Provincial and Territorial Politics in Canada and Beyond

J16(b) - Regions and Regionalism in Canada

Date: Jun 14 | Time: 08:30am to 10:00am | Location: 680 Sherbrooke St. West 451

Chair/Président/Présidente : Mark Purdon (Université du Québec à Montréal)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Mark Purdon (Université du Québec à Montréal)

Is Buffalo a Region? Exploring Alberta and Saskatchewan Public Attitudes: Bianca Jamal (University of Saskatchewan), Loleen Berdahl (University of Saskatchewan), Lisa Young (University of Calgary)
Abstract: Analyses of regions and regionalism in Canadian political science have tended to either posit the existence of “the west” as a region or to group together Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba as the “prairie” region. Analyses of public opinion data tend to group Saskatchewan and Manitoba as one unit and Alberta as another. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that Saskatchewan and Alberta should be understood as a single political region that is distinct from the rest of Canada, and from the “the West.” (We call this region “Buffalo” making reference to a proposal prior to the creation of these provinces that a single province of Buffalo be created in the geographic space that is now called Alberta and Saskatchewan). To test this hypothesis, we analyze data from the 2021 Canada Election Study. We employ measures of political culture as well as regional alienation to determine whether Buffalo should be understood as one region within the broader Canadian context. If survey data suggests that Buffalo should be considered a region, this has implications for Canada. Distinct patterns of right-wing populist public opinion in Buffalo may help explain why both provincial governments are using right-wing populist frames to justify their pursuit of greater provincial autonomy.

Prairie Paradiplomacy: Why do the Canadian Prairie Provinces Adopt Different Approaches to International Economic Development?: Lucia Kovacikova (Concordia University)
Abstract: Despite sharing the same constitution and having similar geographic, socio-economic, and cultural characteristics, the three Canadian Prairie provinces have approached their international relations (i.e., paradiplomacy) and international economic development (IED) in vastly different ways. This is especially true when looking at the provinces’ international offices for promoting trade, investment, and tourism within their borders – a policy referred to here as sub-state government internationalization (SGI). Alberta has consistently maintained its international presence, while Saskatchewan has intermittently opened and closed its offices over the last five decades. Meanwhile, Manitoba’s SGI policy seems to have come to a permanent end. Why do we see such stark variation in internationalization among such similar provinces? Moving away from the traditional autonomy-focused explanations, I argue that these differences stem from the provinces’ varying levels of capacity as defined by Lindvall and Toerell (2016). Using archival and interview data, I track the provinces’ SGI policies from 1945 onwards, showing how revenue, human capital, and information capacities dictated provincial decision-making throughout the decades.

False Sense of Social Reality: An Alberta Case Study: Rissa Reist (University of Alberta), Jared Wesley (University of Alberta), Evan Walker (University of Alberta)
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of misjudging public opinion on political behavior in Alberta. The study is based on a growing body of literature examining how people often adjust their beliefs based on social cues and the broader political environment, which are often based on a distorted view of public sentiment. We investigate two key concepts: pluralistic ignorance, where people tend to underestimate shared opinions, and false consensus, where individuals overestimate agreement with their beliefs. These biases contribute to a skewed perception of social reality. Our study focuses on Alberta, a province with a history of conservative political dominance. Using innovative survey data from the University of Alberta's Viewpoint Alberta survey, we assess the size of the social reality gap in Alberta, identifying who is most susceptible and how it affects political outcomes. Preliminary findings reveal a significant disconnect between perceived and actual public support for policy issues. While this disconnect has limited impact on election results, it significantly influences other political attitudes and behaviors, such as regionalism. We also identify how individual traits correlate with the tendency to misjudge public opinion. Our study sheds light on the complex interplay between public perception and political behavior in Alberta, offering insights into how what we think we know about the broader community shapes how we act within it.