(Be)longing in Alberta

Albertans don’t like being told to choose between their province and their country.

That's what makes this fall’s referendum on separation so unsettling. For many people, the question feels less like a viable choice and more like an ultimatum.

The campaign feels manipulative: a risky attempt to translate genuine dissatisfaction with Alberta’s place in Confederation into either leverage for a better deal or a pretext for breaking up the country. Worse yet, a foolish gambit by a premier bent on keeping her grip on power.

For generations, many (but not all) Albertans have felt undervalued and misunderstood by Ottawa: on energy, fiscal transfers, pipelines, environmental policy, and representation.

Whether grounded in an objective analysis of the policy landscape or not, that sense of alienation is both deep and broad, and no serious federalist should dismiss it.

But alienation from Ottawa is not the same thing as estrangement from Canada.

Most Albertans have never had a beef with Canadians in other provinces (about a quarter of us come from away), let alone shown a sustained desire to leave the country. Many of us believe Alberta deserves more respect and influence in Canada (the West still wants in), but that is different from wanting out.

The same is true in the other direction. Albertans can be unhappy with the direction of their province or the performance of their government. Yet disappointment in the provincial government is not the same as giving up on Alberta.

Despite this antipathy toward their governments, Albertans remain attached to both province and country.

And those feelings are not dichotomous.

Much like their counterparts in the rest of Canada (outside Quebec), Albertans who feel a strong sense of attachment to their province also feel a strong sense of identification with their country.

That is the essence of federalism: people holding more than one political identity at a time. Albertans can be fiercely provincial and proudly Canadian. They can belong to a local community, a treaty relationship, a region, and a country all at once. These attachments do not need to cancel each other out.

It has been that way for a long time.

Results from our own Viewpoint Alberta surveys mirror those of the IRPP/Environics Confederation of Tomorrow series. Since 2019, around half of Albertans have indicated they feel “Canadian only” or “Canadian first”, compared with about 20 percent who feel “Albertan only” or “Albertan first”. The remaining one-third feel an equal attachment to province and country. In fact, over 80 percent of Albertans feel a dual attachment of some kind -- a sentiment that cuts across partisan lines.

The same is not true when it comes to feelings of alienation.

While Viewpoint and IRPP/Environics data show NDP supporters have become less disenchanted with the province’s place in Confederation since 2019, UCP supporters have remained highly resentful.

Unsurprisingly, the reverse is true when we examine attitudes toward the provincial government and the province’s future: New Democrats have grown increasingly dissatisfied on both counts, while United Conservatives remain positive.

In other words, partisanship matters when it comes to feelings of alienation from governments, but not when it comes to a deeper sense of loyalty to province and country.

Albertans can be angry with Ottawa without hating Canada. They can be disappointed in Edmonton without turning their backs on Alberta.

They can want a stronger Alberta without wanting a weaker Canada or vice versa. They can demand respect without walking away.

Grievance and belonging can co-exist. In fact, the deepest feelings of grievance are often rooted in the fact we don’t feel valued in the relationships we value most.

When Albertans are asked whether the province is treated unfairly by Ottawa, should have more autonomy, or have more influence in federal decisions, many say yes. But when asked whether they feel attached to Canada, value their citizenship, or want to keep national programs like the Canada Pension Plan and the RCMP, many of those same people also say yes. Many want to maintain and even strengthen these attachments, and exert more influence within Confederation.

They want to lead, not leave.

The danger of a separation referendum is that it crams those loyalties into checkboxes. It invites people to express years of frustration with one level of government -- to send it a message -- through the most drastic option available: breaking up the country.

Even among separatists, a sizeable share still feels some affinity towards Canada. This bears repeating: according to Viewpoint Alberta surveys, as many as 40 percent of people who would vote to establish an independent country still report feeling a somewhat strong attachment to Canada.

Unlike many other secessionist movements, Alberta’s is not rooted in memories of lost independence. Alberta was never a sovereign state. It was created by the federal government and has always existed within Canada. Laurentian elites are correct on those points.

For many separatists, the emotional pull is not toward an old independent Alberta. It is toward an old imagined Canada. This makes Alberta separatism look less like nationalism and more like nostalgic patriotism: affection for a Canada they believe has slipped away.

This is why some avowed separatists complain about the perceived desecration of the Canadian flag during Pride Month. It’s also why separatists promise Albertans can keep the Canadian things they like: their pensions, their passports, and their familial connections. They know many supporters are reluctant to give Canada up entirely.

Federalists should learn from that. Instead of scolding Albertans for feeling alienated, or treating provincial pride as somehow traitorous, the answer is to affirm both loyalties: to carry and take ownership of both flags and invite others to do the same.

This October, Albertans are being asked to choose between maintaining their dual attachments to Canada and Alberta by remaining in Confederation, or siding with those who want to force us abandon one loyalty for the other.