To wastedyouth and ice_cube, just curious what industries you work in, if any?
In my view, a lot of albertans don't fully comprehend how bad things are here because the NDP has racked up crazy debt to cushion the blow. There haven't been any public sector job cuts. And poverty calbire workers have gotten raises due to minimum wage increases. And construction workers, while worsen off, have been massively cushioned by civil works. And all that has supported the domestic service industry (restaurants, haircuts, bars, retail, etc).
IMO there is about to be a second downdraft for a lot of people. Bitumen prices are negative, so prepare for the continuous bleed of upstream oil and gas revenues to continue. Interest rates increases are killing new home construction. More importantly, when upc wins the election, they're going to cut spending and go after public sector workers - the province will see a second recession as they try to balance the budget due to the knock-on effects.
I don't think separation is the answer, but as someone whose lived half my life in Ontario and half in Alberta, and has worked in a variety of finance/economics roles in both provinces (including for the federal government), I can tell you that Alberta gets an incredibly raw deal out of federalism. I don't think alienation is felt when times are good...but during times like these (and those that may be to come), im curious as to how much #### people are willing to take until they become irrate at the situation.
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