The first ever Battle of Alberta will play out in Canada's election

It’s hockey and football, it’s Calgary vs Edmonton, and for the first time in history it’s happening at the federal level in a general election.

Photo credit: CBC Radio Canada

The Battle of Alberta is a mostly friendly rivalry between our two largest centres, Calgary, in the southwestern part of the province, and Edmonton, which is almost directly in the middle.

This intra-provincial competitiveness has been credited with expanding and improving both major cities not just structurally, but economically, artistically, and culturally.

Each has a major university, institute of technology, smaller universities, jubilee auditoriums, major concert and sports centres, festivals, summer events like Edmonton’s Klondike Days or the Calgary Stampede, and international airports.

We take it very seriously.

It’s hard to overstate the peacocking and swagger that followed the reveal of Edmonton’s revitalized library in 2020, just two years after Calgary’s opened in 2018. Edmonton’s looked like — and I couldn’t have made the comparison when it was built because these were the lovely before times — a giant cyber truck. Though I have heard its exterior is not at all indicative of its interior.

Calgary’s was and is an actual work of art. With it’s curving walls, wheat-coloured wood, third story skylight that’s open to below, and flowing rails that resemble wind blown fields… it’s like they brought the wheat fields surrounding the city and the never-ending prairie sky indoors. It’s stunning.

I should lay out my bias before I get too far along. Three generations of women in my family were all born in Calgary. My extended family lived, and some still live, in Calgary. I cheer for Calgary football and hockey teams, graduated from the University of Calgary, and for the past 13 years, I’ve lived just east of Calgary. I’ve lived other places as well, like Saskatoon and Kansas City, but Calgary is “home” because it was home to my mom, and my Na, and her parents, too.

We also have something down here called “warm weather” and chinooks that offer us a welcome reprieve from cold spells in the winter. Yes, the Battle of Alberta includes the fact that we tend to have nicer weather than our northern brethren — and yes, having nicer weather is obviously a point for us.

The Battle of Alberta also extends to our hockey — Flames and Oilers — and football — Stampeders and Elks — teams from Calgary and Edmonton, respectively.

Every time they meet it’s billed as a Battle of Alberta. In rare circumstances, if our team doesn’t make it to the cups, sometimes, we will even cheer for the other one. Mostly begrudgingly, and it’s not at all universal, but even I managed a few hoots for the Oilers during their last playoff run.

Edmonton’s city slogan was “City of Champions” thanks to a wicked run of Stanley Cup wins in the 1980’s. In 2015, they decided it wasn’t really as relevant as it had been once, and in 2017 decided to go with “EDMONTON”.

Calgary recently changed theirs from “Be part of the energy” to “Blue Sky City”.

I will no longer mock Calgary’s since learning this shocking news about “EDMONTON”.

Just another point for us, I guess.

Obviously, it’s political

Unsurprisingly, it can also include our politics. Back in 1993, the Alberta liberals under Laurence Decore lost the election but won every seat in Edmonton, earning the city the nickname “Redmonton”.

Currently, it’s New Democrat orange, but nothing rhymes with “orange”. I digress.

One thing no one is talking about, though I suppose it can be forgiven because I just thought of it myself, is that this should be a really big deal in Alberta. Oh, right… Alberta is ensconced, or suffocating, within a conservative media bubble, so, they couldn’t write this with anywhere near the joy I can.

Maybe it took me a bit because both of the leaders of the parties who are in contention to form the next federal government are running for seats in Ontario, but as of this moment… there’s… a BATTLE OF ALBERTA IN THE FEDERAL ELECTION!!!!

This has never happened before in Canada’s history. It’s an absolute first, and I get to see it! Albertans get to see it!

Pierre Poilievre grew up in Calgary and is the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and Mark Carney is not only the first Albertan to ever be the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, but he grew up in Edmonton!

It’s Calgary vs Edmonton!

It’s a Battle of Alberta!!

Do you know why Pierre Poilievre and Mark Carney seem like a Reformer and a Progressive Conservative?? Because they’re from Alberta and every political party is just more conservative in Alberta!

To be fair it’s also because Mr. Poilievre is a Reformer, and Mr. Carney is a pretty blue liberal.

I know we have ideology and are compelled to vote for party names over candidates, and that Albertans really, really like to vote conservative at the federal level — but that doesn’t change the fact that both the Liberal leader, and the Conservative leader, got their start in Alberta.

Albertans should be celebrating this election because unless something entirely catastrophic happens to both the Liberals and the CPC — the next Prime Minister of our amazing country will be a person who grew up in our great province.

I think that’s a real important 120-year milestone, personally.

You can take them out of Alberta, but you can’t take Alberta out of them

Whether we vote Liberal or Conservative in the next election, we are voting for someone from Alberta.

I know it’s not going to make a lot of people happy but I actually love it.

No matter how disgruntled the UCP want to be about the fact that Mark Carney’s leadership has thrown a wrench into Pierre Poilievre’s chances, and no matter how much they have to dance around the fact that Donald Trump is 100 per cent responsible for creating that wrench, both of these potential leaders, no matter what their signs say, are Albertans, too.

We may wear blue or red, we may have a better library, they may have had an enviable city motto before, but we are all Albertans.

And most of us are also solidly, extremely, proud Canadians.

I’m not going to be bullied into hiding the fact that I think one Albertan would be a better leader for Canada in this moment, and for as long as we have to deal with threats to our province’s, and our country’s, economic future from Donald Trump.

I have no problem saying that I will be voting for Mark Carney in this election.

There is no shame in supporting an Albertan.

Absolutely none at all.

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