[Blacksmith]

You quit acting like 'General Bullmoose'.

You little neocolonialist.

Your the best advertisement for a free and independent Alberta I know.

[Nickel]

You quit acting like 'General Bullmoose'.

You little neocolonialist.

Your the best advertisement for a free and independent Alberta I know.

Just FYI, I'm from a "have-not" province myself, with a history of resentment for the centre. Everyone in the country's got some kind of a gripe.

You wanna go, go. The oil won't last forever. The cod sure bloody didn't.

[Blacksmith]

You wanna go, go. The oil won't last forever. The cod sure bloody didn't.

That's because you let the Federal Centralist Government handle the fishery.

Anyway you sold out for the Child care benefits.

[Nickel]

That's because you let the Federal Centralist Government handle the fishery.

Oh, yes, if only the separate provinces of Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick had used their vast armadas to fend off US and European trawlers instead of depending on Canada to do it, why, none of the overfishing could possibly ever have happened! If only you'd been around to unleash the might of the Royal Prince Edward Island Navy, people in the Maritimes could still be earning a back-breaking, live-in-poverty-and-die-at-42 existence today, without ever having to join the 19th century and start looking for better ways to earn a living.

Anyway you sold out for the Child care benefits.

Bzzzt, wrong. There are more provinces in Atlantic Canada than just Newfoundland.

[Dreamtwister]

And people laugh at me when I say Canada could descend into civil war...

[gampy]

And people laugh at me when I say Canada could descend into civil war...

Hey...you would be surprised at the amount regionalism within the confederation called Canada.

Quebec has been trying to secede from Canada for years. Alas, cooler heads prevailed, and the immigrants in Montreal prevented them from turning their province into a 3rd world country.

Americans are lucky that their federalism is so strong. Canada's has hung by a thread for the last century.

[Loki]

Americans are lucky that their federalism is so strong. Canada's has hung by a thread for the last century.

I was surprised to see how tenuous this thread seemed to be when I lived in Canada (2001-02).

I'm shocked at how completely uninformative the American media has been about your elections. They haven't even been mentioned, at least not in any of the media I'm exposed to. This thread is the first I've heard of them. I listen to NPR every day----never heard your elections mentioned once. Pakistan, on the other hand, is the subject of daily, sometimes hourly, reports. Ridiculous.

[gampy]

I'm shocked at how completely uninformative the American media has been about your elections. They haven't even been mentioned, at least not in any of the media I'm exposed to.

Hmmm....I wouldn't say they are uninformed.

Disinterested, for sure. Even Canadians could not care less about Canadian politics. It's all rather boring.

The same leaders of the parties as last time. The same result (a conservative minority.) The only real news is that the Liberal leader (Stephane Dion) has been shown the door by the Liberal party bigwigs. Some other stooge will take his place, and we will have the same dance in 4 years, or sooner.

I don't really give a squat about Guatemalan politics, why should Americans care about Canadian politics? Canada is the quiet, reserved neighbour at the end of the cul-de-sac. You say "Hi!' while jogging, but otherwise, they don't exist.

Canadians, on the other hand, love American politics, movies, music, and their products. They are loathe to admit it, but the US is foremost in their minds. Those noisy, gauche, having-too-much-fun neighbours that you resent, but wish to be.

[Blacksmith]

Oh, yes, if only the separate provinces of Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick had used their vast armadas to fend off US and European trawlers instead of depending on Canada to do it, why, none of the overfishing could possibly ever have happened! If only you'd been around to unleash the might of the Royal Prince Edward Island Navy, people in the Maritimes could still be earning a back-breaking, live-in-poverty-and-die-at-42 existence today, without ever having to join the 19th century and start looking for better ways to earn a living.

Iceland

[Nickel]

Oh, yes, if only the separate provinces of Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick had used their vast armadas to fend off US and European trawlers instead of depending on Canada to do it, why, none of the overfishing could possibly ever have happened! If only you'd been around to unleash the might of the Royal Prince Edward Island Navy, people in the Maritimes could still be earning a back-breaking, live-in-poverty-and-die-at-42 existence today, without ever having to join the 19th century and start looking for better ways to earn a living.

Iceland

According to the World Fact Book, in Iceland, fishing "employs 6% of the work force."

The entire labour force of Iceland is 181,000. Six percent of that is 10,860. There doesn't have to be a lot of fish in the entire North Atlantic to employ just eleven thousand people.

That said, the WFB also notes: "The economy remains sensitive to declining fish stocks..."

[Blacksmith]

As usual, you don't get the point.

A small nation (Iceland) took on a large nation (Great Britian) and won.

When anyone steals your natural resources, fish, oil, natural gas, etc, (NEP) what do you expect the reaction to be.

As I remember the fishing crisis everyone but Newfoundland Labrador rolled over and played dead.

And as for the NEP the only support we got at the time was from Quebec.

[Nickel]

As usual, you don't get the point.

A small nation (Iceland) took on a large nation (Great Britian) and won.

Won what? Are their fish stocks increasing, as opposed to ours?

And here's Canada's case, by the way...

"Played dead" indeed.

[Blacksmith]

Can you say "SPIN".

[Nickel]

Can you say "SPIN".

Since you can obviously do it, sure, I can say it. You SPIN the whole thing like Canada did nothing. Short of going to war on the sea against NATO allies, there's not a lot more we could do.

And the point, which you're nicely dodging, is that even a replenishing resource like the cod can't necessarily be depended upon to propel an economy into the future. And oil is not replenishing itself. Which brings me back to the question: what are you and your "independent Alberta" going to offer the rest of the world to keep yourselves afloat after 2040 or so? Your wit, your charm, your cowboy hats? Pints of blood?

I'm not saying you have to kiss the ass of the rest of the country. But I am suggesting that people like you stop KICKING it. Them shiny boots ain't gonna last forever, and you might want a friend or two someday.

[Tanada]

Half of Canadians say the country is on the 'wrong track' to building unity: Nanos survey

More than twice as many people believe Canada is on the wrong track, as opposed to the right one, when it comes to becoming a more united country, a new survey from Nanos Research shows.

The survey, commissioned by CTV News, asked Canadians their opinions on whether Canada is on the right track to achieving two objectives: building a united country and creating prosperity for the future.

Half of those surveyed believed Canada is on the wrong track to uniting the country compared to 22 per cent who believe it is on the right one. Twenty-eight per cent were unsure.

Pessimism was strongest in the Prairies with 60 per cent believing Canada is on the wrong path, followed by Ontario (53.1 per cent), Quebec (44.8 per cent), B.C. (42 per cent) and the Atlantic provinces (40.2 per cent).

Men were more likely to believe Canada is on the wrong path at 55.4 per cent compared to women at 45 per cent.

The results show a generational divide also exists, with younger Canadians or those 18-34 more likely to say Canada is on the wrong track at 58.2 per cent, followed by those 35-54 (53.2 per cent) and 55 and older (41.7 per cent).

On the question of whether Canada is on track to create a more prosperous future, a plurality of survey respondents, 44 per cent, believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, while nearly one-quarter say Canada is on the right path and 32 per cent are unsure.

The Prairies felt strongest that Canada is on the wrong path at 56.8 per cent, with Ontario in second at 47.4 per cent, followed by the Atlantic provinces (44 per cent) and B.C. (40.2 per cent).

Quebecers were more evenly split on this question, with 29.7 per cent saying Canada is on the wrong track and 29 per cent believing it is on the right one.

Men were more likely to believe Canada is on the wrong path to creating future prosperity at 47 per cent compared to women at 40.8 per cent.

A majority of younger Canadians 18-34 also believe Canada is heading in the wrong direction at 51.8 per cent. Feelings were not as strong among Canadians 35-54 (45.9 per cent) and 55 and older (36.4 per cent).
METHODOLOGY

Nanos conducted an RDD dual frame (land- and cell-lines) hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,002 Canadians, 18 years of age or older, between June 30 and July 4, 2022 as part of an omnibus survey. Participants were randomly recruited by telephone using live agents and administered a survey online. The sample included both land- and cell-lines across Canada. The results were statistically checked and weighted by age and gender using the latest census information and the sample is geographically stratified to be representative of Canada.

Individuals randomly called using random digit dialling with a maximum of five call backs.

The margin of error for this survey is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

This study was commissioned by CTV News and the research was conducted by Nanos Research.

LINK