Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings. The indifference of the nation is justified. (The values in the interactive chart now show provincial taxes minus the federal abatement.). Finance Canada recently completed a review of Equalization but the government refused to make any substantive changes to the formula. Now, as did his father, Justin Trudeau must find a way to provide westerners with power. Once your province has cultivated a reputation for being a redneck backwater, well, thats a hard one to break. Alberta heard not a peep from him when Encana announced last week that it would move its headquarters from Calgary to Denver. (David Kawai/Bloomberg/Getty Images). (Can't see the chart? Shut down the oil sands and avoid the much harder questions about why they exist. It is very much a story of unrequited love in different parts of the country. In an opinion article for the Calgary Herald, Alberta Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean said people constantly come up to him and ask him if the province could withdraw from the equalization program. We lived through the Klein years, the population surge, and the rise of an Alberta-based prime minister. But they also can hold two contradictory thoughts in their heads, and they don't doubt that Albertans in the energy industry need more help and support for whatever the future holds. He's French. The Albertans truly believe that Quebec is the succubus province of the entire country. DATA NERD. Fred Youngs was a journalist for CBC News in Winnipeg, Calgary and Toronto. Daily Hive is a Canadian-born online news source, established in 2008, that creates compelling, hyperlocal content. Absolutely. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay, Rex Murphy and others. It will take at least that much to contain Alberta alienation after this election outcome. Alberta separatism has never really been taken seriously by anyone, because every time it's just some half-baked attempt to 'own the Libs'. I know my values very well, even if I no longer recognized Canada.. 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. Canadians are seen as friendly people on the international stage, but just how neighbourly are we with our fellow patriots across the country? THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY. It's Albertans in the middle who don't fare as well, as you can see from the interactive chart below. The oil crash of 2014 and subsequent economic decline becomes a manifestation of divine justice. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. That makes Alberta the best province, from an income-tax point of view, to be living on low income. Didnt he buy you a pipeline? The differences are largely aesthetic and emotional. Most Albertansstill pay a 10-per-cent income tax rate, but those who earn more than $128,145 per year now pay 12per cent on earnings above that threshold. It's silly to say that all people in one province have strong feelings about all people in another province. Attendees line at the bar to put their names and addresses to paper so Wexit can collect the necessary minimum 250 signatures required to start a new federal political party. Around $100,000, Albertans pay less than Ontarians but still more than people in B.C. Get email updates from your favourite authors. Yet Alberta isnt passing legislation like Bill 21, which would bar members of the public service from wearing religious garb. The latter is perhaps worse, though there is recent precedent for it. The reason for the negative reviews about Quebec according to the poll is due to an average of only 5% of Canadians believing that the province is "close with or friendly" to the province they reside in. Ive seen a version of this play out in greater or lesser form again and again in reporting from Alberta. There are lots of good reasons for that. Pipelines have been an especially touchy subject for Western Canada, to say the least meaning Quebec's public stance against them was never going to go over well. More is needed this time around. Though the fact may seem hard to fathom to those in the East, a truly committed federalist has no better ally in Canada today than the premier of Alberta. (Quebec's income tax rates, by comparison, start at 15 per cent.). As you can also see from the interactive chart (by comparing the yellow and blue columns) the advantage for high-income earners would increase with a return to the flat tax. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. 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. Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings. For now, Ill pass. Hate is an understatement. It will take at least that much to contain Alberta alienation after this election outcome. More than 77 per cent of Albertans gave the thumbs-down to . Its even chillier in New Brunswick, where just 13 per cent return Quebecs affection (40 per cent said they felt close with their neighbour). The hostility is mostly in Alberta and Saskatchewan, unsurprising, given Premier Franois Legaults comments in December that theres no social acceptance for a pipeline that would pass through Quebec territory. Just one per cent of Albertans and two per cent of Saskatchewanians feel Quebec is friendly towards their province. Do you stuff your piggy bank if you dont trust your parents not to knick it? Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Trudeau bought the TMX line though the purchase offered absolutely no electoral benefit to himself or his party. But on one particular subject, at least amonga small group, I am the go-to person. The Wexit Facebook page now boasts about a quarter-million members and its founder, Peter Downing, took to the front of the room wearing an Edmonton Eskimos jersey and asked the crowd to remove those caps to observe a moment of silence for the Alberta workers who have committed suicide since oil priced dropped in 2014, and the province lost an estimated 150,000 jobs. Access articles from across Canada with one account. But when people think of taxes, they often think first of income tax. trending stories every day. 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. Are you considering a Move to Alberta? Albertans were the largest proponent to their province getting the short end of the stick by being a part of the country though both Ontario and Saskatchewan thought the same about their own home turf. The gap between Alberta and B.C. They do not include Medical Services Plan premiums in B.C., which are collected separately.). Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Except during federal election campaigns and big crises, 'politics' in Quebec means 'provincial politics' almost exclusively. He was an embarrassment to Alberta. It's the place for possibilities,amarketplace of ideas. Originally published on Policy Options November 1, 2019. iberal East looks down at you while it takes your wealth. and. But in the end, I tell them, it is a telling example of Albertans' belief that their economic might, their enterprise and their hard work have again been taken for granted by a Liberal government that promised to be different, open and inclusive. Whether its on here, or r/Canada, or r/BritishColumbia or any other non-Albertan sub. Not because I am some political seer, but because I know where Bridgeland is in Calgary, how glorious Kananaskis is, and how treacherous Highway 2 can be in the winter. We are a country in which proximity or geography may or may not play a role in how close we feel to each other, very much depending on the other factors at play, Kurl explained. (In that first year, the rate increased to 10.5 per cent for income above $125,000 and maxed out at 11.25 per cent on earningsabove $300,000.). What's the deal with Alberta? The NDP will never look after us. Not only are Canadians surprisingly willing to throw theirleast favourite province under the bus, but it seems that a lot of Canadians also share the same feelings. Open pit mining doesnt seem to be under threat. 57% of Albertan respondents saw BC as unfriendly towards their own province, while 47% of British Columbians though similarily about their neighbours to the east. We could talk about macroeconomic oil demand, the unemployment rate, the economic argument for pipelines like the Trans Mountain expansion; Bills C-69 and C-48, the oil price differential, the public purses dependence on oil and gas royalties. Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Eugene Lang is assistant professor at the school of policy studies at Queens University. RELATED:Re-election means never having to say youre sorry. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. The bulk of the adult, tax-filing population some 1.9 million people fell somewhere in between $25,000 and $150,000. 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. The UCP government (and the NDP) need to face facts, Trudeau hates Alberta! It was a move that produced nothing but recrimination. When we hear different premiers talking about wildly different competing priorities or pointing out a sense of lack of parity or unfairness around certain issues, that is something that is very much in alignment with what people in their own provinces are thinking, said Kurl. It feels too futilelike trying to explain an emotion (and a not-always-rational one, as is the way with emotions)to people who dont want to hear it. Whether Alberta should return to a "flat tax" on income has been the subject of debate recently. Further, Kenney went on to explain the crucial problem with the separtist argument. Why would we give them what they want?. God help any federal leader whos trying to campaign on a united message because this is not a country that is feeling united.. For merely bringing up the fact that separatist sentiment in Alberta is on the risea trend apparent years before he returned to Midnapore from Ottawahe has been lambasted as a politician attempting to stoke that sentiment for his own political gain. I know what an oil boom feels like, and how it feels when it goes bust. 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. But, middle-income Albertans who account for the bulk of the population pay more than those in Ontario and B.C. 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. Next to pipelines, the thing Alberta Premier Jason Kenney seems to want most is a concession on Equalization, the program that redistributes $19 billion in federal revenue from richer to relatively poorer provinces, to ensure comparable levels of public services can be delivered across the country. At his rally, Downing anticipated this: Someone called us the Bloc Rednecois and thats okay. All was forgiven and forgotten. People were way friendlier for instance. If you forget about us, tweet after tweet from Alberta read, perhaps well forget about our payments to the equalization program. As if he needed the boost. Alberta governments of every stripe love talking about the "tax advantage" in this province. Could Alberta pull off a full-blown boycott of Quebec? Sure, they understand the province's frustration with B.C. Well, I'm glad you asked. I dont know if this separatist sentiment in AlbertaWexit, if we mustis something to worry about. Some suggest Justin Trudeau should do likewise today and bring an Alberta senator into his cabinet. As news of Alberta's relaxing restrictions spreads across the country, people in Ontario are starting to call upon the provincial government to close off our borders to anyone from that province . Instead, they recall Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer, who addressed the convoys rally in Ottawa, allegedly speaking at the same event as racist alt-right personality Faith Goldy. Whether youre private sector, public sector, labour, youre the workers, youre immigrants, Indigenous communities again, for people from tight-knit communities, people who have to work three extra jobs, three extra jobs, and they get to keep more of their own money. There is a moral component to which industries were choosing to transition. The oil sands are greenhouse gas intensive. Angus Reid. I just had to comment because long gone are the days of the nice Newfoundlander, and there is a good reason for that. We have provincial governments who have got our backwere not isolated. 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. When you watch the . 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. Theyre a scapegoat, a channel for all the guilt and anxiety that we Canadians feel about our greenhouse-gas intensive lifestyles. Western Diversification is mandated to support economic diversification but also acts as an important advocate for regional interests in Ottawa, both within the bureaucracy and, usually, through a responsible minister at the cabinet table. 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. 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 differences are largely aesthetic and emotional. Equalization is a concept enshrined in the Constitution, but for Alberta, it could become the new NEP if not managed well. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6. Unlimited online access to National Post and 15 news sites with one account. Please reach out right away and we can start ma. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Or, at the very least, to greet the crisis playing out in this province with smug contempt. It isnt calling for a values test for new immigrants. Nefarious far-right conspiracies born in the dark heart of oil country, though never quite proven, are assumed. Eventually, the questions wend their way to separation. 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. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. But I have a perspective and thoughts about where the frustration and anger come from that was formed from my time in Calgary, and by a brother-in-law in Red Deer who never misses a chance to remind me how important the oil and gas industry is to Ontario's economy. So I suppose its not surprising that a convoy that left Alberta as a protest about pipelines arrived in Ottawa as a white nationalist vanguard. Alberta has subsidized Quebec for decades. Alberta, they explain, just should have voted for a Liberal party that hates it. TRUDEAU HATES ALBERTA. There is an attempt, here, to prise the iron-grip loyalty of the crowd, not just from the country, but from the conservative voting habits that have sustained the province for generations. and about $18,000 less than in Quebec. 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. ago Favoured Alberta Son? So, between a government they hatenot dislike, but hatea slump in oil prices, real challenges attracting investment, and a sense that Quebec, Ontario and B.C. Alberta heard not a peep from him when Encana announced last. Unlike people in the rest of the country, who were subject to progressively higher tax rates that increased with income, Albertans paid the same rate a flat 10 per cent regardless of how much money they made. Finally, there's one question that's not random, rare or fantastical: Why do so many Albertans so viscerally loathe Justin Trudeau? And 77 per cent of Albertans say that Saskatchewans a friend; 75 per cent of them reciprocate that feeling. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. 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. Most people in Quebec are rather indifferent about the people in the rest of Canada. 'God help any federal leader whos trying to campaign on a united message because this is not a country that is feeling united'. In fact, the equalization fund comes from general federal revenues and grows each year in line with the economy. Sixty-three per cent of Manitobans also see Saskatchewan as a pal. From racists rooted out in bars in Brooks, Alta., to the the anti-Semitic ramblings of school teacher Jim Keegstra, whose firing helped form Canadas hate speech laws, to the anti-semitism within the early Reform Party, to Stephen Harpers alleged hidden agenda. Like I said, I feel like it is deeper then the pipeline and the transfer payment so I wanted to know the point of views of Alberta. Much ire is directed at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Forty-four per cent of Quebecers consider Ontario a friend, but just 12 per cent of Ontarians feel that way about Quebec. To make matters worse, 53% of the Canadians in the study believe that Quebec takes more than it gives to the Confederation. Whether it's the place you grew up or a place you simply love to visit, every Canadian definitely plays favourites. To this day the NEP retains mythic status in Alberta as the example of a central Canadian project inimical to Albertas economic interests. The green left has been leading a campaign to landlock our energy. Even Facebook online. That one defies logic and explanation. The West wants out.. 7. And they are not of Alberta, but rather of Canada. Jen Gerson: 'Wexit' reflects a cartoon version of the province that other Canadians find easy to attackbecause it spares them the burden of self-examination, By Jen Gerson Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. 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. The 40 per cent of earners above them paid 28.7 per cent of the tax. November 7, 2019, The baseball caps were sold to the side of the rally at the Boot Scootin Boogie Dancehall last Saturday night. The only headquarters this government is passionate about preserving are the ones named SNC and located in Montreal, apparently. Thats all you are.. To this day the NEP retains mythic status in Alberta as. A national media based primarily in the East seemed to declare the Bloc the only unmitigated winner in this federal election. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. That budget set the stage for the "flat tax" system, which set Alberta apart from other provinces for the next decade and a half. Read more about cookies here. What I do predict is that the Wexit leaders currently fronting Facebook pages will be discredited. Super Bowl-winning athlete talks football, his medical career and the importance of skin care. Equalization is one of many federal transfer programs. Flipping the tables found BC and Alberta actually at odds, with respondents seeing each the other province as less close or friendly towards their own. No one in Alberta appears overly bothered by it. Now as then, figuring out how to provide westerners with power in a government in which they have no elected representation is a major preoccupation in Ottawa. 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. This year, about $18 billion will be doled out to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba, with $11 billion going to Quebec alone. RELATED:Could Chrystia Freeland save Canada? That means half of Albertans earned less than that amount, and half earned more. All of this will be used as proof of the underlying logic of Wexit: that the. week that it would move its headquarters from Calgary to Denver. 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. Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Whatever you do, don't forget to mention Alberta. : You cant make a choice between whats good for the environment and whats good for the economy.We cant shut down the oilsands tomorrow. Jason Kenney, the premier of Alberta, does not get such an easy ride. But it may also provide a pressure valve for separtist sentiment. EDMONTON Quebec is the least popular province in Confederation, according to new polling from the Angus Reid Institute. And that's where many people might be surprised about Alberta. For example, Alberta pulls in about $1,388 per capita, while Nova Scotia gets $3,243 per capita in federal transfers. Shut down the oil sands and avoid the much harder questions about why they exist. More than 700 people arrived at the event in Edmonton to hear a few speakers extol the benefits of Western separation. The Angus Reid Institute looked to answer that question with their most recent study, asking a random sample of 4,024 Canadians from all over the country to speak to their provinces relationship with the other members of the federation. Premier Jason Kenney has become one of the most hated leaders in modern Alberta history, according to a new poll by ThinkHQ. Monday morning, we are going to file our applications with Elections Canada for the official registration of Wexit Canada.. And there is no point in continuing to try to explain anger and alienation to people who do not want to hear it. While Canada as a whole is a gorgeous country, you'd be lying if you said you didn't have special feelings towards at least one province. He is a senior fellow with the, Graham Centre for Contemporary International History, Trinity College, University of Toronto. Why wouldn't someone from the Alberta government even an MLA with an hour of time to kill meet with Greta Thunberg in Edmonton? Kenney has promised to hold a referendum on Equalization if the program is not changed to reduce the unfairness he perceives in its design. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. I have a hard time believing that Albertans "hate" people from Quebec. And, 21 per cent of Quebecers feel that way about their own province, too. Ontarians aren't fond of anyone; Alberta is the province most-liked by Ontarians, but only 28 per cent of them hold that affection; and 40 per cent of Ontarians don't consider any other province. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. At least, not yet. The Liberals will never look after us. Here is how Rachel Notley could really take the boots to B.C. Narcity Media Inc. Quebec is getting no love in this recent study that shows which provinces Canadians love and hate the most. We get to keep the $50 billion in taxation we send to Ottawa for nothing, nothing good except their noses up and their thumbs down on us, he says. Please attribute the author(s) and mention that the article was originally published by Policy Options magazine. Didnt he buy you a pipeline?. READ MORE:Netflix Canada Announces The Official Date That The Harry Potter Movies Are Coming. 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. A recent Ipsos poll conducted for Global News found that roughly half of all Canadians entertained racist thoughts they wouldnt speak in public. 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. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited. Their taxes would be lower stillif the province were to revert to its flat tax system. 2023 National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. When a reporter parachutes into cattle country to root out a racist wacknut, the outlier and the anecdote become proof of the corrupt and immoral nature of the province and its political culture as a whole. An earlier version of this story didn't factor in the abatement on federal taxes that Quebec income-tax filers receive.
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