It’s been almost three months since Canadians outside of Alberta and southern Saskatchewan sold out to expediency, jealousy, and entitlement – choosing to throw out the Conservatives under Stephen Harper, because they were buying into the string of untenable, unaffordable, and unwise bill of goods peddled by a man who has never held high office.  A man with no experience running any form of organization, and no Cabinet experience at all.  A man named Justin Trudeau.

The only thing Trudeau has going for him is his family name and the silver spoon planted firmly in his mouth thanks to the long and disastrous career of his father, the Worst Prime Minister in our nation’s history, Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

I say his father was Canada’s worst Prime Minister Ever, but in the three short months since the election, Justin is already sewing the seeds of giving his father a run for his money in that department.

This election has got me thinking – I have been investigating ways of getting my family and my livelihood out of Canada.  Possibly for good.  Not because I want to, but because I see no hope for the future at this point: the simple fact is Ontario and Quebec hold the bulk of the population, and with that comes the bulk of the votes, and therefore the bulk of the seats.  Even with Justin’s proposed electoral reform, which will accomplish a grand total of nothing, this fact won’t change.

Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, BC, and the rest vote differently than Alberta and Saskatchewan.  This happens because there is a fundamental ideological difference between the regions.  BC is quite different than Alberta, as are Ontario, Quebec, and especially Toronto.

When Canada became a nation in 1867, it did so mainly as a marriage of convenience.  It made sense for the original provinces, and, later, in 1905, Alberta, to pool their resources towards a number of common purposes.  Alberta certainly benefited from the Canadian Pacific Railway, which opened the prairies up to a massive wave of migration and immigration, but with that migration came a massive realization that there are vast differences between life here in the prairies, and life in Southern Ontario; and those differences have become part of our culture here.

We think differently than Ontarians.  We have different ideals.  Different goals.  Different dreams.

That is not to say Ontario and Quebec are evil places – they aren’t.  They’re just different.  I grew up in Ontario, spent 5 years out on the west coast as a kid, and then ended up here in Alberta.  In the east, their way of life works for them, and that’s perfectly fine — if they want to have a more socialist state, they can have it; but when that socialist state gets imposed on us out here too, and particularly when the Liberals start siphoning cash out of us here into the vote-rich parts of the country to buy more votes (and it is true – a Liberal  MP was once heard to say, “want to get more federal money put into your riding? Then elect a Liberal MP!”) in order to retain control over the nation, then the marriage of convenience that is Canada becomes far, far less convenient.

So, I think it might just be time to accept that we are different.  It’s time, in a way, for Alberta to “grow up”.  When people grow up, we eventually leave our home and start a new life on our own.  It’s usually a natural progression, and happens very peacefully.  Sometimes, it’s revolutionary and traumatic, but that never benefits anyone and should always be an absolute last resort.

So, I think it is therefore time for us here in Alberta to decide to grow up and leave home.  The differences between east and west are, clearly, irreconcilable. Recognizing that, I think we need to pursue a more separate, independent relationship with Canada.

It is time to secede and build a brand new nation.  Separate, independent, and free of the burdens places upon us by a dispassionate and disconnected ivory tower 2000 miles away and completely out of touch.

What do you think?  Please let me know in the comments.

Steven Britton Deep Stuff, My Stuff, Opinion, Political

2 Replies

  1. I have wanted separation for 20 years, for the same reasons. To stay in Canada we would have to change to fair representation as in area not population .

    1. Fair comment – though rep-by-pop in one of the two Houses of legislation isn’t an unfair way of doing things – areas with more people deserve more representation IF and WHEN (and ONLY IF and WHEN) that is balanced out by the second House is based solely on region, where each region (and the “prairies” are far too diverse to be called a “region”) has equal representation, that is both elected and equal in legislative power.

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