Conservative voters in Alberta seek respect from newly elected Liberal government
Alberta elected only 2 Liberal MPs but party saw a significant boost in popular vote
At the Morinville Grill on Tuesday, breakfast was being served with a side of election talk as voters dished on their hopes for the Liberal government led by Mark Carney.
Corey Brenneis is an Albertan who voted Conservative in Monday's election but said she doesn't mind the new Liberal leader.
"I think Carney's going to be all right," she said. "I don't feel doom and gloom."
With the Conservatives sweeping nearly every riding in Alberta, voters — including those in Morinville, Alta., a town about 40 kilometres northwest of Edmonton — want to see more respect from the newly elected Liberal minority government.
The Liberals secured two seats in Alberta, one in Edmonton and one in Calgary, and captured about 28 per cent of the popular vote on Monday. In 2021, the Liberals earned a little more than 15 per cent of the popular vote in the province, according to Elections Canada.
But the province traditionally votes conservative, and residents like Brenneis say they want more openness from Ottawa.
"I want to be listened to and [know] that people here matter," she said. "Treat us fairly. Like, treat Alberta fairly."
Fellow diner Matthew Brister, who also voted for the Conservative party on Monday, said he expects the existing issues with the Liberal government to continue but has hopes for how the province and Ottawa interact going forward.
"[It] would be nice if there was a greater degree of respect for our ownership of the resource and the development of the resource," he said.
Western alienation
Feelings of western alienation have been simmering for years, and the election brought it again to the surface.
During the campaign, Reform Party founder Preston Manning said a vote for the Liberals would be a vote for western secession.
On Tuesday, Manning issued a statement saying plans are in the works to form next steps, including what he called "independence-oriented proposals."
While Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government would not put forward a referendum on whether the province should secede from Canada, the UCP tabled legislation Tuesday that would loosen the rules for referendums in general to be held.
The idea for Alberta to separate has support from Peter Downing, a founder of the western separatist movement including the defunct Wexit party.
"We're just going to be organizing over the next little while. And in terms of organizing, organizing to trigger the legislative requirements in Alberta to get a separation referendum on the ballot and legally enforceable," he said.
Downing likened a possible referendum to the 1995 Quebec referendum and the 2018 Brexit vote.
"Do you want to remain in Canada, or do you want to leave? I think that's the two questions on the ballot that we're looking for," he said.
While a recent Angus Reid poll suggested that one in four Albertans and one in five people from Saskatchewan would vote to separate, the vast majority want to remain in Canada.
Take it seriously, professor says
Even though it seems unlikely that Alberta will separate, "we have to take seriously the fact that almost a third of the population has expressed some interest in this," said Brendan Boyd, a political science professor at MacEwan University.
"It really is going to be interesting to see. Mark Carney is — and he said this — he's not Justin Trudeau so that's one thing. He has that business background. He's already talked about energy and resources as a priority."
Smith said she has made it clear to Carney that she wants to see energy policies changed.
"If it is the case that there's consensus now about … getting our resources to market, finding new markets, these are kind of the baseline to reset the relationship with Alberta," she said Tuesday at an unrelated press conference.
Carney himself acknowledged in his victory speech that there is work to be done in the Prairies.
"During this short campaign, I went to Saskatchewan and Alberta a couple of times, even though, you know, we're Liberals. It's tough. It's tough out there. I grew up there, but I went because I intend to govern for all Canadians," he said.
Boyd said he believes Carney could address some of the frustrations and concerns from people in the Prairies by focusing on working with Alberta and Saskatchewan on specific issues rather than focusing on national programs.
He added that it's unclear right now whether separatist sentiments in the province could worsen during a fourth Liberal term.
"I do think there's probably a bit of a cap to this, especially when people are also focusing their eyes south of the border as well and there is this pressure coming from the United States," Boyd said.
"It really does depend on what policies and what that agenda looks like when they get back into the House and start trying to pass their legislative agenda."
Back at the Morinville Grill, both Brenneis and Brister said they didn't want Alberta to separate from the rest of the country.
"[I'm] proud to be Canadian, always," Brenneis said with a laugh.
"If we separate, I'll have to move to Moose Jaw."
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