MORGAN: Voting Liberal never serves the West well

As we enter the final days of the election campaign, we are starting to hear the tired old line of “if Alberta wants to be at the table, it must elect some Liberals.” Let’s hope that as usual, Albertan voters will ignore that ridiculous advice.

Alberta does suffer federally from political predictability in most ridings. Conservatives can take support for granted across the province while Liberals can feel there is little to gain in addressing Albertan concerns. Rest assured though, electing a few more Liberals in Alberta won’t change anything for the better in the province.

To begin with, the entire premise is an implied threat and an insult to voters. Liberal supporters tell people that Alberta will not have its voice heard in government decisions if they don’t bow down and support Liberals. The elected government is supposed to represent everybody, no matter how they voted. That should include Albertans who refuse to support a party with a long history of abusing the province.

Also, while Alberta traditionally isn’t terribly supportive of Liberals in elections, the province has elected many Liberal MPs over the years and they haven’t done the province a damn bit of good.

Every government tries to have a cabinet minister from every province if possible in a nod to regional balance. Alberta hasn’t had a member in cabinet lately despite having two Liberal MPs. That’s because both of Alberta’s Liberal MPs have been immersed in scandals to the point where it was impossible to have them in cabinet. Electing those two certainly didn’t do the province any favours.

Serial political opportunist Amarjeet Sohi held an Edmonton seat and served in Trudeau’s cabinet as infrastructure minister, then minister of natural resources until his electoral defeat in 2019. During that time, Trudeau imposed tanker bans and the hated anti-pipeline bill C-69, which devastated Alberta’s ability to get energy products to tidewater. Sohi never spoke up for Alberta’s interests while in cabinet.

In the 1990s, Anne McLellan was an Alberta Liberal MP who served in several senior cabinet roles including health minister, minister of justice and deputy prime minister. During that time, she ushered in the long-gun registry against the wishes of most Albertans, and she fought against Alberta Premier Ralph Klein’s health care reforms. McLellan was Albertan in name only at best.

Liberal MP David Kilgour was an exception as he was outspoken on Albertan issues through the 1990s and highlighted the roots of  Western alienation in a book he wrote. Due to his insistence on standing upon principles over party, he never got a senior cabinet role despite serving as a Liberal MP for over a decade. Kilgour eventually quit the Liberal Party in disgust in 2005 and served out the remainder of his term as an independent MP.

There has never been a Liberal member of parliament who has served Alberta’s interests effectively, and there never will be one. The Liberal Party of Canada is an inherently Laurentian creature bound to serve central Canada at all costs.

If Alberta wants attention from Ottawa, it must be through expressing discontent rather than trying to buy Liberal love through electing their MPs. While Conservative members in opposition may not have as much direct power as a Liberal MP in government, the Conservative members will at least be free to speak up on Albertan issues. They can lobby for Western causes and bring them to national attention.

Alberta is underrepresented in the senate already due to Canada’s lopsided political system. Thanks to a decade of Trudeau’s appointments, most of the senators are Liberals, though the former prime minister claims they are independent. Have those senators spoken up for Albertans?

Senator Paula Simons was critical of C-69 when it went through the senate, but she got in line like a good little Liberal and voted it into legislation when push came to shove. Albertans can’t expect to gain regional influence through the senate but for those who really feel we need Liberal Albertans in Ottawa, the senate provides them.

The Canadian system is stacked in favour of Central Canada and that won’t be changing.

Nothing shy of constitutional reform will give the West an equal voice in federal political chambers and that won’t be happening any time soon.

In the meantime, Albertans must vote for who will represent them best and that will never be the Liberals.

Sending a Liberal MP to Ottawa to be gagged and voting as they are told is not being at the table. It’s submitting to an abusive relationship.