American Thinker: Alberta as our 51st state is not as far-fetched as it sounds at first blush. The idea was written about by Peter Zeihan in Accidental Superpower (2014) and recently broached by Holman Jenkins, Jr. in no less than the Wall Street Journal. Before diving into the politics and practicality of a Alberta leaving Canada, let’s first review some background to see why such a traumatic event could even be considered.
Unlike the U.S., which is netted together with the world’s best river system and a favorable geography and climate, Canada is the opposite. Zeihan shows that three barriers split Canada into five largely autonomous regions. They are the Rocky Mountains, the Canadian Shield, and the St. Lawrence River. He says:
Geographically, Canada just isn’t a unified entity, and that’s without even considering its more publicly discussed challenges such as the Anglophone-Francophone divide or the country’s confederal political system, or that because of cold climate most of the Canadian landmass is simply too inhospitable to support a large population, condemning everyone to live on the country’s extreme southern fringe.
This makes Canada inherently unstable and unwieldy from both a political and a geographic point of view.
In two significant ways, Alberta is unlike the rest of Canada. First, Alberta is energy-rich. Thanks to a several-decade-old energy boom, Alberta has a high per capita income. This results in the central government in Ottawa sucking taxes out of Alberta. For every dollar Alberta sends to Ottawa, it gets back only about 65 cents in return. This means that Albertans pay $21.8 billion more in taxes than they get back. And it is the aging population of Quebec that benefits the most from this income transfer.
To make matters worse, neighboring provinces have blocked landlocked Alberta from building pipelines for its oil and gas. As for the Trudeau central government, like all progressive administrations, it is enthralled with the green movement and is anti-fossil fuel in all forms. Jenkins writes that this means that Alberta oil has to be shipped to markets by truck or rail, an expensive proposition either way, causing Edmonton’s oil to sell at barely $10 a barrel – an 80% discount to world prices. Having to subsidize the rest of Canada while at the same time other Canadians try to squelch the province’s energy industry has rankled many Albertans. more
If we took Alberta most of Canada would want to come with.
There’s some beautiful land up there, it would be a good get if it happens.
If Alberta comes then British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba also have to come to keep the line straight.
Poutine might just become a popular dish in the US.
Alberta bound, Alberta bound.
Its good to be Alberta bound.
I’m sure BC would vote liberal, my guess is that Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba are like the inner counties of California – deep red.
My first thought was, “C’mon down!” But first, I’d like to know if Alberta would more likely be a red state or a blue state.
LCD, Vancouver is lib, but just like here once you get out of the metropolitan area they’re regular people out there.
“This means that Albertans pay $21.8 billion more in taxes than they get back.”
There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding of just what “taxation” means.
The people (individuals) who PAY the taxes NEVER “get back” any of the money squandered. If it were simply a question of “getting back” what was “paid” (confiscated) in taxes then why the charade? Just keep the money in the first place. No matter the lies, legerdemain, prestidigitation, obfuscation, or any other of that governmental bullshit, taxes are paid to support, literally, armies of the unemployable and to purchase favors and offices for those confiscating the money.
The central gov’t could “give back” 100% of the money (or 120%) but it would not reach the people from whom it was extorted – and would have to be extorted from other Canadians because the lazy maggots of the bureaucracies must be paid (unless the bureaucrats’ pay is included in the “give back” lie).
We take comfort in our lies and delusions, and, apparently, so do the Canuks.
izlamo delenda est …
Canada’s immigration policies are as bad, if not worse than ours.
https://www.blazingcatfur.ca/2019/02/03/12000-eritrean-refugees-admitted-to-canada/
Oh hell no!
…it really wrecks a non-Communist country when it’s suddenly attached to a Communist country, and inherits its citizens that have been conditioned to Communism. Ask pre-80s West Germany how well that works, or even the folks in Virgina when DC migrants used to Big Govenment slid into the Northern part of their state…
Can we trade Puerto Rico for Alberta?
Tim, Most folks understand that the government was never designed to return taxation to the payer dollar for dollar. The results of our tax dollars manifests itself in police and fire protection, in the military keeping us safe, and in a public subsistence net for those truly in need. But we expect pot holes to be filled and a general fiduciary obligation by those in public works to spend our tax dollars properly. This does not mean school administrators get to make $150K a year or welfare/free medical care to non citizens.
NO! WAI!
If we take Alberta, Canada’s gotta take Hawaii.
@Rich Taylor February 3, 2019 at 11:23 am
Sorry, I’m not sorry. But Hawaii afflicts all of us worse than Puerto Rico afflicts a few big, blue city-states.
In response to “Uncle Al”, Alberta would be a red state. It only voted for Red Rachel (a commie) because they were so fed up with the provincial Conservative party, all the corruption and scandals. This May there will be another election. I truly think she and the NDP will be kicked out. I live in Saskatchewan, I would like to join Alberta if it becomes American. Also, many Americans immigrated to Alberta over 100 years ago. Alberta has always been described as more American than Canadian.
I’m not in Alberta, but this country is so socialist, you wouldn’t even want the red sections, as they are more purple than red. They have had socialized medicine for so long, as an example, that they think their health care is good superior, when it is only adequate at best.
A day or two after 9-11 I was speaking to a Canadian woman. Her concern was what the United States would do. I said, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME. These sonofabitches came to our country and ripped our heart out.” Needless to say, the conversation was brief and cold. so I left.
I read the article and while interesting and certainly provocative I think the author was less writing a serious story then a writing a fun with numbers time filler. I have close relatives in Alberta and while they’re still pissed with the Federal government decades after the National Energy Policy that Pierre Trudeau forced through (and his son has stirred those embers but he’s going to thrown from office in less then a year) they wouldn’t even consider a split from Canada to become a 51st state. There are a few who from time to time, do a Quebec and threaten to leave but that blows over fairly quickly. As an aside the separatist party in Quebec was just destroyed in the last provincial election by a new party that promised no more referendums on separation. Besides, Albertan’s are a pragmatic bunch and peaking over the border at what’s happening would likely take a pass.
A great idea. I will move home to Alberta when, not if it happens.
Who would want to join the US when the next several presidents after Trump will be corrupt, malicious, psycho leftist women?
Alberta would do well to go its own way – independent of canada.
Too cucking fold for me.
“Speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.” Geo. Orwell
I’m in if we take it by force. We don’t need any wimpy bandwagon jumping Canadians muddying our pure American waters.
Besides, a forceful invasion will separate the true believers from the Canadian parasites. Once all are prostrate (dead or in subservience) we can go through and process the survivors for…..for….
Screw it. No survivors. We only want the resources anyway.