I thought it might be useful to do a roundup about the Alberta votes. So here are some comments from inside Alberta and from outside it, plus the terrible impact of the anti-immigrant support.
First, what Albertans are saying.
We Rocked the Indigenous Vote on Separation. Alberta Is Indian Land.
indigenousinsider.substack.com/p/we-rocked-...
"None of this came out of nowhere. First Nations leaders have stood against the separatists, and the provincial government that enabled them, all year long."
Naheed Nenshi on Indigenous turnout in the Alberta referendum: "The very people who've been hurt more by the mistakes of Canada than anybody else, stood up as the proudest champions of Canada."
That lengthy and confusing damned Alberta referendum is finally over. But likely never to be forgotten. I just hope it will never be repeated.
Here is the Poliwave vote page for all of the Alberta referendum questions.
With half the vote counted, Alberta is showing a Remain landslide of 76+ per cent - hopefully that will hold up.
Here is the Poliwave map showing the Remain/Leave vote so far - the red colour shows which answer leads in each riding. Deeper colour, bigger lead. (The only place showing majority support for Leave is that blue patch around Grande Prairie but its misleading because less than 4 per cent of that vote had actually been counted so far.)
Today was another "No Kings" day in the US. I've seen some criticism that these protests aren't happening often enough, but maybe this is as much as Americans can manage for the time being - after all, they also have to be ready to mobilize against ICE on a moment's notice too.
We had our Covid and flu shots today, so I'm feeling a little punk tonight. This won't be lengthy but I hope it will be interesting.
The Alberta referundum is coming up on Monday so I thought I would focus on it in this post. And I found some interesting posts and comments about Carney's events in Alberta on Thursday and Friday, plus some analysis of how this Alberta separatism movement echoes far-right rabble rousing across the world.
On Thursday PM Carney spoke to a big rally in Calgary and on Friday to Edmonton
Alberta's separatist ballot is dangerous for Canada & Canadian sovereignty. Many questions are designed to weaken Canada, move AB to extreme right & give US full access to H2O, power, oil, etc in exchange for $$$. In fact, many want to become a state. This is serious!
www.youtube.com/shorts/RAmur...
Since Canada walked away from the trade negotiations in August, I think we've been mostly focused on our own Canadian affairs - the provincial elections in Quebec and in BC, the referendum vote in Alberta, the mayoral races here and there, the Pacific Link pipe line, port and infrastructure project developments, the bike lanes in Toronto, legislation debates in parliament, whether the Jays could make it to the post-season.
So it was startling for me to realize this week that Canada might well end up playing a starring role in the US Mid-Term elections. And not in a good way.
We're being set up to be the bad guys!
Just when things can’t get anymore stupid, the US ambassador says he is monitoring Canada for election interference. Are we going to get blamed if there is a blue wave in the midterms?
If they lose the Midterms get ready for them blame it on Canada.
Lyin' Pete Hoekstra has actively undermined in our nation to destroy our sovereignty.
But Canadian officials never called him out.
So now he is claiming we are somehow interfering in Trump land.
He is setting the stage to blame Canada for the shit show at the mid-terms.
youtube.com/shorts/b_B3M...
First, a Thanksgiving message from PM Carney - "Canada is worth fighting for"
Dispatches from the Canada-US Trade War
Wow!
We learn that Howard Lutnick threatened to send US troops across the Canadian border "by sundown" if we didn't back down. The threat was made over the plan to retaliate over arbitrary tariff with an energy surcharge.
Canada must be ready for all threats from the USA.
youtube.com/shorts/EKjjV...
@mark-carney.bsky.social
Mark Carney is psycho-engineering a whole country to build a cohesive fighting unit to take back Canada from the US. Creating a new patriotism for a country that hasn't existed for many years.
I'm seeing a number of stories this week with the same theme -- such egregious stupidity that the only conclusion possible is to say "You're finished!"
Poilievre is finished
A pathetic and pointless press conference today where he resented the questions he was asked
Pierre Poilievre crashes out over a question about the state of the Conservative caucus
Fred DeLorey on Pierre Poilievre facing questions about his caucus: "He should just pivot off of it quickly and get back to the issue, as most politicians are very, very able to do, and he should be able to do that."
Well, I can't complain that the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Judge Navanethem “Navi” Pillay
I wish it had gone to Prime Minister Carney for his leadership around the world this year, but maybe Canada dodged a bullet.
Here's a story in three cartoons:
At least Navi Pillay won't be giving her prize to Trump.
PM Carney speaks with reporters ahead of Cabinet meeting about the Quebec election: "It's a crucial time for Quebec. It's a crucial time for our country. This is not a time to wait for something a few years down the road. It's a time to act. It's a time for boldness."
David Cochrane: "The PQ, whether you agree with them or not, they form a political party, they run in elections with the mandate. What's happening in Alberta is a lot of people taking control of riding associations to put pressure on the premier."
I feel like all of Canada is stuck with me in the middle now, with Quebec separatists slipping into power down east and those treasonous Alberta jokers out west.
A major investigation in Saturday's Globe and Mail revealed those Alberta jokers and the extent of US interference in the Alberta "referendum on a referendum":
...A Globe and Mail investigation has found that Republican political operatives were on the ground in Alberta this year to assist the separatist campaign in its bid to leave Canada, while harbouring their own aspirations for the province to secede.
The Globe also found that when Alberta separatist leaders went to Washington to meet with the U.S. State Department, they offered up key assets from the province’s resource portfolio, including access to fresh water and royalties on crude oil, in exchange for help transitioning to independence....
Plus we also heard recently about attempts to cut a separate deal with Quebec.
So now Trump not only trying to fix his own elections but now trying to fix election in Canada also by trying to deal with a Quebec Govt to get an Aluminum deal but hidden from the Carney and trying to divide us to then hop in
Mayor of Calgary: "It's really rich to see from some of these leaders in the separatist movement, they talk about freedom, sovereignty. And when they go down south of the border, offering our water, our land, our oil, this is not about taking back Alberta, this is about selling out Alberta."
This week seemed like one of those "Waiting for Godot" weeks -- everyone is waiting for the Quebec election on Monday, the Nobel Peace Prize announcement next Friday, the Alberta "referendum on a referendum" on October 19, the BC election on October 23, and finally the US Mid-Terms on November 3. Lots of speculation all over about what will happen, who's on first, and so forth.
In the meantime, we just have to wait:
Holy shit, I can’t even imagine the fury if PM Carney wins TIME’s Person of the Year & a Nobel Peace Prize. The Wrath of Con will be felt around the world.
#FuckTheFelon
I was today years old when I saw this great cartoon from August 26.
And it reportedly ended cartoonist Sue Dewar's career at the Toronto Sun, as described by Hamilton Spectator cartoonist Graeme MacKay, because the PostMedia papers told her they had to pixilate that beaver finger and she refused to work for cowards.
I've read lots of speculation about PM Carney getting the Nobel Peace Prize and/or the Time magazine Person Of The Year - with the discussion first on how much he deserves both, and second on how delightful it would be to make Trump absolutely furious.
Carney's reluctant remarks to the New York Times about the "extreme tail risk" of a US invasion caused headlines across the country
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is Canada's most important National Day.
I don't know if younger people can realize how much our relationships between settlers and Indigenous people have improved over the last four decades. I think it really began with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, continuing to Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2008 to 2015, including along the way significant economic development, decisive court cases, increased academic study, art and music,action in political leadership, deeper understanding of land acknowledgements and treaty rights, all framed with apology for past racism, increasing mutual respect and willingness to work together on issues.
Yes, there have been grim setbacks and awful incidents in these years, but overall I believe the arc of Canada's moral universe is bending toward justice. And unlike what is happening now in the United States now, I don't believe we will ever break bad.
This National Day - our sixth one this year- reminds us we need to listen, learn and grow in understanding of what happened in our past and how it shapes our future. Understanding truth and working for reconciliation is our Canadian journey.
