Alberta uprising feared

Sun Media ^ | December 15, 2002

[Mark17]

Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.

I saw it on the History Channel. Whether it is true or not is another issue, but they had it there, and said it was CIA, not the Canadians. Either way, it was good they got out, no matter who did it.

[southland]

I was in British Columbia a couple of years ago and would welcome them into US. I assume Alberta is very much like
B. C. We will take you into Alabama.

[ContentiousObjector]

I don't think it will ever happen, or if it does it won't be pretty.

I love Canada, it is my second home. but I don't think many appreciate how deep the hatred of America among much of the Canadian population is. There would be consiterable violence, not to mention 30 million more democratic voters.

I don't think there is any real possibility of even Quebec leaving Canada, as for Alberta it is even less likely. and although Canada is independant, England wouldn't tollerate it,

Kyoto isn't popular, but it has become an article of faith to the 3rd term Canadian prime minister who after 10 years in office still hasn't been able to come up with a legacy, his Liberal heir Paul Martin has suggested to the oil industry that Kyoto is good as dead.

[Ken H]

This does not seem all that farfetched to me.

Quebec periodically votes on secession. It almost passsed once, if I'm not mistaken.

[ContentiousObjector]

Over the course of the 1990's BC had a series of useless conservative social credit governments that were more corrupt than both houses of congress and half the state legislatures combined, followed by an incompetant socialist government that took an already bad situation and drove it further into the ground.

Vancouver is almost as bad as San Fransisco these days, although there is no stream of human waste going down every street yet

[Clive]

"Ontario is Massachusetts North."

If any province is Massachusetts North, it is Nova Scotia, not Ontario.

Ontario voted Conservative in its last 2 elections, supported by federal Reformers who had left the federal Progressive Conservative Party, leaving the "Progressive" or "Red Tory" wing behind.

Ontario tends to vote Liberal federally and Conservative provincially, although it will occasionally vote Conservative federally and Liberal provincially. (Strategic voting is more important in a multi-party system than it is in a two-party system like the US.)

Our problem is that the conservatives are not cohesive and the federal Liberal Party has managed to hold sway by shifting its centre of gravity to the left or right to accomodate contemporary wisdon. The federal Lberal Party is not truly liberal and the Progressive Conservative Party is not truly conservative.

Unlike the US, the provincial and federal parties are different organizations, so a Canadian might be a Progressive Conservative provincially and a liveral federally.

Canada is a confederation, not a federation as is the US and as such there is more autonomy in the provinces than in the US states, (i.e. less centralization, although this is changing toward US style centralization)

[Ken H]

I could see how Alberta joining the US might create a lot of discomfiture among the political elite in Wash DC.

The Democrats would fear an independent minded voter base that is hostile to their socialist agenda. Might wreak havoc in the Senate too, from their viewpoint.

The Republicans might not be too thrilled either. They might be faced with a State that is controlled by a third party. A third party which might be very attractive to many in the GOP base.

[ContentiousObjector]

I think most Albertans would probably vote for the democrats, public healthcare is an article of faith in Canadian politics, like the death penalty is here.

If you don't support it, in most of the country you don't stand a chance.

Even Alberta which is the most free-market oriented when it comes to healthcare is still solidly socialist

[ContentiousObjector]

The reason Alberta is so much like America is pretty simple.

Over the course of the 20th Century starting in about 1903 there was a steady stream of American immigration.

From about 1903 till the early 20's there was a wave of farmers and ranchers from Oklaholma and Ohio, then after the war till the mid-60's there was a large wave of Texans who moved to Alberta to work in the oil patch, in the 80's there was a massive wave from Boston, New York, Chicago and Houston as Calgary began to develop as an economic center.

And again in the 90's there was another wave from Texas, (of which I was a part)

I would estimate that atleast 60% of native born Calgarians are probably "american pedigree" if you like

[Mark17]

I don't think many appreciate how deep the hatred of America among much of the Canadian population is.

Is it mostly from jealousy?

[Canadian Outrage]

THIS British Columbian would be right on that bandwagon and so would a lot of other ones I know. I don't think the Eastern Liberals in their own little world have a clue what the level of disgust and frustration is here. Not a clue. Why do we need them?? We have all the major resources between Alberta, B.C. and even Sask and Man. But Alberta and B.C. have oil, minerals, vast resources of Timber, Fisheries, Mining, and BRAINS!!

[Blood of Tyrants]

All we do is give and give and get nothing back,

And how would that change if they became the 51st state?

[headsonpikes]

Thanks for choosing an appropriate FReepername.

[watcher1]

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.

Whoever he is.

I don't think his opinion matters. Klein's words speak volumes.

Good luck to the people of Alberta if they try to pull this off.

[mitchbert]

Canadians are really traumatized by the whole Avro Arrow incident, weren't they?

Very true. Oddly, most Canucks don't have any idea how big the implications were of the Arrow cancellation, and at a similar time the abandonment of the BOMARK missle program (that would have made Canada a nuclear power). We lost our best and brightest to the U.S. efforts. Good thing at least that they had a place on our side to go.

What's the most frustrating thing to me and other Canucks of my ilk is the knowledge of what we could do as a nation if we weren't governed by such incompetants. I'm not in a rant mood tomight so I won't get deeply into it, but what hair we have that isn't going grey is rapidly getting torn out due to aggravation.

Chretien must go. He's damaging us in serious ways.

[SierraWasp]

Even in this country, the western states are NOT on an "equal footing" with the original 13!!!

I well imagine the voting in Canada would look a lot like that 2000 election map that was done by counties.

The devastating "Cows Don't Vote" decision by the US Supremes, 45 years ago, has caused wide spread taxation with severe under-representation in rural America. If that ruling were applied to the federal legislature the way it has unbalanced those of the states, 7 western states would be represented in the US Senate by only 1 US Senator!!!

[Paladin2]

Exactly. My better half says I get to go skiing everyday when we move there or southern BC should Hitlery! be elected.

[ContentiousObjector]

I don't think it is jealousy, I think they believe they are better and smarter than we are.

[Nuke'm Glowing]

I'm with you guys. God Bless all of you seperatists.

[Madcelt]

And how would that change if they became the 51st state?

No