Why Do People from Ontario Look down on Alberta?

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â™¥C'kinsâ™¥

From personal experience, I have to agree with several of my Ontarian Posters. I've lived in Ottawa all my life ( nope, don't know the PM ), and have never heard anyone bad-mouth the western provinces or people.
- however, I have travelled Out West...

I found the opposite true. I was looked down on because I came from 'Gov't' city. Heck I work for Sears! People thought I was a 'city slicker' and didn't like my clothes, thought I had a superior attitude, etc. etc. - Correction: Not my FRIENDS, or people once they took time to get to know me. This was a common 'Stereotype' about ppl. from Ontario.

I don't get it. Canada, in my eyes, is Canada. We may live under different provincial laws, but unless we're making them.. we're all in the same wonderful country of diversity. And commonalities.

Cheers, and hope your weather's good. Still on the 'cold' side here. Moan, moan..lol.

:)

Dale M

I have never heard anyone in Ontario talk bad about Alberta, are you getting your info off the internet? We know how reliable a source that is. I thought it was the West who hated Ontario?

Randy B

Well, as someone who was born and raised for many years in Ontario (although I've lived pretty much all across Canada since leaving Ontario) I can give you my personal take on it.

I find this province too expensive to live in. Groceries were cheaper in Ontario and just about every time I speak to my mom in southern Ontario the gas prices are less then they are here.

People drive like idiots with little regard for the speed limit or the rules of common decency. Perhaps it's the "gun rack" mentality. 30 years of driving in Ontario and other provinces with no accidents then I come here and in the last 4 years I've been hit twice. Not my fault either time.

Yes, people make more money here but they need it. Between the groceries and gas I already mentioned, because there is no provincial sales tax coming there is a lot more "user pay" things around here. In Ontario my kids took a yellow school bus each day and it cost us nothing (and we were not even in a rural area). Here (Edmonton) I have to pay $45 a month for a bus pass for ETS or even more for a banana bus as my kids call it.

People say that people are friendly here (according to recent surveys) but when that was mentioned at my workplace and in my classes (I'm both working and doing university courses) nobody wants to believe it. People here, in my opinion, are not all that friendly. Sure, they are not ignorant but it's not that good either.

Yes, the scenery is nice and for the most part the weather is good too but I really can't wait to leave and get back to Ontario. My job does not depend upon the oil boom and I work for the federal govt so it's not like I'm at the mercy of the economy.

(In Brackets)

As an Ontarian, I have never seen Albertans as inferiors, nor do I know any other Ontarians that dislike Albertans....

This is just a guess, but MAYBE some Ontarians may think that they are superior to Albertans because it is more.....urban? around here than in Alberta. I personally see it as a difference in lifestyles.

I know this guy who moved from Alberta, actually, to Ontario. He didn't seem at all any different from anyone else. If he hadn't told me, I would have never noticed.

In my opinion, I don't really look at the "situation" as Ontario and Alberta, but more as Canada and other countries. I don't really think most people think too much about the difference between the provinces, except for Quebec, and the territories farther north (not that I have anything against these provinces/territories, but that's just what people think about).

Anyways, I know I made this post really long and I sort of rambled, but that's sort of how I see it so...yeah. :p

*ajidamoon* the Eh team

I can't say I have ever heard anyone say anything bad about Alberta.......

cw21dlr

Well, I can only speak personally, but I've lived in Ontario all my life (over 50 years) and I've never heard anyone bad-mouth Alberta. In fact, quite the opposite - how beautiful it is - Lake Louise, Banff. And certainly now, in this tough economy, many from Ontario are singing the praises of Alberta and its booming (compared to here) economy.

jah.hardway

Ive lived in Edmonton, Regina and now Ottawa.
and I can assure you that nobody i've met here dislikes the west.
Nore are they jealous of the flat barren landscape (I'm thinking central SK), or the "wealth" as Alberta is posting a deficit this year and is losing population faster than any other provence in Canada (fyi, SK is the fastest growing provence now...who'd of thunk it)

On the other hand I ALWAYS heard Ontario bashing out west.

ur dillusional, we don't...I think u guys are paranoid to be honest...

Lieu. Provo William Parry Wallis

If it exists at all, it's probably more of a urban/rural divide instead of Ontario/Alberta.

Dead Day Afternoon

I've never heard any of my fellow Ontario peeps say anything bad about Alberta. Politicians might, but not regular people. I have a friend that moved from Toronto to Calgary and she loves it except she finds it expensive for rent and stuff. Not really a putdown because it is expensive. It's one thing to have friendly rivalries between hockey teams but I think we should all love this country. Thing about it, if it wasn't for Canada, we'd all be stupid Americans. :)

Robb R

The question lacks a bit of sophistication. The answers are the epitome of being Canadian. Of course we all like each other, that is what we do. I am a 5 generation Canadian and third generation Albertan but I have lived as an Expat in the middle east for 19 years. What is really cool is we can be in South Africa, Borneo, Bhutan or Belize and if someone is Canadian and knows your Canadian it is like a pseudo family reunion. There is truly an understated sense of pride being Canadian regardless of your postal code.

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