One of Western Canada’s greatest champions is Ted Byfield, the founder of Alberta Report magazine. Byfield purposely and effectively used his writing and publishing to articulate a distinctly Alberta viewpoint. During the federal administrations of both Liberal and Progressive Conservative federal governments, he ceaselessly fought to defend the common interests of Albertans. He also played a key role in the formation of the Reform Party of Canada. .Byfield’s Alberta Report (a spiritual predecessor to the Western Standard) is long gone, having ceased publication in 2003. But as mentioned in a previous column, he also produced a monumental 12-volume history of Alberta called “Alberta in the 20th Century.” A central purpose of that series of books was to contribute to the formation of an Alberta identity..With that in mind, Byfield explained the value of knowing Alberta’s history in his foreword to volume 2 of the series, The Birth of the Province 1900-1910. After describing the attitude of purpose and resolve that drove the pioneers to overcome seemingly insurmountable difficulties, he noted that the early pioneer fervor would eventually dissipate. He then added, “Yet times of great human accomplishment endure, for they have two functions for a society. First they serve as a trigger, they start things going. And just as important, they serve as a model. They lay down the foundation, set the tone, establish an identity. So much of history, say the sceptics, is mere folklore. What do they mean, ‘mere?’”.At this point he described particular experiences faced by some pioneers: an immigrant farmer from eastern Europe kissing the ground when he finally arrives at his Alberta homestead; a mother using needle and thread to sew up her child’s severe injury; a Mountie trudging through snow on a cold winter day to check on the safety of a remote farm family; a doctor racing a buggy across the prairie to attend to a woman in labour. He then adds, “And when all these and hundreds of other such stories are put together into one comprehensive whole, they are showing us what it means to be an Albertan.”.These stories, and others of their kind, help us to understand what Alberta is as a community. Byfield continued, “So it’s all folklore. Let’s hope so, and let’s pray that this volume contributes to it in some small way. For without folklore, without a common tradition upon which we all stand, neither this province nor this country has any chance whatever of living through another century.”.It is this “folklore” (stories passed down from one generation to another) that tells us who we are as a community and it is therefore a vital element in preserving the community into the future. History provides the common story that ties us together as Albertans..One of the pivotal stories of Alberta’s history – the election of a Social Credit government – set the province apart from much of the rest of the country. As Byfield noted in his Foreword to Volume 6 of the history series, Fury and Futility: The Onset of the Great Depression 1930-1935, Alberta was brought to the attention of the world by the election of William “Bible Bill” Aberhart’s Social Credit Party on August 22, 1935. Byfield explained that, “On that day, Alberta launched out onto its own. Whether it was for good or for ill, people still argue about. In fact, nothing has ever divided us so fiercely. Our internecine struggle appalled and fascinated reporters from all over the country. We became distinct, unique, ‘crazy’ according to a headline in the Boston Globe. Yet it also defined us. Alberta’s reaction to the Depression was different. We would not capitulate and let it hammer us. We would fight back. That is our reputation.”.Byfield reiterated this point in his foreword to Volume 7, Aberhart and the Alberta Insurrection 1935-1940, where he wrote, “While other provinces whined about the Depression, Alberta acted. We would not acquiesce in the misery we felt and saw around us. We would fight. We would rebel. If anything is characteristic of this province, it’s that spirit of defiance. Push us far enough and we will strike back. That was our record and that is our reputation.”.Clearly, the election of a Social Credit government that would last for 36 years is not just an historical anecdote. It had a formative effect upon the province and its political culture. Furthermore, it created an image of Alberta distinctiveness that remains to this day. As Byfield put it, “Alberta’s venture into Social Credit in the final five years of the calamitous Thirties left a lasting legacy. In the political lore of the rest of Canada, particularly in Ontario, it established Alberta as a radical province, the home of an unstable electorate prone to perilous political experimentation.”.The study of Alberta’s history reveals how this province got its reputation for being different from the rest of the country. The election of Social Credit in 1935 indicated that Alberta had a “spirit of defiance,” as Byfield put it. Byfield himself and his Alberta Report also clearly embodied Alberta’s spirit of defiance, frequently tangling with elements of Canada’s mainstream media and defending Alberta’s position in national debates. And it seems that the spirit of defiance lives on, in such places as the Western Standard and its faithful readers.
