Holding all the power now, Albertans would get richer while the balance of the country would get poorer
Canadians don’t value our fossil fuel economy, which explains why so many are OK to trash pipelines and see Alberta tank. Only 19 percent think it more important to pursue oil and gas development than to go green and regulate oil, according to EKOS polling. That 19 percent figure shrinks to eight percent for Canadians who consider themselves Liberals, six percent for NDPers and two percent for those who vote Green, meaning that politicians of most stripes have no interest in alienating their supporters to help Alberta’s energy economy recover.
Those figures also explain why Alberta’s sense of alienation is on the rise. According to Ipsos, fully 62 percent believe Alberta “does not get its fair share from Confederation” (up from 45 percent two decades ago), 46 percent feel more attached to their province than to their country (up from 39 percent) and 34 percent “feel less committed to Canada than I did a few years ago” (up from 22 percent). Just 18 percent of Albertans believe “the views of western Canadians are adequately represented in Ottawa.”
One-quarter of Albertans now believe Alberta “would be better off if it separated from Canada,” a number that may well rise if the provincial economy founders, and would certainly rise if Albertans realized that they need Canada a lot less than Canada needs them. Without Alberta’s wealth and foreign-exchange earnings, the living standard of Canadians outside Alberta would drop and the Canadian dollar would plummet, likely leading to inflation as the cost of imports rose. Albertans, in contrast, would see their affluence rise and, because oil sales are denominated in U.S. dollars, Alberta would be largely insulated from the inflation to its east and west.
Those pooh-poohing independence claim Alberta, being land-locked, would be held hostage if it were an independent state. Those scoffers have it backward. Alberta is today held hostage, its pipelines east and west kiboshed by its fellow Canadians. If Alberta were independent, its newfound bargaining power would certainly cause the Rest of Canada to capitulate, and speed to completion any and all pipelines Alberta needed to either ocean.
An independent Alberta would control access to its land mass as well as the skies above it, requiring Canada’s federal government to negotiate rights for, say, Vancouver-to-Toronto flights over Alberta airspace. Canada would also need Alberta’s agreement to have trains and trucks cross its now-international borders. Threats of tolls and tariffs could abound as needed to chasten those perceived to be wronging Alberta, whether Quebec, which exports dairy to B.C., grain interests that now commandeer rail to the detriment of Alberta’s oil shippers or the B.C. ports that depend on commodities going to and from points east. Anyone thinking that Alberta would be unable to police its borders needs to be reminded that, for the past 70 years, Alberta’s patrols have made it the continent’s only rat-free jurisdiction.
Should Alberta become a credible threat to leave the federation, the debate would embolden Quebec separatists, make Canada seem unstable and scare off investment
The Rest of Canada has other reasons to avoid pushing Albertans to the point of separation. Should Alberta become a credible threat to leave the Canadian federation, the debate would likely embolden Quebec separatists, make Canada seem unstable and scare off both domestic and international investment. Alberta would have the United States as a bargaining chip, too: Manifest Destiny, the U.S. dream of controlling the entire continent, would experience a revival at the prospect of welcoming Alberta as its 51st state, strengthening America’s influence over the world’s energy markets and, in particular, over a now energy-dependent Rest of Canada.
While history suggests Alberta would almost surely be better off outside Canada — Singapore, Norway, Taiwan, the Czech Republic, and other breakaways have generally thrived — divorce would be messy, costly in the short term and unnecessary. The Supreme Court of Canada made separation plausible — separation negotiations would start as soon as a clear majority of Albertans in a clearly stated referendum voted to leave Canada. It wouldn’t take too many more blows to Alberta’s economy and Albertans’ pride for the 46 percent who now see themselves more as Albertans than Canadians to become 56 percent or even 66 percent, figures setting Canada on a path to dismemberment.
The last time Alberta was pushed toward the brink, it argued that “the West wants in.” The next time it might argue that “Alberta wants out.” The Rest of Canada needs to understand it has no hand to play if it continues to fuel Albertans’ discontent. If we don’t come to have regard for the needs of Alberta, Alberta will come to have no regard for Canada.
Source: https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/lawrence-solomon-if-alberta-turns-separatist-the-rest-of-canada-is-in-big-trouble
have lived in alberta for 45 years, through numerous booms and busts, and frankly its getting tiresome. many workers from all other provinces come to alberta to make money and send it home to be spent in other provinces. this fact deserves recognition throughout canada, to say nothing about the massive amount of money in transfer payments made by alberta to the rest of canada. Trudeau has tunnel vision, more interested in the world stage than running the country. he and his government have the power to rectify the problem, but will not. instead he spent billions to buy a pipeline that goes nowhere. perhaps british columbians should try giving up fossil fuels for just one day, and see how their live goes. may be a big eye opener for the tree huggers.
Albertans should have figured out long ago the lack of respect they get from the Laurentian elites. Only 1 PM in the past half century has shown any respect for Alberta.
Although I agree that an independent Alberta could block cross Canada shipments by air, rail, and truck, I think it would help Alberta to plan for other Provinces to join them. Saskatchewan is relatively like minded with Alberta, especially when it comes to suffering the lack of respect. Getting Manitoba on board would also help, in that it would provide an Ocean port.
BC would be nice too, but I don’t think the time is right yet. The only way would be for Alberta to punish BC by shutting down railway and truck shipments eastwards to the Rest-of-Canada (ROC), just as BC shut out Alberta’s exports. After some hardship, BC would realize that an equal partner in Western Canada may be a better deal than a Laurentian Elite Canada that does not acknowledge anything west of Toronto.