There is a militancy to some of Wexits language and memestalk of civil war, for exampleand pictures of men in full military garb, that could foreshadow something darker and more violent. Me: Forget about it. Canadians are seen as friendly people on the international stage, but just how neighbourly are we with our fellow patriots across the country? Why are Albertans so mad? Everything you need to know - nationalpost The top one per cent ofearners paid 31.5 per cent of the total income tax collected in Alberta that year. Thats our term for ourselves. Albertans hate people from Ontario. Quebec is a particular irritant for Kenney because the province receives the largest dollar amount of Equalization and is opposed to pipelines, thus frustrating Albertas efforts to get its oil and gas to markets. A recent article in Vice noted that Downing, a former soldier and RCMP officer, had a history as a far right conspiracy theorist. Its hard to glean whether these are ambitious political organizers or keyboard warriors with delusions of grandeur. Trudeau should make a substantive policy concession to Alberta. Equalization only accounts for about eight per cent of the discrepancy in money going to the federal government and money going back to Alberta, but it tends to draw most of the anger. He joined CBC in 2015 after spending the previous decade working as a reporter and editor at newspapers in Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba. Do you stuff your piggy bank if you dont trust your parents not to knick it? There is a moral component to which industries were choosing to transition. The oil sands are greenhouse gas intensive. Email us at:calgarytheroadahead@cbc.ca. Oh yes. Albertans must know that climate change is something the world is taking seriously; that demand for the oilsands will, inevitably, declineand this province along with it if it fails to diversify its economy. Transportation is one of this countrys top greenhouse gas culprits, yet I cannot imagine Trudeau making a similar comment about southwest Ontarios car manufacturing plants, nor Quebecs aviation industry. Even Facebook online. Then he stepped into his manic, prairie-carnival-barker patter: Everybody is behind this movement. In 2012, he said on Radio-Canada: I always say, if there came a point where I thought Canada really was Stephen Harpers Canadathat we were against abortion, against gay marriage, that we went backwards in 10,000 different waysmaybe Id consider making Quebec a country. I have written before about the particular folly of Kenneys promise to hold a referendum on equalization, an exercise that will provide Albertans with little more than theatre. Our work is not to make federalism work, Blanchet said in his election-night speech, shortly after so many praised him for being so polished and articulate in the debates. It's the place for possibilities,amarketplace of ideas. So let's take a look at the math to see how Alberta's previous and current tax systems compare both to each other, and to the rest of the country. Well, I'm glad you asked. Wexit: Why some Albertans want to separate from Canada The former lacks even the veneer of democratic legitimacy, though it is constitutionally valid. In a bid to woo Albertans in the recent Conservative Party leadership race, Maxime Bernier said he would freeze the program and completely rethink it. In October Pierre Trudeaus son Justin was re-elected with a minority government with no seats in the Prairies. READ MORE:Netflix Canada Announces The Official Date That The Harry Potter Movies Are Coming. What's the deal with Alberta? Now, as did his father, Justin Trudeau must find a way to provide westerners with power. Please attribute the author(s) and mention that the article was originally published by Policy Options magazine. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. That one defies logic and explanation. I could waste more time explaining the current equalization formula and its faults; delve into the decades-old constitutional arguments that affirmed provinces rights to their resource royalties, or discuss the respective greenhouse gas emissions intensity of various subtypes of crude, based on well-to-wheel measurements. With apologies to Anne McLellan, who was tapped to be an informal advisor on Alberta to the Liberals, this lack of representation seems solely a concern to people who live in Ontario. More than four in every five Albertans surveyed stated that Quebec was unfriendly towards their province, while views from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and even neighbouringOntario were around the same all at more than 50%. He did. We need to manage the transition off of our dependence on fossil fuels. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Once again, Albertans are going to see their own grievances reflected back at them through warped glass. Trudeau bought the TMX line though the purchase offered absolutely no electoral benefit to himself or his party. Fred Youngs was a journalist for CBC News in Winnipeg, Calgary and Toronto. Its a sign of open disrespecteven war, in some places. Absolutely. Though overall if the data shows anything, it's that there aren't any two provinces that outwardly share the same love for each other. Now, it does not surprise me in the least that blue collar truckers and patch workers would hold views toward matters like asylum-seekers that would not earn them a warm welcome at a cocktail party in the Annex. Receive direct access to our top content, contests and perks. It isnt calling for a values test for new immigrants. Would this restore the "Alberta tax advantage" of the Klein era? If Ontario and Quebec, with the first- and second-largest gross domestic products respectively among the provinces, can have their own federal agencies for economic development, so should Alberta, which has the third-largest GDP not to mention the biggest economic adjustment challenge of any province if Canada is to move down the path to the decarbonization of its economy. Some suggest Justin Trudeau should do likewise today and bring an Alberta senator into his cabinet. Three Percenters are Canada's 'most dangerous' extremist group - CBC Meaning it might be time for Canadians to reconcile and hug it out. Mostly its t-shirts and fleece sweaters labelled with oil company logosa working class crowd. Access articles from across Canada with one account. (Can't see the chart? The differences in fiscal capacities among the provinces have narrowed since that time, yet this escalator has pushed up overall program costs from about $14 billion in 2009 to nearly $19 billion this year. (For those interested in the nitty-gritty details, these calculations include both the high-income surtax and the health premiums charged in Ontario as part of the income-tax system. Having just won a commanding mandate from the province by articulating many of its lingering grievances, he can make a uniquely credible case for Canada. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Theyre a scapegoat, a channel for all the guilt and anxiety that we. Shut down the oil sands and avoid the much harder questions about why they exist. Every Canadian Province Agrees That They Hate Quebec Theyve been the subject of years of protests and exposs. bothered by it. Nearly 40 years ago, in February 1980, Pierre Trudeau won a majority government with two seats in western Canada and none west of Manitoba. An Albertan looking at equalization with the glass half-full might say the province's wealth, relative to the rest of Canada, means it's too rich to need help and that's a good thing. The oil crash of 2014 and subsequent economic decline becomes a manifestation of divine justice. A year later the Trudeau Liberals unveiled the infamous National Energy Program (NEP). There are various reasons why this approach either wont work or wont suffice this time around. Franco Terrazzano: Canadians are united. In this case, the Angus Reid Institute found that the most disliked province was none other than Quebec. Why wouldn't someone from the Alberta government even an MLA with an hour of time to kill meet with Greta Thunberg in Edmonton? Ottawa isnt going to give a bunch of rednecks a fair hearing, or a fair deal. From a purely environmental perspective the arguments used against the oil sands can be deployed against these, too. Angus Reid. But an angry Twitter outburst aimed at Newfoundlanders because they voted for Liberals? RELATED:The answer to Justin Trudeaus Western cabinet problem. Still, the Atlantic provinces absent Prince Edward Island because the sample size was too small consider each other friends. It may follow the doomed and creepily fascistic, Western Canada Concept led by lawyer Doug Christie, who made a name for himself in the 80s by defending anti-semites and neo-Nazis. In fact, the equalization fund comes from general federal revenues and grows each year in line with the economy. Alberta's basic personal tax credit now stands at $18,915, meaning Albertanseffectively pay no income tax to the provincial government on income up to that level. Whats more, Ottawa needs to be on the ground in Alberta in a way it hasnt been before, and it must be seen by Albertans to be making policy changes in Albertas interests. The Road AheadisCBC Calgary's special focus on our city as we build the city we want the city we need. Albertans hated his father. B.C., along with the other two most popular provinces Quebec and Ontario, feels isolated: 43 per cent of British Columbians say they dont feel any other provinces are close or friendly, that number is 41 per cent in Ontario and 30 per cent in Quebec. The transformation that took place while it was travelling across the Prairies was so complete that few now remember that the convoy was not some kind of white nationalist uprising. But on one particular subject, at least amonga small group, I am the go-to person. That's a matter of political debate. Our family lived in Calgary for more than 15 years before moving back to Ontario. If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, unlimited online access is. It may buy time for the Trans Mountain pipeline to be built, for economic conditions to improve, or for political tensions to ease. Around $100,000, Albertans pay less than Ontarians but still more than people in B.C. What's even more surprising is that 21% of Quebecers actually agree! Except during federal election campaigns and big crises, 'politics' in Quebec means 'provincial politics' almost exclusively. In the interim until the Liberals can elect someone in Alberta one of the Liberal MPs from either Manitoba or perhaps the Territories could be an acceptable cabinet minister. The attendees are mostly white; at least one has shown up wearing a Harley Davidson jacket patched with a Confederate flag, but there is as much Eddie Bauer in the room as leather. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. As if he needed the boost. Nor is it shocking that within the crowd were dyed-in-the-wool racists and white nationalists. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Through its advocacy role with other departments in Ottawa, the agency could bring a distinct Alberta voice to many important issues, at various levels of discussion and decision-making. Finally, there's one question that's not random, rare or fantastical: Why do so many Albertans so viscerally loathe Justin Trudeau? Tensions have been high between Canadas westernmost provinces, with Alberta and BC being at odds over the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project for the better part of 2018. A rule that made sense a decade ago, when Canada was in recession, might not make as much sense today. The numbers have been updated to reflect that abatement. And, 21 per cent of Quebecers feel that way about their own province, too. Facing a massive budget shortfall in the wake of the 2015 oil-price crash, the short-lived government of Jim Prentice introduced plans to kill the flat tax, but never passed the legislation before his Progressive Conservatives were defeated by Rachel Notley'supstartNDP. It's around the $150,000 mark that Alberta returns to the lowest income-tax burden of all provinces. While Albertans making $25,000 a year pay the least income tax in the country, the picture changes as you approach $50,000. How do you get Justin Trudeau to say Alberta?Quit paying equalization. Can it be fixed? There is a perception in the rest of Canada, outside of Quebec, that Quebecers are not close, are not interested, are not engaged, with the rest of the country.. His papa hated Alberta and the apple didn't fall far from the tree. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY. There is at least one major politician in this country who has publicly expressed a desire to separate from Canada if he didnt get his way politically. Secondly, I would say that we should not let Justin Trudeau and his policies make us feel unwelcome in our own country. What I do predict is that the Wexit leaders currently fronting Facebook pages will be discredited. St. Joseph Communications uses cookies for personalization, to customize its online advertisements, and for other purposes. The provinces suffering is proper and righteous. that Downing, a former soldier and RCMP officer, had a history as a far right conspiracy theorist. Its hard to glean whether these are ambitious political organizers or keyboard warriors with delusions of grandeur. He should try making that case in Calgary. Naturally, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba all stuck together, with Alberta and Saskatchewan seeing the closest bond of all provinces at 75% and 77% of respondents viewing the other province as especially close. One for $20, or three hats for $50, they came in a variety of colours, reading Wexit and Make Alberta Great Again and The West Wants Out.. For now, Ill pass. The rally began with a presentation that heavily implied that Canada is on the verge of a communist takeover; that the environmental movement is a front for a communist plot to establish some kind of one-world government. But when people think of taxes, they often think first of income tax. In the 1970's, Trudeau created the National Energy Plan. Why do Qubec and Alberta hate each other? (transfer, buying - City The province therefore needs real voice and power in Ottawa today, as Ontario and Quebec have. I don't pretend to have answers or solutions. So, what do they ask? The data definitely aligns with many Canadian's belief that Quebec is not particularly interested in the rest of Canada or engaged with the country. The Liberals will never look after us. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. You can see how it all breaks down in the chart below. That is why we are rude to you, we don't want you here, nor do we want your modern problems that you have on the mainland. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. A national media based primarily in the East seemed to declare the Bloc the only unmitigated winner in this federal election. Super Bowl-winning athlete talks football, his medical career and the importance of skin care. In 1957, the Liberals pushed through a trans-national pipeline to deliver natural gas from Alberta to central Canada after several years of delays, crises and complications. Trudeau needs an Alberta unity strategy if he wins, The rise of Albertas unapologetic petro-patriots, Encana doesnt want to be Canadian anymore, and Trudeau shrugs, Re-election means never having to say youre sorry, The answer to Justin Trudeaus Western cabinet problem, Why Jason Kenneys proposed referendum is so puzzling, The uproar over Unplanned, and Canadas messed-up politics, Albertas straight-talking, belligerent statesman launches his own era, Albertas election, and the ugly politics in store for Canada, What Alberta voters should know about Jason Kenney and the UCP. Finance Canada recently completed a review of Equalization but the government refused to make any substantive changes to the formula. I have a hard time believing that Albertans "hate" people from Quebec. And thirdly, I would say we have allies across Canada. It doesnt seem to be enough to perceive Albertans as wrong, or mired in a declining oil-and-gas industry that produces significant greenhouse gas emissionsthey must also be bad people. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings. It will take at least that much to contain Alberta alienation after this election outcome. But times have changed. Open pit mining doesnt seem to be under threat. Please reach out right away and we can start ma. And there is no point in continuing to try to explain anger and alienation to people who do not want to hear it. When Kenney pins this decline on Trudeau, the East is not wrong to be a bit baffled. But even if the province reverted to its old system, most Albertans would still pay more than people in B.C. This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. TRUDEAU HATES ALBERTA. By comparison, the bottom 50 per cent paid2.3 per cent of the income tax. https://t.co/y03ojZNZv8. If you view the province as a collection of regressive hicks whose only claim to wealth is that they were lucky enough to be born on valuable dirt, then it becomes very easy to decimate that wealth. RELATED:Re-election means never having to say youre sorry. That does not mean that Albertans hate people from Quebec, it means that Alberta want to stop subsidizing Quebec when the Alberta economy is in trouble. They ask why it seems like the discussion always has to be a zero-sum game. Alberta governments of every stripe love talking about the "tax advantage" in this province. As you can see from the interactive graph below, Alberta's highest-income earners carry a higher proportion of the tax burden than those in Ontario or Canada-wide. What to know about the PM's brother, Federal government reaches agreement for a new wage deal with striking workers, Jamie Sarkonak: Censorious Liberal attempt to block news article shows why they want to control the internet. Be part of thePolicy Optionsdiscussion, and send in your own submission. Here's total per capita federal transfers to prov govts for 2016/17. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. 2023 National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Or perhaps you, too, would opt to squander your wealth with, uh, high quality educational and health services and low taxeswhich has been the unwitting economic diversification strategy of Albertan governments since the 90s. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay, Rex Murphy and others. On the other end of the spectrum, about 950,000 Albertanshad incomes of less than $25,000. All rights reserved, All of this will be used as proof of the underlying logic of Wexit: that the. and about $18,000 less than in Quebec. Most Albertans love Montreal, and many comment about how all the women are beautiful. This is typically expressed by income percentile, and those at the very top pay by far the most, per person. My personal favourite is the do-they-really-believe-that question, as in: Do Albertans really believe that the Liberals would spend $4.5 billion to buy a pipeline only to kill it? Whatever you do, don't forget to mention Alberta. More than 700 people arrived at the event in Edmonton to hear a few speakers extol the benefits of Western separation. Does it even need to be fixed? Nevertheless, Trudeau should consider putting Equalization on the agenda of the next First Ministers Meeting to try to resolve some of these long-standing frictions and forge a stronger consensus on this key instrument of fiscal federalism. Why so many Albertans are giving up on their country At that point, Albertans pay about $1,200 more in provincial income tax than their neighbours to the west. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay, Rex Murphy and others. But it is going to take more than a part-time sage like me or a full-time one, for that matter to come up with the answers. The differences are largely aesthetic and emotional. Saskatchewan, too, has raised issues around how Equalization is calculated, as has Ontario. Where Alberta only feels they are close with Saskatchewan. Theyve been the subject of years of protests and exposs. Never mind that Goldy had showed up uninvited and offered her own rants from a cherry-picker located a block away from the main stage. Calling BS: Newfoundlanders Are NOT the Country's - The Overcast RELATED:Trudeau needs an Alberta unity strategy if he wins, Were announcing, right now, a watershed and a new reality in Canadian politics. At his rally, Downing anticipated this: Someone called us the Bloc Rednecois and thats okay. A rule that made sense a decade ago, when Canada was in recession, might not make as much sense today. People Moving From Ontario HATE Alberta | Top 5 Reasons Given its ugly far-right antecedents, and the lack of any plausible path toward creating a land-locked prairie state, its hard to know whether western separatism is going to remain the sort of thing that more serious people will only discuss sub rosa. I'm not often taken for a sage, someone whose thoughts are sought on matters of great import or complexity. A case can therefore be made that the escalator should be changed to reduce the growth rate of this implicit transfer from have provinces like Alberta to have not provinces like Quebec. Why do Qubec and Alberta hate each other? - City-Data The UCP government (and the NDP) need to face facts, Trudeau hates Alberta! If these statements seem insufficiently pro-Canada, I cant help but contrast the treatment Kenney gets to that of Yves-Francois Blanchet, the leader of the Bloc Quebecois. READ MORE:Justin Trudeau's Current Approval Ratings Are In And Here's Which Province Hates Him The Most. They look ugly. No one in Alberta appears overly. The Canadian Press, by Jason Franson. FIRST READING: Alberta really, really doesn't like Jason - nationalpost Equalization is a concept enshrined in the Constitution, but for Alberta, it could become the new NEP if not managed well. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Let me ask: if you lived in a country where a plurality believed resource royalties more properly belonged to the nation as a whole rather than the province, how tempted would you be to save it? Rather it seems like a chain of "unrequited love in different parts of the country" according to Shachi Kurl, the executive director of the Angus Reid Institute. Yet Alberta isnt passing legislation like Bill 21, which would bar members of the public service from wearing religious garb. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Here is alinkon how to do it. But the fact that it gains any traction at all is a telling sign of the fear, frustration and anger in Alberta. About 178,000 people in Alberta reportedindividual incomes of $150,000 or more in 2015, the most recent year for which detailed data is available. If Trudeau wants to listen to the grievances of the West, he can pick up the phone and talk to anyone he likes. The survey, part of a four-part series on western Canadian identity, found that, on average, just five per cent of Canadians outside Quebec believe that Quebec is close with or friendly towards their own province; whats more, 53 per cent believe that la belle province takes more from Confederation than it gives. The Three Percenters' private Facebook groups reveal the Alberta chapter has nearly 3,000 members, although the Vice report estimates only 150 to 200 are active. Nearly 40 years ago, in February 1980, Pierre Trudeau won a majority government with two seats in western Canada and none west of Manitoba. Photo: Alberta Premier Jason Kenney delivers his State of the Province address to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce in Edmonton on Tuesday, October 29, 2019. Are you considering a Move to Alberta? (Can't see the chart? he big difference between 1980 and today is that Alberta is a much larger player in the Canadian economy and in our national life than it was then. Hate is an understatement. But how many people does this actually represent? To this day the NEP retains mythic status in Alberta as. Albertans have a way of adopting Central Canadians as "True Albertans" and ignoring and shaming those actually born and raised in Alberta as "not real Albertan". When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Days after the 2006 general election, Stephen Harper convinced a Liberal MP, David Emerson, to join his Conservative cabinet. More is needed this time around. We have enabled email notificationsyou will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Jean admits as much in his article, saying hed rather work with other provinces to fix the program. No doubt some attendees were shocked by the sight of an upside down flag at the front of the room. Originally published on Policy Options November 1, 2019. Some Albertans look at per capita federal transfer payments equalization is just one and the massive amount of federal income tax flooding into Ottawa from Alberta, and believe theyre getting a raw deal. | CBC News Loaded, Fred Youngs doesn't claim to be a sage, but on one particular subject, he's the go-to guy among his neighbours in the "905.".
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