Albertans’ frustrations over a Liberal Party victory in Monday’s federal election have continued to boil over, but growing anger from Albertans toward Newfoundland and Labrador has been surprising, according to one political scientist.
The Liberals were shut out of Alberta on election night, with the Conservatives taking 33 of Alberta’s 34 seats in the House of Commons. In Newfoundland and Labrador, meanwhile, the Liberals captured six out of the province’s seven federal seats, with the seventh going to the NDP.
It wasn’t long after the vote that tensions began to rise on social media, with social media posts from Alberta directed at how Newfoundlanders and Labradorians voted.
“Hey Newfies, you are no longer welcome in Alberta,” one commenter wrote on Facebook. “You work here and send your money back home and your families have screwed us. IF you are Albertan do not hire anyone from NFLD.”
“The biggest betrayal is that east coast people work in the patch and vote for rainbow Trudy back home,” another commenter wrote.
Alberta has been experiencing economic turmoil since 2014, when the price of oil tumbled, resulting in thousands of job losses and scaled back production in the province. Many in Alberta have complained that policies introduced by Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, like the carbon tax, and changes to how projects like pipelines are environmentally assessed, haven’t helped the situation.
Lori Williams, an associate professor of policy studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said she understands Albertans’ frustrations, but was surprised to see the online backlash directed at Newfoundland and Labrador.
“It suggests that everybody in Canada is supposed to share Alberta’s interests and that’s just not going to happen,” Williams said. “There are a number of issues that are of concern to people in Newfoundland, they are in very tough shape economically, and they have a variety of sectors in their economy, all of which they would’ve looked at in casting their vote.”
Williams said she understands Albertans frustrations following the federal vote and the current economic hardships being experienced in the province, but she said it underlines the importance of conveying Alberta’s concerns across the country.
“Attacking someone you want to support you is not going to be as effective as speaking respectfully with them and explaining to them what your concerns are in the hopes that they will join you,” Williams said.
Robbie Picard is the founder of Oil Sands Strong, an advocacy group that has garnered over 70,000 members on Facebook.
The Fort McMurray resident described the online comments toward Newfoundlanders and Labradorians disturbing, but he too understands the catalyst behind Alberta’s frustrations.
“I think the people who are still invested in Alberta and Fort McMurray felt a little bit betrayed because the vote went so Liberal, and it doesn’t really matter what Justin Trudeau is doing right now, nobody in Alberta believes he’s pro-pipeline even though he bought a pipeline,” Picard said in a Skype interview with Global News on Thursday. “It’s unfortunate but I do get it.”
Picard said there has always a link between Alberta’s oilpatch and Newfoundland, with many Newfoundlanders coming to Fort McMurray to work.
“They came here and they were able to turn their lives around, buy stuff and go back to retire, so there’s a feeling of, ‘hey, hang on a second here,’ and not just Newfoundlanders or the East Coast, but why are you not vocally asking to get pipelines built?” Picard said.
Picard said he isn’t for telling people how to vote, but it’s felt like the province’s oil and gas industry has been under the microscope.
He added that financial strains have worn on Albertans and that many feel demoralized with continuous pressure from politicians, other provinces and celebrities regarding the future of Alberta’s oilpatch, and potential impacts on climate change.
For Jonathan Jacobs, the election results in Newfoundland and Labrador were not surprising, as the Liberals have historically had success in the eastern province.
Jacobs moved to Alberta from Newfoundland 20 years ago to work in the oil and gas sector; in 2014 he bought his own business in Fort Saskatchewan.
He said he was shocked to see the online comments regarding his home province.
“I don’t think it’s everybody, I think it’s a small group of people acting like that,” Jacobs said. “I think they’re misplacing their anger; we’re all out here just trying to make a life like everybody else and I don’t think it’s fair to lump people together as a group.”
Jacobs is concerned with the frustrations that Albertans are feeling, and any potential repercussions for businesses that are identified as not on-board with the Conservatives.
He hopes that Albertans and Newfoundlanders and Labradorians come together to understand the challenges each province is facing.
“Everybody needs to take a step back and realize that we’re all in this together, and hating on Newfoundland, which the most poor and hard up province of all, hating on them for making their democratic choice doesn’t make much sense to me,” Jacobs said. “It’s really unfair.”
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