How many billions did Trudeau and the federal government spend pushing through the TMX pipeline? Around 30 billion. And yet, rarely will you hear an Albertan even mention it let alone give Trudeau (and Notley) any credit. When they are asked about it, they just brush it off an unimportant.
I reckon Albertan politicians also carry a fair amount of blame for the sense of Western alienation because it gives them a “get out of jail free” card. They just claim that everything’s Ottawa’s fault. There are legitimate concerns but they get lost in the noise of “everything’s Ottawa’s fault”.
That said Western alienation is at a four-year low now that Trudeau’s gone and Carney’s in.
I know quite a few, all good hard working people. I also know a lot of Americans in Taiwan too, also good people, but who call themselves Canadian, because they feel it’s embarrassing to admit to being an American abroad now.
I so wish your second sentence was true amigo as that would mean it’s protected from China, but unfortunately, like many of your sentences, it’s not.
being an American abroad has always been a controversial thing - such is an unspoken burden of being a representative of Pax Americana. I’ve personally had to deal with it growing when I had an anti-American teacher who made it clear he didn’t like Americans (he was a Frenchie no less)…but I digress.
Yes those Americans say Canadians because our Yankees are so close in culture to Ontario that they are only separated by a borderline.
They do sound like spoiled sore losers though: -
America keeps Taiwan safe enough to teach in taiwan.
America keeps English popular enough to where they have a job teaching English to hopeful families
America voted for Trump just like they voted for Biden. Sometimes ya win sometimes ya lose.
There’s a really easy one: we have our own history (and, if must be oppositional: it is rather different from that of the US )
To be fair though, tonnes of national identities are forged in contrast to neighbors. England France and France Germany comes to mind, but so does Germany Austria. Or S. Korea N. Korea. Hell, English-Welsh-Scots. Arguably more similar than different, but it’s a huge cornerstone. And someone way more familiar with the UK could make the argument very well that the same Eng-Wel-Scot relationship exists between much smaller regions of the UK. Here we do things so, there they do it so.
Not necessarily inherently good, but silly to disregard.
This is incorrect. The French are French - period. They know what it means to be French just as much as the Spaniards and British know what it means to be from there. The Spanish aren’t into bullfighting because the French are not, for example.
the issue with Canada from a cultural standpoint is that it is really a mish mash of different groups (French, British, First Nations, Westerners - and instead of focusing on bringing them together through a common vision (not a common enemy which is what Trudeau tried to do) the leadership decided to shame Canadians out of their identity. “ we’re sorry.” Was the slogan.
So far the only identity that Canada has tried to take is: we are the Europe of America.
But what is that? What does that even mean? To those from Europe it just means it’s a mosaic of very different smaller cultures.
Anywho speaking of Europe
I just saw that Trudeau has said “ there is no business for Canadian LNG” to the Germans at their hour of need. Is this accurate?
hardly a point to the rest of the noise. I said it right at the start: different history, different identity. Austria and Germany both have strong seperate national identities despite being – to the eyes of an ignorant American – all ‘Germans’.
That’s even assuming said hypothetical ignorant American even knows where Austria is… No kangaroos!
Even Germany has distinct regional differences. Traditionally the area once designated as Protestant Prussia being much different than Catholic Bavaria. Such fragmentation during Holy Roman Empire times.
Alberta with American Mormon and ranching interests much different and more pro American.
Austria and Germany was sort of the baseline example. I actually typed up about this, but deleted it halfway as I didn’t want to go more into it without good reason
When I was living in Austria, had two housemates from basically a valley apart. They used different words and had markedly different accents. Fuckin fascinating.
Sure, but I think the point being made – even with the Germany example – is that, despite the variety of folks present, there’s no reason they can’t exist in a modern state. The US has much more prominent “visible diversity” (let’s call it that, the kind that is immediately obvious) and does, somewhat, manage to function as a state, no?
There are entire areas of the US populated almost exclusively by Mexicans/other Latinos, but nobody is calling for them to secede to Mexico…
Wrong - there is. Every province is separated by distinct geographic boundaries. And then there’s the cultural difference that comes from the fact that the people who settled Alberta were not the same people who settled, say, Ontario or Quebec or Nova Scotia.
Wasn’t there a small sovereign nation that joined the UK and got lumped with Canada?
And to the Norteños as they’re called…they’d rather associate with the winning team. Also they are separated from Mexico proper by a massive desert.
did you know the smaller countries in Central America were once part of Mexico? Yup they seceded.
Proceeds to list reasons that don’t really mean anything
Oh, the humanity. God, I wish we had railroads there and from there directly into america and other sales regions. Imagine that.
same goes for large parts of the us Midwest, at the least. So?
No, that’s not the term, but us Americans haven’t ever been known for our prowess in foreign language.
And, ofc you come up with a term that specifically refers to criminals just because I bring up Mexicans. Surprise.
Yes…
Did you know that Mexico was once part of Spain, and that it no longer is? Did you know that the US was once part of England, and that it no longer is? What’s the point, again?
We didn’t allow a secession on our soil, and the Canadians should abide by such – even assuming it really is the will of the people – why? Because Donnie talked once about wanting to take Canada and now we must parrot that because everything he suggests is somehow worthy of doing?
For them to exist smoothly, corrective action is needed. For example, Bismarck was enough of a statesman to realize that his Kulturkampf policy and attempts to peripheralise the Catholics in Bavaria was not a correct policy. He reversed and allied with Catholic Centrist Parties to combat the socialists.
In the Canadian context, has Carney and others made amends to Alberta? They’ve started but correcting the Western alienation sowed by Golden Stink (aka Trudeau) will take time. Whether it was NEP in Sr.’s time, or the ridiculous environmental policies of Golden Stink, there has been decades of neglect. You want to please the West, I’d enact:
Comprhensive Senate reform, making them elected like most of the democratic world.
Provincial Police forces, Provincial Pension Plan
Comprehensive regulatory reform so that pipelines are built and its status of an energy superpower is respected.
MP numbers that reflect its population and transfer payment largesse.
If by distinct geographical boundaries you mean straight lines drawn with rulers, then yes. A map of Western Canada is just as much bunch of characterless rectangles as the American Midwest is a faceless grid of squares. The boundaries of those states and provinces are as artificial as it gets. Any “distinct state/provincial character” was added after the fact. Those places are pretty much interchangeable in terms of landscape, people, culture, and history. They’re just a bunch of squares and rectangles.
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