# Regional differences in Canada **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 11, 2002, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031 "2002-12-11T16:50:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/41 "2002-12-12T21:05:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kingpengvin \* > \*\*Poor Manitoba the province regions fight to claim the others own. In the West MB is seen as an Eastern provence and in the East it is seen as part of the West. \*\* IIRC, Manitoba was moved back to official western status this year with the realignment of the CFL. ---
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/42 "2002-12-12T22:08:02Z")
**Fatwater** , I think it has a lot to do with lack of exposure to different cultures. New immigrants usually go to the larger centers so that they become more open first. You reference some fairly small centers and most of them don’t have many people of visible minorities yet. I have heard complaints about intolerance in some small towns in Ontario and PEI. I remember thinking that Edmonton was pretty racist 10 or 15 years ago but since then it seems to have gotten much more diverse. It takes an area a while to realize that multiculturalism is really pretty cool. Racism against first nation communities is the exception. It seems to be improving in Ontario at least but it is fairly bad in Nova Scotia right now (although I hear a lot of that is media hype). To be an honorable country, we really have to get this resolved. ---
**Author:** ![Ulterior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/85f322/32.png) [@Ulterior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulterior)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2002, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/43 "2002-12-12T23:06:25Z")
Living in Winnipeg sparked 2 observations: 1. People in Winnipeg are pretty tolerant, overall. Again, that has a lot to do with what Balduran pointed out. 2. Manitoba is much closer to the West than to the East. The whole “prairies” and “low unemployment” thing. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/44 "2002-12-13T03:33:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by grienspace \* > \*\*Considering that the federal government purchased Alberta in 1868 form the Hudson’s Bay Company, and turned around by giving away vast tracts of land to Albertans,and financed the transportation infrastructure for Albertans, I find it somewhat disappointing that some Albertans are resentful of the fact that they share their wealth at all. > > It is quite ironic that Alberta’s ability to retain their oil wealth from the rest of Canada is due to Ottawa’s big screw up in 1888. When Ottawa realized that there was significant mineral wealth under the surface, It decreed that the crown would only grant the surface of the land to prospective farmers. That was so that ALL CANADIANS WOULD SHARE THE WEALTH. However when provincial status was granted in 1905, The British North America Act of 1867 kicked in to award the crown assets to the Province of Alberta, and prevent the federal government from applying an income tax to the province. Had private landowners owned the oil, the federal government could have taxed the oil revenue. So by a quirk of history, Alberta,was virtually given its protected wealth by Eastern Canada. > \*\* So, what you are saying is that when we became a province we got the rights that all other provinces enjoyed, but that somehow we should be grateful for that and give up the resources anyway as if we had never become a province? What other province gives up their rights for the greater good? Yeah, not one. If Canada hadn’t bought the land from the Hudson’s Bay the land would still be here. We’d be a part of either the US, Canada, or some form of Cascadia anyway. And the reason that Eastern Canada financed the expansion of the west was for their own benefit. Which they have benefited quite well from to this point. ---
**Author:** ![Fatwater\_Fewl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4491bb/32.png) [@Fatwater\_Fewl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fatwater_Fewl)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/45 "2002-12-13T06:52:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Balduran \* > \*\* > > Racism against first nation communities is the exception. It seems to be improving in Ontario at least but it is fairly bad in Nova Scotia right now (although I hear a lot of that is media hype). To be an honorable country, we really have to get this resolved. \*\* **Balduran** , It was racism against first nations communities that I noticed most strongly. I just realised I didn’t specify that. But I suspect that racism towards any group extends to others. I did grow up in small PEI community which was almost exclusively caucasian, so I didn’t _witness_ much racism as a child. But certainly an attitude of intolerance towards, and glacially slow acceptance of, outsiders did exist. And still does, from what I can see on my rare visits to the village. And that, I would guess, is a atmosphere in which racism would – and probably does – thrive. I haven’t been paying much attention to the news (kinda turtling at the moment), so I haven’t heard anything about Nova Scotia. You’re right, a resolution to racism would be a very good thing for our country. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/46 "2002-12-13T13:24:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Uzi \* > \*\*If Canada hadn’t bought the land from the Hudson’s Bay the land would still be here. We’d be a part of either the US, Canada, or some form of Cascadia anyway. And the reason that Eastern Canada financed the expansion of the west was for their own benefit. Which they have benefited quite well from to this point. \*\* Get over yourself… yet again. The truth is you may not have been there at all. The imigration increased after the purchase due to the factr that A) Private land ownership became simpler and B) A railroad allowed Immigrants to go quickly from the central Hubs to the Praries. It allowed for the rapid growth of towns and was funded by Eastern moneys. Had the purchase not taken place your family might not have gone there at all. Expansion West was for the Countries benifit… once again I wonder where your allegence lies. Are you a Canadian? Your hard done by attitude is ridiculous. Alberta is not denied anything. They get proper representation in Ottawa by the seats they elect. When your province grows the number of seats will grow. In other woids stop shipping out your welfare cases, take in more foreigners and Easteners and have larger families. As you grow so will your influence. We are still a representative Democracy so stop thinking you can buy more control over the politics with oil money. Oh yes and if you stop backing regional parties you may have a better chance at getting a party you voted for in office. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/47 "2002-12-13T13:38:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kingpengvin \* > \*\*Oh yes and if you stop backing regional parties you may have a better chance at getting a party you voted for in office. \*\* Let us be fair here. The PC party is a regional shadow of itself flitting about the Maritimes. The Bloq is eking out an existence in Quebec; the liberals dominate Ontario, split Quebec with the block and hold some Maritimes seats. To say that a party which controls the vast majority of seats west of Ontario (+2 in Ontario) a regional party exclusively seems harsh. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/48 "2002-12-13T14:00:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kingpengvin \* > \*\*Get over yourself… yet again. The truth is you may not have been there at all. The imigration increased after the purchase due to the factr that A) Private land ownership became simpler and B) A railroad allowed Immigrants to go quickly from the central Hubs to the Praries. It allowed for the rapid growth of towns and was funded by Eastern moneys. Had the purchase not taken place your family might not have gone there at all. > \*\* So, you say that Eastern money was invested with no hope of return? That a railroad across the nation didn’t send money back to the east? That the east did it out of the kindness of its heart and didn’t expect any sort of return for the money spent? Private land ownership means just that, ya know. Whoever buys it owns it. Once sold the previous owner can shut his gob as to what the new owner then does with it. Once Albera became a province then it had the same rights as any other province irregardless of what you think we should be grateful for. That means it had the right to determine how to use its resources as it sees fit. To bad you have a problem with that. \*\* > [@](#): > > Expansion West was for the Countries benifit… once again I wonder where your allegence lies. Are you a Canadian? \*\* Ah, yes. You can’t be a Canadian because you question how the country is run ploy. Get bent. \*\* > [@](#): > > Your hard done by attitude is ridiculous. Alberta is not denied anything. They get proper representation in Ottawa by the seats they elect. When your province grows the number of seats will grow. In other woids stop shipping out your welfare cases, take in more foreigners and Easteners and have larger families. As you grow so will your influence. We are still a representative Democracy so stop thinking you can buy more control over the politics with oil money.\*\* I don’t remember even mentioning representation. That was another person. And if Democracy means that you can steal our resources just because there are more of you than us, how is that right? And what kind of Democracy is it that allows a party who gets less than half the popular vote the majority of seats? At least if it was a representative democracy then the HOC would have to at least consult with the opposition. Who if you may remember is there to represent ALL of the country, not just the winning party. And Alberta isn’t the only province that has shipped people on welfare to other provinces which you would know if you had read this, or the linked thread. \*\* > [@](#): > > Oh yes and if you stop backing regional parties you may have a better chance at getting a party you voted for in office. \*\* Maybe if you stopped letting others buy your vote with my money then I wouldn’t get so upset about it. Until that time, Sheep, I’ll continue to complain. It’s your government after all. You voted them in. If you like the way they do things with their billion dollar boondogles then fine. I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/49 "2002-12-13T14:19:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Uzi \* > \*\*]Maybe if you stopped letting others buy your vote with my money then I wouldn’t get so upset about it. Until that time, Sheep, I’ll continue to complain. It’s your government after all. You voted them in. If you like the way they do things with their billion dollar boondogles then fine. I don’t. \*\* Completely unfair statement. For starters (and nit picks) it is OUR government. You are perfectly able to lobby them to address whatever outstanding issue you have. I doubt that your treatment would differ markedly from mine or anyone else that lives east of Manitoba. To close up, very few people get any great enjoyment out of watching Billions (with a capital B even! :)) vanish. However it seems that the Alliance has failed to present themselves as organized enough to run the country. So who would you suggest? The Bloq? The PC’s; or perhaps the NPD? ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/50 "2002-12-13T14:20:30Z")
Just re-read my post and I know Uzi’s post wasn’t directly addressed to me. I just had to reply. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/51 "2002-12-13T14:30:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Oh yes and if you stop backing regional parties you may have a better chance at getting a party you voted for in office The CA is _regional_? Granted they don’t have tons of seats East of Ontario, I don’t think that makes them _regional_. The Central/Western end of the country is a pretty damn big “region”. > [@](#): > > Get over yourself… yet again. The truth is you may not have been there at all. Hypotheticals like that are just plain useless and serve no real purpose as they are spelling out scenarios that just have no real bearing with the issue at hand. > [@](#): > > Balduran, It was racism against first nations communities that I noticed most strongly. I just realised I didn’t specify that. But I suspect that racism towards any group extends to others. Absolutely. And its still here. Blacks (from my experience) suffer less racisim than Natives. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/52 "2002-12-13T14:40:11Z")
Not to worry Grey it is an open forum… Once Again the question of loyalty is not an invalid one. You say things like “Your government” and “you steal our resources” Fer Crissakes Alberta is NOT a soverign nation… you sir are a Canadian. The Federal government is yours as well. I did not question your loyalty when I asked Rhetorically if you were Canadian but it is obvious that your attitudes make you WESTERN canadian. You bring up the NEP which was created during an economic crisis and world wide energy shortage. It wasn’t exactly fair but it was a desperate measure in a desperate time. THE NEP does not exist anymore and has no revelence to todays politics except to those who need to find an excuse to feel that Alberta is somehow being robbed. You Bitch about how somehow we are sheep for voting in the only valid party (because the opposition has nothing of value to bring to the table) and yet you parrot every complaint I hear from the West without a single thought about what you are really saying. For example you ask how a party with “less than half the popular vote” gets the majority of the seats. EASILY if you have more than one party the chances are that the other three partys have split the remaining 55% of the vote. (Damn that simple logic) My vote was not bought by your money. Last I checked Ontario had not ben recieving payments… and Alberta was not the only province adding to the countries GNP. Your attitude is very insular and seems to ignore the truths about this country. I’d suggest you travel around the rest of this country next time you have an oppurtunity and get to know your fellow Canadians before you suggest We are somehow your enemy out to ruin your province. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/53 "2002-12-13T14:48:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bernse \* > **The CA is _regional_? Granted they don’t have tons of seats East of Ontario, I don’t think that makes them _regional_. The Central/Western end of the country is a pretty damn big “region”. > Hypotheticals like that are just plain useless and serve no real purpose as they are spelling out scenarios that just have no real bearing with the issue at hand.** I do believe the Candian Alliance is a regional Party. It’s grass roots origin is steeped in Western angst and its policies have a decidedly Western Slant. They may field representatives in the other provinces in order to be a national party but their politics are decidedly western and reflect many of the same attitudes that Uzi extolls. They remind me of the Progressive party that was eventually swallowed by the Conservatives (Ever wonder where the Oxymoron title Progressive Conservative came from?) They rose from the West gained popular support from there but could not go furtehr than Manitoba. Though they are not seperatists I see them in the same way I view the Bloc as a Regional interest party. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/54 "2002-12-13T15:04:28Z")
But BC’s interests are not Alberta’s nor are they Manitoba’s or Saskatchewan’s. Fisheries, Energy, Agriculture, Forestry, and Manufacturing all occur within this region you’re defining. The commonalities across this region seem few, aside from “big space, few people”. To say that the CA has a western slant when the people it represents (on a MP level) are western is just as valid as Uzi saying that the Liberal policies are exclusively framed to appeal to eastern interests because that’s who elected them. The problem as I see it is that the CA is trying to appeal across the country to win power, while the Liberals seem to have written off the west because they don’t need to appeal to western interests to maintain power. The stubbornness of Ontario et al in rejecting the CA is just as hurtful to the country as the out right rejection of the Liberal party in the “west”. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/55 "2002-12-13T15:36:14Z")
I will agree the roots of the CA are the west. However, upon reflecting, I can understand how some will still call them a regional party even though they have made inroads into Central Canada. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/56 "2002-12-13T16:20:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Uzi \* > Private land ownership means just that, ya know. Whoever buys it owns it. Once sold the previous owner can shut his gob as to what the new owner then does with it. Once Albera became a province then it had the same rights as any other province irregardless of what you think we should be grateful for. “Whoever buys it owns it” . But you ignore the fact that Albertans did not buy their land from the previous owners, eastern Canada taxpayers, who did purchase it, but had it doled out to them in the biggest welfare scheme in the history of the world. Its like the impoverished rural family of 10 children that sends their youngest to school to become a wealthy lawyer, and once there and Dad writes that they need some help this winter with the home heating bill. Youngest son writes back that they can “freeze in hell”. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031/57 "2002-12-13T16:34:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by grienspace \* > \*\*“Whoever buys it owns it” . But you ignore the fact that Albertans did not buy their land from the previous owners, eastern Canada taxpayers, who did purchase it, but had it doled out to them in the biggest welfare scheme in the history of the world. \*\* Sounds like you’re bitching about how much you sold it for. To bad, so sad. We’ve sent Billions and Billions back east since then to make up the difference. I should ask how much was paid to the Natives for Ontario and Quebec, but I’m pretty sure I already know the answer to that one. That you are upset about how much you got off the settlers out west for the land they pioneered and farmed is rather ridiculous. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regional-differences-in-canada/142031.md?page=2)