Talk of Alberta’s independence has gone mainstream since the last federal election. People on both sides of the issue speak confidently about the possibility, or lack of possibility, of an independent Alberta.
Our Premier, Danielle Smith, just released a video introducing the Alberta Next Panel where she outlines the plan for a referendum next year on several issues based on feedback from Albertans. In that video, which I recommend you watch, she makes several arguments to demonstrate that Alberta has been hindered by Central Canada’s policies. Those same arguments are used in works that advocate Alberta’s independence.[1]
There have been discussions about economics, politics, natural resources, history, and Alberta’s unique cultural identity. It is Alberta’s cultural identity that I wish to consider in this article. Can it be maintained that there is a unique culture or cultural identity in Alberta that would give credence to an independent or sovereign Alberta? I’m convinced that there is.
As a qualification, I’m not saying that Alberta is completely dissimilar from the rest of Canada. The differences between Alberta and Ontario, for instance, are more akin to the differences between the United States and Canada. There are many shared values, a shared language, shared customs, and common culture, yet there is still a unique American culture and a distinctive Canadian culture. In this same regard, Alberta is unique from the rest of Canada. It is far more like the culture of the US than that of Central or Eastern Canada.
These differences and similarities are important for our future. Canada—or Central Canada and Eastern Canada at least—is seeking to dissolve tight economic ties with the US and seek more trade and partnership with the European Union. Our current Prime Minister continues to assert that Canada is the most European country outside the EU. His argument rests on his perception of culture or shared values. While this might ring true for Quebec and Ontario, it most definitely does not in Alberta. If Ontario and Quebec are the most “European regions” outside the EU, Alberta is the most American region outside the United States. In fact, I believe much of the distaste for Alberta from Central Canada is predicated on the same distaste that Central Canada has for Americans. Albertans and Americans are viewed as gun-toting, freedom-crazed, anti-intellectual, unsophisticated, religious capitalists.
Uniqueness of Alberta
Adding up the Votes
There are many anecdotal reasons supporting a genuine difference between the shared values of Alberta compared to Central Canada but let me focus on the numbers—hard data that can objectively be measured.
Consider the last federal election. The results were like most federal elections in Canada. The Liberals dominate in the cities and the Conservatives get their support from rural areas. This political divide between urban and rural areas indicates, at least in some measure, a different culture between rural and urban citizens. Urbanized people tend to value more social programs and government involvement where the rural voters desire more freedom, less taxation, and are simply less dependent on the government for their success. This shouldn’t be surprising or gainsaid.
The largest city centers in the country follow this pattern. Montreal is almost completely Liberal (except one NDP seat, which is even more progressive than the Liberals). Ottawa? Completely Liberal. Toronto? Completely Liberal excepting a few Conservative gains. Vancouver? Completely Liberal except one NDP and one Conservative seat. The results are similar in Winnipeg and other Canadian urban centers across the country.
But there is a notable exception in Alberta. Edmonton, even with its city full of bureaucrats, is completely Conservative, excepting one Liberal and one NDP seat. Calgary? Completely Conservative, except one Liberal seat won by just 1,248 votes.[2] The differences are striking when you count the votes across the city. In Calgary, votes cast for the Liberals and NDP totaled 274,074. Votes tallied for the Conservatives and PPC were 400,249.
These results are truly unique in Canada. Of the 10 largest Canadian cities, only Calgary and Edmonton (the 4th and 5th largest cities in Canada) resulted in such a strong Conservative vote. These numbers tell us that the culture of Calgary and Edmonton, and with them the rest of Alberta, has a strong, independent, rural-esque mentality that is unique in Canada. In fact, not even American cities have a conservative voting record. The top 10 most populous cities in America all voted for the Democrats by wide margins. Therefore, the voting patterns of Albertans, whether urban or rural, demonstrate a unique culture and unique values compared with the rest of Canada. It also must be noted that this was not just an anomaly of the last election. Alberta’s voting pattern has been this way for decades.
History
History is so important to any cultural identity. Most of the Canadian history I’ve gleaned was about English Loyalists and French Catholics, that is, it focused on Upper and Lower Canada. The story of Western Canada is a completely different story. Many Americans and other settlers came to Alberta and created a culture distinct from Central Canada. That heritage is still part of Albertan culture today.
Besides its founding, there has been a continued struggle for Alberta to be regarded as a equal partner in confederation. Farmers, ranchers, and more recently oil producers, have had to battle with Central Canada rather than enter a fair and prosperous partnership. Alberta has been the piggy bank of the East since its inception; it has always enriched the more numerous inhabitants of Central Canada. I recommend every Albertan (and Canadian for that matter) to get their hands on the 12-volume Alberta in the 20th Century history books. It will give you a better perspective on the great history of Alberta with its uniqueness and constant battles with Ottawa.
Industry
Industries also impact culture and shared values. What is the quintessential Canadian? Does a plaid-shirted, lumberjack with maple syrup and Canadian bacon come to mind? This portrait of Canadian values is unique to Ontario and Quebec with its industries that provided prosperity and a common identity. Industry is culture shaping. I lived for three years in Windsor, Ontario and the auto industry has shaped the culture and identity in that region profoundly.
The same is true of ranching, cowboys, prairie farming, and oil and gas in Alberta. These industries provide a shared set of values, a source of prosperity and employment, and a heritage that helps define a people. When Ottawa seeks to stop oil production, reduce “cow emissions,” and ban fertilizers, they don’t seem to understand this is a direct attack on Alberta’s culture, values, prosperity and future.
Whereas, when US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on the auto industry, Canadians in Central Canada saw this as an existential threat. Anti-American sentiments reached fever pitch, even booing their anthem at sports events. Central Canadians should recognize that what Trump did to threaten their “Canadian way of life,” Ottawa does to Alberta constantly.
Religion
Finally, there is another piece of Alberta’s culture that is often neglected. And this, I would argue, is the most important. Alberta has had, and continues to have, a different religious milieu than the rest of Canada. For example, Quebecers pride themselves on being secular, taking their cues from the atheistic French revolution. Albertans, on the other hand, have a rich Christian heritage. In fact, the latest political movements to arise out of Alberta have had strong religious overtones. It was “Bible Bill” Aberhart, with his Christian radio broadcasts, that led a political movement seeing him become Premier of the province. Like him, Preston Manning who began the Reform Party which would become today’s Conservative Party of Canada described himself as “a great fan and imperfect follower of Jesus of Nazareth.” Earnest Manning, his father, served as Premier of Alberta for 25 years (1943–1968), was deeply religious and preached regularly on radio broadcasts.
While the Conservative Party of Canada would likely not admit it today, its values derive from men like Aberhart and the Mannings who mined the Bible to derive their political ideals of social responsibility, individual freedom, minimal government intervention, fiscal conservatism, and a “common sense of the common people.”
While many Albertans do not know it today, many shared values of Albertans, derive from a biblical worldview rooted in a living, evangelical faith.
So What?
It must be recognized that Alberta has a distinct culture and values compared to Central Canada. Whether this justifies a referendum on separation remains to be seen. My point in highlighting the unique cultural identity of Alberta is not only relevant to the question of independence, it is relevant to the question of what Christians should be doing today and tomorrow.
1. Remind people that the society they long for only comes from a Christian consensus.
Christians in Alberta need to be constant in reminding their fellow citizens that their desire for freedom, prosperity, limited government, free markets, and policies that reward responsibility and hard work are uniquely Christian values. These values are not secular, Islamic, Hindu, Sikh or natural to every culture of man. They are born out of biblical principles.
Not all cultures are equal. The longing of the hour is for Christian culture that is waning because of a great apostasy and rebellion afoot. There are many conservatives in Alberta who do not know what it is they are conserving. They are grasping to the vestiges of Christian culture while ignoring Christ and his word.
Albertans, for the most part, reject globalism, Marxism, Wokeism, and other ideologies that have long taken hold of Ottawa. Christian, tell Albertans that the antidote to these ideologies is Christ. Tell them that the Bible undermines these humanist “gospels” that are cursing our country. Tell them of our heritage in Reformed, Protestant, Puritan Christianity which gave rise to a great culture we should not apologize for. Tell them that they are hungering for the fruits of Christianity and must repent and embrace the root of Christianity—the living Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords.[3]
2. Be Christian culture builders.
Aberhart and the Mannings used radio to preach and advance their political vision shaped by Scripture. Likewise, Christians today should be active in building culture through home education, starting and building schools, businesses, bookstores, and podcasts to get the Christian message out that will shape culture for this and coming generations. Remember, the foundation for a Christian society is the Christian home. So get married, have children (then have some more), build a Christian home, and disciple the next generation.
We are called to be “salt and light” (Matt 5:13–16). It is one thing to be critical of Ottawa or other worldviews, and quite another to build something that puts principle into practice. Christians in Alberta should be seeking the best for the city or province in which they dwell. We should make this place a haven for our children. We should take seriously the cultural mandate given to Adam and reiterated through Noah: to subdue, exercise dominion, cultivate and build using the elements that God has supplied to bring glory and honor to our great God.
3. Recognize the need for spiritual awakening over political reform.
Even for all that Preston Manning accomplished for political good in Alberta and Canada, he recognized that our province and country needed a spiritual revival. A doctor shouldn’t settle for a Band-Aid when heart surgery is what’s required. Neither should we settle for a change in government when gospel conversion is the need of the hour.
As Christians, the gospel, more than political schemes, must be our constant hope and message. It is the gospel that converts. It is the gospel that changes lives. It is the gospel—implanted in one soul at a time—that changes societies. There needs to be revival in our churches and pulpits before there is a revival in our cities and legislatures. May God empower his message, rend the heavens, pour out his mercy, and demonstrate the greatness of his power through the conversion of thousands of Albertans.
—Tim Stephens
[1] See Michael Wagner’s books (Alberta: Separatism Then and Now; No Other Option: Self-Determination for Alberta; Time to Leave: Canada Cannot Be Fixed).
[2] https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/how-calgary-voted-in-the-2025-federal-election/.
It just so happens that our church is located in this one Liberal riding…
[3] Here’s one sermon that seeks to do this from the COVID-era. https://www.fairviewbaptistchurch.ca/sermons/the-foundation-of-freedom/