Alberta vs. Saskatchewan, how’s it goin’ so far?
Actually, it’s a well-known fact Saskatchewan never challenges Alberta on any front, especially in the worlds of politics and business, and why would we?
We are two peas in a pod, with Alberta taking the upper part of the pod. Saskatchewanians have learned to accept that reality.
After all, Alberta is zeroing in on a population of six million. Saskatchewan got over the one million mark a few years ago. That’s for starters.
Alberta has two major cities, Edmonton, with a population of 1.59 million, and Calgary, with a population of 1.69 million. Saskatchewan has Regina at 236K and Saskatoon at 352K.
Alberta has Banff and Jasper national parks. We have Waskesiu.
They have a mountain range. We have Qu’Appelle Valley. They have all kinds of four-lane highways. We have occasional passing lanes except for that Regina to Saskatoon run.
Alberta boasts of two NHL franchises, two CFL teams, four major stadiums, one to be replaced soon with a new edifice. Saskatchewan has the Roughriders and Mosaic Stadium, and that other place in Saskatoon that is not quite big enough to attract A-list entertainers or events.
Alberta has lots of oil and natural gas. Saskatchewan has some oil and not a lot of natural gas.
Saskatchewan may grow more canola and mustard than Alberta, but Alberta has more cattle.
Alberta has a host of head offices. Saskatchewan has a habit of losing head offices.
The two provinces seem to be on the same page when it comes to politics, and Saskatchewan has to remain in the “me too” file when it comes to that topic as well. Both provinces have pretty well stuck to conservative, bending governments with occasional forays into democratic socialism, and then back to the original.
Alberta is now discussing, with some degree of seriousness, I understand, the possibility of cutting ties with the rest of Canada. Perhaps their government and Premier do wish to invite the possibility of becoming a 51st state of the U.S.A. It’s hard to tell. I mean, they have to belong to some sort of pact or they’ll essentially drift to and from on misty flats.
So will Saskatchewan join them, looking for 52nd state status? Just because, well, just because that’s what we usually do? We tend to follow the Alberta script as the poor country cousin. If they join America, we may have no other options in our government’s eyes.
In the early 1900’s the brain trusts in the federal government that had settled on Ottawa as their choice for lording over the masses glanced askance at the unfolding of the western part of the country. B.C. was already in place, as was Manitoba, but there was still that huge tract of land, I think they called it Buffalo territory or vast wasteland or something of that ilk. But they still feared that vastness. They didn’t want a single provincial landmass that would supersede the breadth of Ontario, for sure. They were concerned that if this huge land mass was actually capable of producing something more than grass, it could pose a real threat to their balance of power.
So the big boss politicians that were in place then decided to carve out two provinces, and give them their titles at the same time (1905), and that’s how Saskatchewan got drawn up with those straight lines composed by some office worker in Ottawa who happened to have a pencil in his desk drawer when the idea of forging two provinces hit the floor for discussion. This way, the two new provinces could be kept under control by both political and geographical means.
So here we are, decades later, growing more than grass, so Ottawa’s leaders back then had their fears verified. Now Alberta wants out, or so Danielle says. After all, Alberta sends billions of dollars to Ottawa and Ottawa sends those billions over to Quebec, so they can keep Quebec in the can, and it’s getting a little tiring. But Ottawa, i.e. Ontario, has the population, and in our democratic system, population counts when it comes to exercising power because it’s people who vote, not corporations or think tanks or social service agencies.
So Ontario, where there are lots and lots of people, gets to rule the roost by convincing a few scattered constituencies in other provinces that it’s all good and the equalization payments, courtesy of Alberta and to a lesser degree (of course) of Saskatchewan, will keep on coming as long as they (Quebec and a few others) continue to claim poverty, not prove it, just claim it, and it shall be bequeathed on to them.
Next week, we can maybe explore what the new world would look like in Alberta if it expressed desires to be the 51st state and whether Saskatchewan, the province with the straight boundary lines, might like to follow.
Elbows up, take the penalty and maybe still win the game? Or skate away and take the franchise into a new arena? Our two provinces still get to decide that scenario … I think.
