[LINK] "Oil's swoon sparks Alberta schadenfreude in rest of Canada"

[rfmcdonald]

CBC's Paul Haavardsrud wrote recently about Canadian schadenfreude directed towards Alberta, now that its oil-driven economic boom has come to a halt. The questions this raises about Canadian identities and Canadian national unity and Canada's prospects are tiresomely familiar. Good essay, though.

Right now, the same low oil prices that are knocking Alberta from its economic perch are also once again waking up the familiar call-and-response of inter-regional rivalry. For Exhibit A, Anastakis says, just listen to a call-in radio show or scroll to the comments section of nearly any newspaper or web story that touches on oil.

If lower oil prices mean petro-rich Alberta gets served with a little comeuppance and gasoline prices fall at the same time, then, a common line of thinking goes, what’s not to like?

As a Globe and Mail reader recently offered: "I guess we can start calling Alberta 'Detroit West' now. Where did all that oil money go over the last few decades anyway? Didn't the Conservatives put some aside for a rainy day? Get your umbrellas out in Alberta!"

A commenter on a recent story on CBC.ca was even more direct: "Everybody here, let's all raise our hands in the air and cheer. It's about time that Alberta suffered."

The rebuttals from the Alberta side of the border often make for a smart match: “Hows [sic] Nova Scotia been doing these last few decades? Not so hot economically according to all the Nova Scotianers [sic] I talk to that have been supporting families back home with the money they make right here, in Alberta.”

As might be expected, Albertans are starting to circle the wagons against attacks from other parts of the country that seem just a shade too gleeful. While the keyboard stylings of a few commenters, as well as the odd internet troll, are certainly not a robust gauge of the mood of the entire country, the renewed visibility of both camps raises any number of questions.