It is clear that august Gazette columnist Brian McLeod is not a fan of Mr. Trudeau and I agree with many of his reasons for holding that opinion. Yes, the fact that he wags a sanctimonious finger at Canadians, stridently refusing to apologize for protecting SNC jobs, while tossing a limp-wristed (and, apparently, now stillborn) helping hand to the Western energy industry is infuriating and disappointing. Many here and in our neighbouring provinces will vote based on that, and they should; people need to eat.
As both a proud Albertan and Canadian, however, I find Mr. McLeod's ill-considered prescription for the province (should Trudeau again be elected) in need of challenge.
Mr. McLeod's Oct. 10 commentary, "Praying for Change," suggests that, should Justin Trudeau win a second mandate this month, Canada will be headed for a sort of Wagnerian apocalypse. Should that happen, he says it'd be high time for "Alberta to begin serious discussions about separation." Ah yes – the Threat of Threats that promises to liberate a province from the strangling chains of federalism. Mr. McLeod seems to forget that Alberta has no coastline and that the United States now largely provides for itself when it comes to energy. Were our province to take the unthinkable leap to independence, does our columnist-sage truly think that the foreign investors who "(won't) touch Canada due to (our) Prime Minister" would be suddenly chomping at the bit to pour money into a land-locked petrostate that’d be, in reality, more economically stricken than ever before?
At a higher level, it disturbs me that the obvious and endlessly unfolding social and economic disaster that is the United Kingdom's attempted flight from the EU would escape Mr. McLeod's rather cavalier critical analysis. While he direly warns against Canadians once again being "fooled" by Trudeau and his Liberals, the parallel example of Britons having been handily cajoled into falling for the Brexit ruse seems to have been lost on him. We must recall that the populist wave that so readily delivered the infamous Brexit referendum had its roots in "serious discussions about separation," encouraged and agitated by short-sighted boomer commentators.
From the looks of it, Mr. McLeod is comfortably over 65, which appears to similarly limit the range of his long-term forecast for both the country and Alberta. Voices such as his provide narrow here-and-now commentary while neglecting to consider the myriad historical, ongoing and future benefits of being an important province in the world's strongest liberal democracy.
Has Justin Trudeau fallen short of 2015's manically "sunny ways" promise? Absolutely – and I think Albertans and other Westerners have a duty to relay that message to him on the big day. Should Alberta recklessly consider socially and economically immolating itself if the Liberal Party wins another four-year mandate this election? It takes one look across the pond to recognize that shaking the cat in the bag is dangerous and letting it out is even worse. Furthermore, "AltaBrexit" just sounds stupid to say.
Morgan Luethe, St. Albert
