What is an Albertan? What does it mean to be a Canadian, and what does it have to do with Alberta and Saskatchewan? In this episode, we talk about what it means to be an Albertaan, and why we should be proud to call ourselves one.
00:00:00.000I think there's an assumption that if you want Alberta to be an independent, you are against any of the good things of Canada. And that's not true. Like, obviously, there's going to be some positive things to Canada. And somebody may support independence and you don't need to hate Canada at its essence to you can understand these structural issues from the ground
00:00:29.980up from the birth of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Like, you can understand a bit of the history. You can see that evolution. You can see some of the mismatch between, like, let it be representation in the Senate, House of Commons, even with the judges. All of these things exist alongside any of the good things of Canada that we all grew up with. And it almost seems like some of these people in Alberta that are so passionate about Alberta leaving are trying to preserve that
00:00:59.980essence of Canada that they felt like they grew up with. The one that's maybe being lost now. So what I'm curious, in your own words, though, what is an Albertan? Like, what makes somebody... Like, we already have an example of an Albertan here. That's why you're on the show. But in your own terms.
00:01:20.980No, I'm so glad you asked that question, because I think us Albertans, we have a unique culture that is much more trustworthy. We're a high-trust society. And we're generous, but we're independent. And the people who came here, they left places where they didn't have opportunity, and they left everything behind to come here.
00:01:45.520And they're risk-takers, just by nature. They're risk-takers, and they want to work hard, and they want to provide for themselves and their family, and they want to have a better future. And they don't look to what can the government give us. They look more to what can we provide for ourselves, and then how can that benefit our family and our friends.
00:02:06.520And so, like, I don't think being an Albertan is definitely not a race. It's not a creed. It's not a religious belief. Although I think a lot of Albertans probably are. And I think we do need to talk a little bit about our Christian heritage. But you don't have to be a Christian to be an Albertan, obviously.
00:02:24.520I think that it's not a language. If you go to Quebec, they've got a unique language. So it's hard to put your finger on what an Albertan is. But if you travel to BC, and then you go to Alberta, and then you go to even Saskatchewan, you can notice there's a cultural difference.
00:02:49.520difference. The way we think, our values, our attitude towards things, it's definitely different. There's just something about being in this geographic location that just changes people's minds.
00:03:04.520So, but you know what? I'll just say this. Like, this is a question we all need to answer. And I try to give something more than just platitudes. But like, if you go to the United States and you ask them, hey, what does it mean to be American? I'm pretty sure they could tell you.
00:03:19.520You go to Colombia, which I recently traveled to Colombia. It's like, they'll tell you what a Colombian is. You go to France, Japan, like you name it. Okay, so we got to be at that level. And, you know, I'm glad we're having this conversation because we need to collectively start to organize this and figure this out.
00:03:37.920Yeah, there's a something we've talked about on the show before, too, is the concept of, of your, it's a, you know, a psychological concept of your locus of control, and you can have an external or an internal locus of control. And if you have an external, if you have an internal locus of control, I feel like that describes Albertans very well. Some, like you say, there is something about maybe being in this, you know, we're very, you know, it's a very volatile climate, you know, it's a, we're, we're a,
00:04:06.920we're a frozen tundra for a good portion of the year, and we just have to figure stuff out when things break and freeze and, you know, a thaw. And, you know, there's, there's all sorts of things about our environment that lead us to be this way. Obviously, we have a lot of wealth.
00:04:18.860We have, we have a low, we have lower cost of living than, than other places. We have a higher standard of living than other places in Canada. So we, we have certain, we demand certain things of our environment. And then you have, I feel, I mean, maybe you can speak to this. I've traveled around Canada quite a bit, and I've, I've seen places that have what you would call an external locus of control. Everything, everything in their society happens to them.
00:04:46.260They are not really in control of much that happens in their environment. And I think that breeds a certain mentality in a person where they feel much more at the whim in a, like what they believe to be a positive way at the whim of a government. Like they're happy to offload a lot of that critical thinking and a lot of that worry onto a government authority, because that means that they don't have to do it for themselves. You know, it's sort of a rude way of saying it, but I think it actually is accurate. I don't know if you have thoughts on that.
00:05:16.260Well, that, that's a very good observation. I think that's more like city versus rule as well. Like Alberta is, is, is urbanizing. Obviously we got most of our population living in cities now, but that's a relatively recent development. You know, historically speaking, um, like cities were, or half the size or quarter the size, if you go back 20, 30 years ago.
00:05:41.260And so, uh, we still have the cultural remnants of that, but then you go to a place like Toronto or Vancouver, those cities have just been giant quagmires of roads and pollution and cars honking at each other.
00:05:56.260And everybody, like nobody looks, nobody makes eye contact in the big cities, like, you know, nobody waves, nobody smiles when people pass by, but in Alberta, like, I don't know, when I grew up, I grew up in High River and I remember you, you drive by, you actually do the little wave like that on your steering wheel.
00:06:25.260Uh, they don't do that. And so you're right in the big cities, people just feel like they don't have control. Cause you, you basically are just herded around everywhere. Like a, like an animal, you get on the train, you get on the bus, you walk on the road, you cross at the right time.
00:06:42.260Well, and yeah, even, uh, one of the big issues with this independence movement is it's forcing people to start thinking about some of these issues where essentially they were on autopilot. People are so busy with their lives. Politics is maybe just, it's something that they casually were engaged in. Maybe they saw a clip from their, the leader of whatever party.
00:07:06.260They support giving a smack down to somebody else. And they, that's all the politics they've really consumed that month was just these little snippets. Uh, I'm wondering like how many people have actually really thought about the nature of confederation or the division of like what's under federal jurisdiction versus like provincial or what was the birth of Alberta really like? Like have people, have they really thought about these things or is this a
00:07:36.240forcing into their mind? Like the movement itself forces them to either realize that they don't have answer for some of these things. They haven't thought about some of these things, or now maybe their beliefs about something weren't as maybe the evidence isn't as strong for those beliefs. So I, I feel like it can go in a, it can go in a few different ways.
00:08:01.240And I feel like most people do not want to change their mind on a lot of things. Like to rewire the way you think or to admit that you're wrong. That's a huge cognitive load. And these kinds of movements as they grow, it forces that into the collective conversation.
00:08:24.240And I, I think some of the resistance is purely to people just want the status quo. Are you starting to notice any of that or what are your thoughts on that?
00:08:38.240Um, well, no, that's a big, uh, thing to think about, right? Um, think about the last time you realized you were wrong about something. Like just kind of put that in your mind, like try to actually think about a time when you're like, yeah, I was wrong.
00:08:52.240And then how did you feel in that moment? You know? And then right after you realize you're wrong, you realize that you're wrong and being right about something feels exactly the same way.
00:09:06.240You know, as like, that's kind of the point here. Uh, it's not a very good compass to just use. And you're right. People, uh, people get, it really hurts. It actually physically hurts to be proven wrong.
00:09:21.240But I'll tell you, I talk in front of people and, um, I actually prime myself by saying, somebody is going to walk up to me and prove me wrong. They're going to say something to me. That's going to just be like, boom, I'm totally wrong. And I'm going to get happy about it.
00:09:39.240I actually trained myself before I started the camera. I'm like, someone's going to prove me wrong. I'm going to be happy. And why? Because I'm not wrong anymore. You know? And so I actually genuinely want to be proven wrong.
00:09:51.240And I think I'm right. Like I think Alberta independence is the way to go. Uh, but you know, maybe people watching this can be like, okay, you know what? Let's go down that same journey with him. Um, let's see if, uh, if he can be proven wrong.
00:10:21.240Um, let's see if, uh, when I spent time and time and time.