Why Albertans are angry

With much of Canada booming including low unemployment rates, rising dissatisfaction in Alberta is at best a mystery to many other Canadians. At worst, it provokes hostile reactions.

But as a British Columbian who spent much of the last three decades in Alberta, I know why Albertans are angry.

Imagine how you might feel if:

• You were in British Columbia, a manufacturer, and most of your border access is becoming ever more limited, thus hampering your exports and business growth.

• That some activists wanted the Port of Vancouver and Vancouver International Airport prevented from ever exporting more goods than they do now. 

• Imagine you are in Ontario and the federal government outlaws one potential major highway for transport, buys another, but then ties it up in red tape before you can use it.

• Meanwhile, politicians in provinces such as Quebec criticize a major product from your province but happily take federal transfer dollars which overwhelmingly originate in your province’s wealth creating dynamo.

That’s a snapshot, based on current federal policy and some provincial poliocy, which hurts resource communities across Canada. The effects are felt in Alberta but the economic damage has now spread to communities dozens of First Nations across western Canada and others in Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada.

Albertans are angry about all of the above and more. I deep-dive into all this to show why their frustrations are entirely rational. A preview of the keynote is contained in my Globe and Mail column here: Realities on the ground: Why Albertans are angry.

The audience for this keynote

This speech is useful and informative for audiences outside Alberta who desire insight into dynamics in western Canada. It draws on much of my past work on federal-provincial energy and transfer payment policy.