Alberta feels like America’s northern cousin. The one with a chip on its shoulder.
Let’s go back to something I say often: I live in Alberta. I raised my children here. I’ll likely die here. And I don’t say that with resignation, I say it with a weird mix of gratitude and grief.
This is a province gifted, yes, gifted, with oil and gas riches that changed its destiny. But Alberta today doesn’t act like a province that hit the resource jackpot. It acts like the bratty kid who inherited a trust fund and now blames everyone else for his lack of character.
So let’s rewind the tape. Alberta became it’s own province in 1905, carved out of the Northwest Territories. Our early settlers were tough as nails immigrants from Eastern and Western Europe who came to farm the land. And it wasn’t easy. The soil was thin, the weather was cruel, and the wind never shut up. Farming here was never a fairytale. You had to work for every single bushel, and even then, it might blow away
Then came the 1930s. Drought hit. Crops failed. Families starved. My own family has photos from P.E.I., trucks full of potatoes headed west because Albertans were hungry. Not for profit. For survival. When Alberta was on its knees, other Canadians fed us. Let’s remember that before we shout about “equalization” and “economic tyranny.”
Although oil was initially found in 1914 it didn’t gush until the ’50s. And with that came money. Landmen came knocking. Farmers became royalty owners. And slowly but surely, the persona changed. We began to believe that wealth was our destiny. That we were owed.
Enter: Danielle Smith. Premier of grievance. Queen of magical thinking. The folksy voice of rebellion, denial, and “common sense”, if common sense means conspiracies and suing hospitals. She has her own version of Trump’s “I alone can fix it” mantra, though in her case, it’s more like “Ottawa broke it, I’ll pretend to fix it, and we’ll sue someone in the process.”
And just like Trump, she’s mastered the political art of distraction. The moment things get real, out come the shiny objects: provincial policing, a separate pension plan, another tantrum about Ottawa mistreating Alberta. It’s nonsense. It’s theatre
Dammit, we need to get over this. Alberta isn’t a victim. We are a unique province, as is every province. That’s the whole point of Canada. New Brunswick doesn’t have oil sands. Manitoba doesn’t have mountains. Saskatchewan doesn’t have tidewater. Alberta doesn’t either, which, by the way, is why we keep fighting for access. The strength of this country has never come from pretending we’re the centre of the universe. It’s come from working together. From resilience. From interdependence.
And I am damn sick of Danielle Smith making us sound like we’re anything less than Canadian.
The UCP? They clap like Maple MAGA marionettes. They mangle facts. They pretend private health care isn’t creeping in. They sell choice like it’s freedom, while cutting public services in the back room. And they act like Alberta’s wealth emerged from thin air, not from the collective efforts of thousands of workers, federal infrastructure, and yes, partnerships across this country.
I’m not anti-Alberta. I am Alberta. I’ve driven the back roads. I’ve served in elected roles and participated in more town halls and community meetings then I can count. The oil and gas industry helped support my family. But I also know what it means to count on the rest of the country.
And now I see my grandchild (I know I talk about her all the time-I’m kind of smitten) entering a world where we’re teaching the next generation that blame is a birthright and victimhood is a political strategy. I didn’t sign up for that Alberta.
Because here’s the thing: we’re still a province. We are not a sovereign nation. We’re not a global power. We are not the United States, though increasingly we’re showing their worst habits. A Premier who thinks she’s smarter than scientists. A party that worships her no matter how absurd the claim. A public so exhausted, we’re starting to tune out, which is exactly the plan.
So yes, I’m watching Alberta lose itself. I’m watching good people buy the snake oil again. I’m watching this Premier act like this is her province, her movement, her right. And I’m here to say: no, it’s not.
This is a country. And it’s not hers. It’s ours. So let’s not be the buffalo herded toward the edge, misled, confused, and sacrificed.
Because make no mistake: the cliff is real. And the drums are already beating.
Nancy's Notes 