As a Western Canadian, I actually think it's the media attention on this that has made it more popular. The vast majority of people in my life think this is a terrible idea. Western Canada, and Alberta, have been shafted by federal Canadian politics for a long time, but Carney seems to be saying the right things ("energy super power", "energy corridor", "streamline infrastructure").
I agree as a Canadian. It feels like there's vastly more reporting on this than there are actual people fully supporting this movement. These things may be getting more coverage because they sound so outrageous and novel, but it's an unpopular idea even among Albertans. It also lacks anything that Quebec's once-mighty secessionist force had - no unified organization pushing for it, no vision for what an independent Alberta would be like, no cultural differences with the rest of Canada, no irreconcilable grievance with the federal government (outside of them not being conservative enough).
Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of tension in Alberta - but as it stands, this movement is more of a way to voice discontent, rather than a serious plan to become a sovereign state. IMO, it's not worth a dramatic full-page treatment that paints this as a likely possibility - but foreign reporting on Canadian issues has often been very questionable.
>t feels like there's vastly more reporting on this than there are actual people fully supporting this movement.
Which is everything to say about today's media. They are, wrong, made up and late. They are only here for the clicks and view. Not for informing anyone.
I noticed you called yourself Western Canadian, not Albertan. I agree with your sentiments, but I'm curious. The article quotes "I don’t like the way the Liberals treat Western Canada", but BC is Liberal, is it not?
I spent the majority of my life in BC, but I've been away for the last 15 years.
BC, Quebec and the federal government have prevented further oil industry development while enjoying Alberta tax revenue from said oil industry. That's the basic gripe. And as far as I can tell, it's true.
The whole country is pro-oil now because we've realized we need to be stronger. This election cycle was drastically different compared to the last one which was completely about "climate change". Which was ridiculous imo.
Seperatism is bad, but being pro-Alberta is good. Being pro-Canadian oil and infrastructure development is good.
Climate change denialism is still alive and well, it's just shifting from "it doesn't exist" to "it's not that bad" or "its not our problem".
Every country needs to be taking climate change seriously for their own sake. Very few are. China is, and surprise surprise - China is outpacing western nations in a lot of different areas. Their rate of development is truly spectacular.
It's fun and games not to care, but the reality is economic prosperity is a long term game. You need to make decisions now that will decide 50 years from now. Oil is on the way out, it's the wrong horse to back for extremely expensive infrastructure.
Generally speaking, provincial parties are either loosely affiliated or unaffiliated with federal parties which share a name. e.g. Alberta recently had an NDP government that skews much further right than the federal NDP.
If someone says "BC is Liberal" when discussing multiple provinces, they're probably referring to the distribution of federal MPs from BC. And in three of the last four elections including the most recent, the Liberals have "won" BC federally.
