Alberta uprising feared

Sun Media ^ | December 15, 2002

[Clive]

Premier Ralph Klein expects an uprising on the right to lead a charge for Alberta's separation from Canada.

"There are enough people who are frustrated to form a political party, but I just don't know what they are going to do, other than to mount a movement for separation," Klein told The Sun. "And yes, I am concerned about it."

Voices in favour of Alberta leaving Canada are rising, the premier said.

"I know there are people out there who want to separate. I was listening to a radio show just the other day and there was caller after caller saying, 'We should separate. We've had enough.

" 'We're being ignored, we don't count in Canada. Not only as it relates to Kyoto but the Canadian Wheat Board, gun registration, senate reform, you name it. All we do is give and give and get nothing back,' " Klein said. "I understand that frustration, and I feel the same way. But there's still hope."

Movement by Ottawa on Alberta's continuing complaints is needed, the premier said, or even some provincial Tory supporters will turn their backs on the party because it hasn't had any effect.

Alan Cruikshank, deputy leader of the Alberta Social Credit Party, said Klein is dead right.

"We are trying as a party to keep our noses clean - we haven't taken any position on separation. But we are finding that many of our members are supportive of independence," Cruikshank said.

And, he added, a burgeoning movement in that direction may not be a bad thing.

"In the past, parties that have taken a more extreme position than the Tories on things like separation have often caused the central government to take more notice of Alberta's needs. It indirectly results in a way Albertans can apply political leverage."

Peter McCormick, a political scientist at the University of Lethbridge, said it's unlikely a separatist party would have much success in Alberta's current political climate.

McCormick said the Canadian Alliance on the federal scene and the Progressive Conservatives on the provincial scene both have had recent successes.

"Why would you go for another political party?" McCormick asked.

The Alliance has had the cost of the gun control registry revealed in the House of Commons, while the Alberta PCs have kept fighting the ratification of the Kyoto accord.

"It's the easiest thing on earth to form a political party. It's the hardest thing on earth to get enough votes," said McCormick.

McCormick said it never hurts in a province to have a separatist vein, even with "vague threats" of leaving Confederation, to make other governments take you more seriously.

"It's less likely we would be taken for granted," he said.

[mitchbert]

Canada is the most useless place on earth. Inhabited by morons, governed by loons!

There are a number of former members of the American diplomatic presence in Tehran from the 1970's that might disagree with you.

I can start with the nickel that came from Sudbury that hardened the shells that fell on the beaches of Normandy and begin the list from there. Or I can start with the aero and space specialists that fled to NASA and other agencies after we abandoned our programs.

Falling off the tracks lately? Sure. We ARE goverened by loons, most certainly at the federal level, and frankly that's a polite way of putting it. We'll work it out.

Useless? Hardly. Ask the American lads serving in Afghanistan if they appreciated the sniping skills of the Princess Pats. Just make sure you have a place to run to after you call them useless. :-)

[Bogolyubski]

If independence could be achieved, perhaps persuading Saskatchewan and Manitoba to join, it would be a very good thing. The Trazi-controlled government and judiciary will no doubt have many tricks up their sleeves to prevent this. One I can think of right off the bat is to flood Alberta with immigrants - who will of course be voting to retain all of the welfare benefits they get from Ottawa. If folks up there are serious about this, they'd best move quickly before the Soviet Kanuckistan crowd is able to repond. Oh, and I would not recommend joining the US right away. There are plenty of Tranzis running things here also, including some who call themselves "conservatives."

[section9]

Good on ya, Mitch!

The Princess Pats is probably the best light infantry regiment in the world.

As to whether or not Alberta might come in: it's a possibility. The upside of America is no gun registration; the downside is (possibly) no NHS system. Canadians may have grown used to that by now.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[American Soldier]

The problem is this -- think about how much control China lobbyists ALREADY have in Washington, D.C. The new capital of Cascadia would doubtless be in a city with a huge Chinese element. The leading families among these communities are importers. I think we'd quickly lose any sovereignty to Asian economic giants.

[SamAdams76]

I sincerely believe that the provinces of Canada will eventually join the USA. Could be as soon as 5-10 years or as long as 100 years. Though my gut feeling tells me it will be sooner and in my lifetime. All it takes is one province to go this route (secede from Canada and join the USA) and the others will quickly follow like dominoes.

There may be a period where the renegade province tries to go it alone but eventually, it will discover that it is better off in the USA.

[Mark17]

There are a number of former members of the American diplomatic presence in Tehran from the 1970's that might disagree with you.

That was the story out of Iran for many years, that Canadian diplomats had gotten about 6 Americans out of Teheran. A recent TV show said it was never Canadians, it was a CIA operation. They just kept it secret all these years. There are many good people up there. I just wish they could throw out the left wingers, the way I wish we could throw them out here.

[Bogolyubski]

Thank you for pointing that out! Most of us here understand that there are still plenty of freedom-loving Canadians up there. It's just so depressing to see continual outrages perpetrated by the leftists in Ottawa - and it's even more depressing to see them getting elected over and over again. So, if I run on about Soviet Kanuckistan, please accept my apologies in advance that folks like yourself are excluded from the criticism. After all, it's got to be even more annoying for you!

[The Iguana]

I'd take Alberta.

If Alberta goes, I suspect the rest of the Prairie Provinces (Saskatchewan, Manitoba) would quickly follow.

I think Western Canadians would find us a Libertarian Paradise by comparison.

[dodger]

Prospective 'Cascadians' would do well to remember the American Civil War was, fundamentally, about whether States can secede, the outcome of which was ....

[Paulus Invictus]

I thought BC is Hong Kong East. When did they change? There are more Chinese restaurants in Vancouver BC than in all of Pornifornia.

[jackbill]

I sincerely believe that the provinces of Canada will eventually join the USA.

We had better be very selective in which ones we would allow in. The Maritime Provinces are full of descendents of people who left this country - before it was a country - because they sided with the British. Quebec is and will always be French. Ontario is Massachusetts North.

If you want to see a socialist United States, bring them all in.

[Question_Assumptions]

Or I can start with the aero and space specialists that fled to NASA and other agencies after we abandoned our programs.

Canadians are really traumatized by the whole Avro Arrow incident, weren't they? Most Americans don't know anything about it.

[VOA]

Is this a joke?

I don't think so.
I have relatives in Sherwood Park (suburb of Edmondton).

Having lost two of their kids who left AB for the good times in Dallas-Ft. Worth,
I think they (and a fair number of others) despise about anything east of
Manitoba.

One of my cousin's friends was a modest operator in the energy patch in AB.
Although bearing a French family name, he said he and his father avoided hiring any
of those "damned lazy Frenchmen from the east" onto their rigs.
And this fellow owned a BUNCH of rifles.

Although it's a doubtful proposition, I can see AB and BC at least making
real threats to join the USA...if only to get leverage with the rest of the place.

[Blue Leader]

I'm not certain where you get your information but please allow me to bring you up to date. Our folks ran to the Canadian Embassy for refuge and the Canucks brought them all out, alive. One of my people was on the exfil and he gave me a full debrief of the operation. He's a gutsy guy but he said he figured they were going to fumble it during the very thorough Iranian exit procedures. That didn't happen and all made it out OK but the CIA was sitting on their collective butts in DC and had nothing to do with it. Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.

[KevinDavis]

I think in the next 5 - 10 years, we are going to see a major change within the North American Continnet. The western provinces could be blending within the US and Canada will be different. My question is since Canada is still part of Britain, how would they react to have Alberta leave and join the US?

[snopercod]

Our founding fathers didn't do a real good job of protecting the rights of the rural minorities, I think. It might help if we repealed the 17th Amendement, though.

[dodger]

Canada is not part of Britain. The Queen is the symbolic head of state, but it is a soverign nation. Moreover, Britain is busy 'devolving Wales, Scotland & NI. Hence, they ought not be bothered if the USA added a few of the midwestern Canadian Provinces.

[Sparta]

If Alberta is serious about taking on Canuckistan, I'll come up north from the People's Republic of Louisiana and join them in their fight for freedom.

[Verginius Rufus]

There was an excellent TV program about this some years ago. The Americans had to practice Canadian pronunciations and become knowledgeable about Canadian teams in case some Iranian official at the airport started quizzing them (since they were pretending to be Canadians).

[VOA]

Canadians are really traumatized by the whole Avro Arrow incident, weren't they?
Most Americans don't know anything about it.

Very true.
I'd stumbled across a bit of the history of the ground-breaking plane on aviation sites
on the net.

I also saw part of the four-hour miniseries that was made about the project.
Folks interested can check it out at:
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0118641

Too bad it doesn't seem to be available on video/DVD.
Although it had it's fictionalized aspects, it was a pretty good, straight-forward story.
Dan Ackroyd was pretty good in portraying the head of the project.

To cut to the chase...it appears to me that the Canadians felt they were
"rolled" by the USA (or at least our military-industrial complex).
They did build a fantastic plane that would have served the combined forces of NATO,
but the USA shunned the deal; it folded, the Canadians broke up the test planes...
and a significant amount of Canadian aeronautic talent left for the USA and Europe.

That may have included my Canadian uncle that had worked for a Canadian aviation
concern in Montreal, but ended up in Huntsville, Alabama in the 1960s (IIRC).