Would Alberta be a 'blue state' if it was in the US? (insurance, camp)
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I heard that Alberta is about on par with Vermont on the issues as far as being liberal and would rank more left than Oregon, Washington, New York State, California and other states that are widely regarded as left wing in the US.
I don't think so but then I don't live in Alberta so couldn't say for sure. I've heard of Alberta referred to as one of the more conservative provinces in Canada, also have heard it referred to as the bible belt of Canada and as the Texas of Canada and it's always been my understanding that Texas is overall a very conservative state by American standards.
Also, I think you would need to define 'liberal' as you understand it. Politically speaking, left wing & right wing or liberal & conservative don't really mean the same things in Canada as they do in the States. So what does liberal or left wing mean to you?
I don't think so but then I don't live in Alberta so couldn't say for sure. I've heard of Alberta referred to as one of the more conservative provinces in Canada, also have heard it referred to as the bible belt of Canada and as the Texas of Canada and it's always been my understanding that Texas is overall a very conservative state by American standards.
I think Alberta would be a blue state.
Albertans know that improvements could be made to their health care system, but I doubt many would be willing to give it up in favour of a US-style private-health-insurance-tied-to-employment scenario. They might like a two-tier system (public and private), but they would be reluctant to give up on the public system totally.
Albertans like their guns, but I'd guess that most of them don't want to keep a loaded Glock under their pillow in case of an intruder. As with most Canadians, the concept of "gun for self-protection" doesn't sit well with a lot of Albertans; and I'd guess that most of them agree with the restrictions on handguns. However, Albertans do like their rifles and shotguns. Remember, much of southern Alberta is agricultural, so "varmint rifles" are important to farmers, and hunting is a popular sport. Additional regulations and safety courses and paperwork and registries did not sit well with Albertans whose only reason for having a gun is to shoot the coyotes that threaten their livestock.
The Bible Belt appelation is somewhat accurate--in southern Alberta. Small towns in the south, such as Raymond, Magrath, and Cardston, are almost totally Mormon (with the Mormon church's views on family, alcohol, tobacco, etc.), and many of the rest are Bible-thumping Evangelical Christians. Such places do tend to have a more religious feel to them, to the point where they are dry (under local option), anti-abortion, and anti-gay-marriage, all on religious grounds. However, Lethbridge, the largest city in the south, is fully wet, has had abortions performed in the local hospital, and even boasts a strip club and a Gay Pride day.
At any rate, the rest of Alberta isn't terribly religious. I've lived in both Calgary and Edmonton, and neither pays a lot of attention to religion: bars and liquor stores and other retailers are open on Sundays and holidays, and nobody asks what church you attend. Any politician who invokes Jesus has pretty much committed political suicide.
Some Albertans do protest loudly when it comes to Alberta's social welfare programs, but to the best of my knowledge, nobody in the provincial legislature is calling for an end to it; and I'd guess most Albertans agree that some sort of safety net is needed, even if they debate over whether it should be as expansive as that of other provinces. For example, programs such as AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped) exist--and the definition of "severely handicapped" is quite loose. I've never heard an Albertan advocate for "workfare," or similar programs.
Compared to the other provinces of Canada, Alberta is probably somewhat to the right. But compared to the USA (especially some of the red-staters' views expressed in the P&OC forum), I think that Alberta would definitely be a blue state.
I think it would be more of a swing state like New Hampshire in that it is fairly liberal socially, but is also sympathetic to the conservative discourse on self-reliance, individual freedoms, responsibility, hard work, etc.
I think it would be more of a swing state like New Hampshire in that it is fairly liberal socially, but is also sympathetic to the conservative discourse on self-reliance, individual freedoms, responsibility, hard work, etc.
Shouldn't all able-bodied adults value those virtues? (freedom to own guns excepted, that's more like freedom to pose a threat)
FYI when George W Bush was looking for friends before attacking Iraq, Alberta was the only province in Canada where polling showed most people were in favour of Canada jumping in (close to 60%).
In BC the figure was 34% and in Quebec it was 23%.
I think it would be more of a swing state like New Hampshire in that it is fairly liberal socially, but is also sympathetic to the conservative discourse on self-reliance, individual freedoms, responsibility, hard work, etc.
I think this is a perfect comparison as to where Alberta would fall. I also think Maine would be similar as well, as they are typically a Blue State but also elect New England style Republicans often (Conservative on fiscal issues, Liberal on social)
Alberta would be a blue state, check out this poll from the time of the last American presidential election, Obama would have won in a landslide in Alberta.
What exactly is a blue state? Does it mean a state that predominantly believes in liberal ideologies, or a state that mostly voted for the democrats rather than republicans?
These two are different issues.
We should know that in the blue states, many vote for Obama only because they expect more hand-outs, not exactly because those voters are in the sam camp as Obama. California has 1/3 America's welfare recipients. Of course it will vote for Obama.
A 17 year old single mother with no jobs definitely votes for Obama, does that make her a "liberal"?
The Canadian stats prove more because it is purely based on preference, instead of self-interest.
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(freedom to own guns excepted, that's more like freedom to pose a threat)
