Dear Editor,
So, my astute fellow Albertans, I decided to take a closer look at the recent election results. You know, just for the fun of it. Anyway, I got as far as Prince Edward Island, and that’s as far as I needed to go.
I guess I should have been aware of this, but PEI has four federal ridings (that’s one riding for every Tim Hortons) and they’re currently all Liberal.
Now think about this: PEI has a population of 179,000 people and a GDP of $10 billion, approximately 10per cent of which comes from potatoes. Why, on God’s Anne of Green Gables’ earth, does PEI need four ridings?
I found one explanation, something about their “regional diversity.” I’ve been to PEI, and it’s one potato farm after another, and then there’s Anne’s cottage.
Putting this in perspective as it pertains to other provinces in Canada, PEI has one federal seat for every 44,750 people. If you combine all four East Coast provinces (NL, NS, NB and PEI), they have a total of 32 federal ridings and a total population of 2.6 million. That’s a federal riding for every 81,250 people.
Moreover, the total GDP of the East Coast provinces is approximately $116 billion, or 5.5per cent of Canada’s total GDP.
Alberta, on the other hand, has a population of 4.9 million and a GDP of $376 billion. That’s over three times the entire East Coast and 18per cent of Canada’s total GDP. That’s a significant contribution to Canada’s economy.
So here’s the kicker: Alberta has a total of 37 federal ridings, or one riding for every 131,000 people. That’s 1.6 times less federal representation than the East Coast of Canada. If the same ratio of federal representation that exists back East applied to Alberta, Alberta would have 60 federal ridings.
Now imagine the fine folks back East waking up to the reality that Alberta’s strong Conservative leaning stance was going to decide the election. All hell would certainly break loose.
It's therefore my opinion that if the Liberal stronghold of Eastern Canada and federal riding allocation remains the status quo, and then there’s Quebec, Canada will never elect a Conservative government again.
The strange irony of all this is that by supporting the Liberal government, our eastern friends also support the policy of “no more pipelines” and the phase-out of Alberta’s energy industry. Isn’t this the same as cutting off your nose to spite your face?
Robb Moss
Foothills County
