[First Lady]

Interesting article in the Winnipeg Free Press about Alberta.

If Harper is denied his majority, it's western alienation like never before

Dan Lett Winnipeg Free Press
Updated: October 12 at 02:50 AM CDT

In fact, there are so few election-related signs, you wouldn't need all of the fingers on one hand to count them.

Hinman isn't surprised. The former Alberta MLA and current leader of the Wildrose Alliance party -- a right-wing party that captures significant support from disenchanted provincial Tories -- believes Albertans are just bystanders in a fight that is being waged in other provinces.

That is not to say Albertans are have no interest. Despite the fact there is absolutely no suspense about the result in Alberta, Hinman is certain the outcome of this election will resonate throughout the oil-rich province.

If Prime Minister Stephen Harper can earn a majority, there will be a sense that finally, a party built in large part by Alberta conservatives has been accepted by the rest of the country.

"People here are excited about the possibility of a majority," Hinman said. "This will be (Harper's) judgment day. If he comes back with a majority, this is where Albertans will say, 'we've finally arrived on a national stage.' "

However, if Harper is once again stopped by voters in Ontario and Quebec on the precipice of a majority, there's going to be quite a different reaction.

"I guess you could say there would be a little family feud if that happens," Hinman said.

That family feud will define the foreseeable future of federal politics, not just in Alberta, but across the country. If Harper fails to achieve a majority -- and the tightening race suggests it is slipping away from him -- Alberta and huge tracts of Western Canada may be more alienated from, and more distrustful of, the rest of the country than ever before.

"Right now, there is no real separatist movement in the province," said Roger Gibbons, head of the Canada West Foundation and one of the most thoughtful conservative pundits in the country. "And alienation is a term that almost never comes up these days in the Alberta political arena.

"But there are circumstances where that might be reinvigorated. You can imagine a perfect storm of outcomes that would do the trick. Albertans have a lot of investment in Harper winning a majority government, or something close to a majority government."

To understand Harper and what he is attempting to do to Canada's political economy, it is important to understand Alberta and the conservative values forged here.

Continued:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/story/4237868p-4880934c.html