such that it would result in better policy outcomes if left to its own devices.
An independent Alberta would need to pay for its own military in order to resist American or other foreign pressures. Money would be saved from not sharing tax revenue, but any Albertan military force would necessarily have a smaller economy of scale. And then you can forget about ever having a friendly Conservative government in the newer version of Canada, with the lost federal representation of Albertan voters.
I didn't say anything about separatists offering a solution. Merely acknowledged their grievances.
Random thoughts: we in Alberta make the most most money so we pay the most taxes so while I'm not happy with Equalization it's not the my biggest beef. My bigger beef is the structure of the government system which is stacked against us, misallocation of Senate seats, multiple structural privileges given to Quebec, since most of Western Canadians cannot speak any or acceptable French we are denied access upper level government or major government supervised companies. Until these inequities and the long list of other structural inequities are accepted as a major unfairness to AB and the west by Central Canada and actions are taken to resolve I/we will never feel good or accepted as a equal partner in the country we call Canada.
Hypocrisy? It exists in Alberta in bulk. Can't be griping about democracy not existing at the federal level, while it certainly is lacking in Alberta with the UCP. Imbalance of power? Such as rural ridings in Alberta having more political power than urban ridings do, despite urban ridings having more population. Gerrymandering ridings, USA style, to grab more power. Shutting down the Alberta Legislature so it hardly ever has sittings. Panels that have a fixed agenda. Behaving like bullies to municipal leaders, teachers and others, who show legitimate distrust of the UCP. Using the Notwithstanding Clause in an undemocratic way, to kibosh the rights people have. Silencing the Auditor General. Making weak excuses to delay the provincial election. Shameful!
Your response is pure deflection. The issues you raise are not structural (and the ones that you say are structural are either untrue or overstated). AB has had a watershed change in government more recently than Ottawa has.
Proponents against the Notwithstanding clause are happy to ignore an unelected activist Supreme Court aggressively encroaching on the elected legislative branch. Nothing to see here.. their wisdom is above criticism and reproach, and you must be anti-democratic to suggest otherwise! There was no “right to strike” until the SCC reversed their previous ruling and deemed it to be so. Ironically Peter Loughheed specifically cited a fear that the Supreme Court may someday determine this as his reason for supporting the Notwithstanding Clause. Fancy that.
Back to your point on AB - yes there are some serious issues with this government. No question, you’re right to raise them (just not in the way you are). The point being is AB is far more likely to make them pay a price for their sins than Eastern Canada is to the Liberals for what I would suggest are far more egregious sins. And why is that? Well - it’s the structural issues the original commenter made.
I’m not a separatist. But ignoring or deflecting away the issues cited just bolsters their position, not yours.
What you said is absolute rubbish. Alberta hasn't had a change in government. What activist judges? The courts play a vital role in protecting our democracy, which is what the UCP doesn't like.
Very well stated! Surprised that you didn't sign the petition, knowing full well as you do that there is no reforming this system that Alberta is currently subjected to.
I hope you bring this energy to federal ridings....
Agree..
You state "But Justin Trudeau is gone now...". What on earth makes you think that?
The same, or worse, government spending, creation of more government bureaucracy, not working with the USA, pandering to China etc...
I see many (all?) easterners still subscribe to Clifford Sifton's vision of "Canada":
"We desire, and all Canadian Patriots desire, that the great trade of the prairies shall go to enrich our people to the East, to build up our factories and our places of work, and in every legitimate way to our prosperity."
When exactly will the eastern welfare provinces grow up and carry their own weight?
I didn’t read all of Mr. Solberg’s essay.
I really don’t have to. I have heard the prattling on too many times before on the same subject matter.
Mr. Solberg has a pension and benefits that other Canadians can only imagine. From his political days it appears he has slithered effortlessly into a “post political position” quite seamlessly.
I have no pension.
I have no benefits.
When we sold our companies, we incurred capital gains taxes on funds that had already been taxed over, and again.
I am thrilled that Mr. Solberg is firmly attached to the prime teat of the Canadian economic belly.
Mine is not a rant based on argumentum ad hominem; I am just very, very tired and chagrined of the arguments that go breathlessly something like “Canada is such a great place to live” or “we are so lucky to live here” as it is patently obvious that we could be doing so much better as a functioning Nation.
The Canada in which I was raised is gone; it no longer exists. If we are left only to grasp for stray threads to which we should gratefully cling because we are marginally better off than countries with zero natural resources, corrupt or dysfunctional systems of government, and a lack of proximity to the wondrous American economic market, it really isn’t a ringing endorsement, in my opinion.
As George Grant put it in 1965, Canadians “were left like fish on the shore of a dying lake.”
Ten years of happy talk and sunny ways have led us to this point; please forgive me if I fail to fall for the myth.
Thank you, spot on. The Canada we were raised in- is gone.
Couldn't agree more.
Thanks for the honesty. Here's another piece of honesty; the LPC got rid of JT because he hurt their reelection chances, not because they did not love him.
Honestly, the article is a bunch of muh feelz. That cuts no ice.
I'd suggest it was both. History will judge him as our worst PM.
The case for Canada expired some years ago.
The author has his head stuck deep into a dark tight pipe while high on strong psychedelics, and thus fails to see, let alone acknowledge the realities of THIS actual Canada. Canada is rapidly becoming a dystopian racist hard-leftist dictatorship, and if lots people seem to want to live in that kind of a corrupt hole, I and many others absolutely do not.
The many cases for ditching Canada are right in the open.
We send 5 billion a year to New Brunswick in order to greatly subsidize the Irving Empire, the largest private land owners in North America. They pay 3.50 stumpage fee then charge the province 3.90 to "manage" the provincial forests. a 2000/acre tax on their 2.5 million acres of privately owned forests would reduce federal transfer payments to NB to zero. They also have similar holdings right across the border in Maine and yet Maine's GDP is 20k more. The only difference is jurisdictional governance. The Family Compact is alive and thriving...
To Monte and Jen: Please check the political chessboard. Any secession referendum is the Albertan Knight's move to assert Section 92 provincial rights onto the Core Centre Squares, as successfully demonstrated by the impious Quebec Bishop. Lack of subsequent action to build trans-national pipelines and west coast tanker ports would put the exposed Laurentian Elite into immediate checkmate. It's a proven feint that will ultimately unify the country by wresting control from the PMO Rooks who guard Ottawa's insular ramparts.
Beautifully said, Monte. Thanks for putting your argument for Canada forward. It’s been a long time since we’ve connected. Hope you’re well.
The argument is "Albertans can handle the unfair treatment and abuse."
I guess that's "beautiful" for welfare province denizens...
Unfair treatment and abuse? That would be self inflicted by many years of gross fiscal mismanagement by the provincial Conservatives in Alberta. Again, where is Peter Lougheed's rainy day savings? The fact is that many Albertans can't handle the truth.
I rather suspect you are a disgruntled dipper who was shocked-SHOCKED!- to discover the Albertans didn't care to be lectured by leftist blowhards. But there you have it.
Sure, sure. Albertans choose to be robbed to pay for eastern welfare provinces by electing Conservative governments... Sounds legit, my guy.
Okay, I have read your commentary Mr. Solberg, but just what is the case for Canada?
You tell the reader that Canada has worked in the past. You point out that (thankfully!) the Face Painter (I still cannot say his name, my animus is so great) is gone. That is true. But, but, but ..... the same voting coalition that imposed itself on Canada and attempted to destroy Alberta is still in power and even were they not, the way this country is organized it could return at any time and do even greater damage to Alberta.
There is absolutely no way that there can be substantive change in the political structure in this country. The risk of the center just "knowing" how we MUST live our lives remains and will not simply evaporate.
I, therefore, have signed the petition and will vote in the affirmative in the referendum.
"... attempted to destroy Alberta ..." Bwahahahaha!!
I infer that you don't believe me when I say that Canada attempted to destroy Alberta.
I refer you to Trudeau's statement in January, 2017 that he wanted to "phase out" our oilsands.
When did Trudeau say this: "No country would find 173 billion barrels of oil in the ground and just leave them there"? And the feds must have done a piss-poor job of trying to destroy Alberta when the province's oil production went up almost every year the federal Libs were in power.
Bill, I am sitting in my car waiting for my granddaughter, which means that I don't have my computer available to me right now. I am therefore working from memory.
The Face Painter - as I recall - made that statement right here in Calgary. It was either when he was running for the leadership or in his first national election campaign.
Funny you should mention that: yes, the damned feds did do a piss poor job of just about everything. Except destruction of the national economy where they were damned spectacular.
During that period the feds obstructed pretty well all new oils and plants and pipelines. Demonizing the validity of the industry is the first step in clout down.
The Face Painter's various actions deliberately violated the constitutional separation of powers and it is only the vigorous actions of the provinces that slowed him down.
Trudeau made the '173 billion' comment in March 2017, at an oil conference in Houston, Texas. The national economy was doing fine until COVID hit. Then we had a bout of inflation, then Trump attacked some of our major industries with tariffs. Trudeau did see that the TMX project was completed -- something which almost no Alberta politician, let alone conservative partisan, gives him credit for. Two questions, Ken: Do you believe that dangerous climate change is real and largely caused by humans burning fossil fuels? Should oil companies pay for the cost of cutting carbon emissions, given that they are the ones profiting from resource extraction?
You demean your own province if you link its entire economic worth to just one industry. Albertan prosperity so much more than the just the One Thing, as you surely realize?
I have separately stated that Alberta is so much more than oil and gas; we have diversified greatly.
Now having said, I made reference to Canada wanting to destroy us and that was [I perceived) disputed so I simply provided proof of my statement.
But, yes, Alberta's economy is so much more than simply oil and gas.
Where exactly is Canada admired? Which century do you live in? For ppl to admire us thay need to notice us.
We have traveled in over 60 countries in Asia, Middle East and Europe. As Canadians we are always getting friendly greetings and happy to see us......even in the States under the current administration strangers say thanks for coming...apologize for their President...followed by the odd one saying "he is a idiot". The only time we received a negative, and it wasn't really negative more sympathetic, was during Justin's reign when folks in the Baltic Countries would say with a smile/laugh..."how about the Prime Minister of yours??"
Having lived in Europe for a number of years, I can honestly state that we never ran into anyone that every mistook us for Canadians, as that place was too far away for them to contemplate generally and Canadians are considered to be some strange northern human species that never ventures far from their icy homes. We were mistaken for Dutch, German, Danes, northern Euros mainly. Strangely, never American or British. We weren't loud enough I guess. Canada was never in the news until Trudeau won the election in 2015 (the Euros love him of course) and we never heard mentioned nor noticed Canada coming up for discussion in any other way. Canada just didn't matter to them, had zero impact on either Europeans or world affairs in general and one had to go out of their way (flag patches?) to be recognized as Canadian. Hardly a ringing endorsement of Canada's great contributions or admiration on the world stage.
My comment was intended for the influence of “Canada” in the last century, with our peacekeepers and diplomatic leverage. To today.
The Canadian chattering classes are obsessed with what they are thought of in places like New York, Paris and London. The NY Times and Economist matters much more to them than what Canadians think of them.
The biggest takeaway from this article is that most of us Albertans have no 'personal' reason to leave Canada. A toxic self-defeating culture has too much sway right now . Far more than it deserves.
Who amongst us have a reason to stay? Is it the grift? The racism? The genocide?
Toxicity becomes a problem when people respond to grift with yet more grift.
The grift and racism is from the UCP.