WESTERN STANDARD " The Voice of Western Canada"

[LF(CMO)]

In the latest edition of the 'Western Standard', dated June 27, there is an interesting article by Mark Steyn.  It is entitled,'Separate but unequal' and subtitled "In 'tolerant' Canada, only those in favour of same-sex marriage are allowed an opinion".

I don't return to this subject to disrespect those who control this forum and have chosen to 'lock' further discussion of this particular issue. This is where I would like to see the discussion go.  We have to assume that the viewpoint that Steyn expresses in the article is that of the majority of those who read the magazine or it would be unable to survive.  Why this divergence of opinion between what is ofttimes expressed on this forum and that expressed in the article?  Why does this 'abyss' of attitude and opinion exist between central Canada and Western Canada?

I agree completely with what Steyn says in the article.  I can assure you that those 'in the circles that I travel in' would be in agreement as well.  I find the above most interesting as well as very relevant.

BTW: As a bit of background, myself and my son, two son-in-laws and youngest daughter are all involved in the oil and gas industry.  (Is anyone surprised??)

 

[Infanteer]

Well, I have a hard time accepting it as a "Voice of the West".   I remember reading this Magazine (or maybe it was a different one, but I'm pretty sure it was this one) when it got hijacked by the religious right; all the articles told me was that I was going to hell.

8 Million people live in the Western provinces, 4 million of those (50%) live in Vancouver, Edmonton or Calgary.   These major urban areas were responsible for most of the 30 seats (about 33% if the West's roughly 90) that the center/left (Liberal) and the left (NDP) picked up out West, and this was on a year that the Liberal's took a trouncing.

As well, I guarantee you that a good chunk (I'd venture at least 50% if not more) voted Conservative for one of two reasons (or, most likely, like myself, a combination of both):

1) They were looking for an alternative to 3 consecutive Liberal mandates.
2) They were interested in seeing more regional representation in Parliament, which isn't very responsive in its current format.

Thus, the "dissent" of the West, I'm going to state, is more political and structural than moral.   We do not band togeather in the West to protect some mythical set of "traditional Western values" from the creep of central, secularist, bilingual Ottawa - as the population figures above show, the Urban/Rural split out here is just as pronounced as it is on the St. Lawrence River, in Ontario, or in the Maritimes.

 

[Zartan]

Thus, the "dissent" of the West, I'm going to state, is more political and structural than moral.   We do not band togeather in the West to protect some mythical set of "traditional Western values" from the creep of central, secularist, bilingual Ottawa - as the population figures above show, the Urban/Rural split out here is just as pronounced as it is on the St. Lawrence River, in Ontario, or in the Maritimes.

Very true. Furthermore, one also has to first determine what is the "West". Half the time, from what I have noticed, the "West" oftentimes happens to be no more than Calgary, and it is here that this expression is used more than anywhere else. The definitions of this entity appear ever shifting and in multiple dimensions, of reality and what conservative pundits say it is (seenings a member of the NDP or liberals won't). I recall a poll from awhile ago regarding the views of Canadians on homosexuality. Quelle surprise! Alberta had the highest proportion of negative views. Whereas British Columbia had the fewest.

Personally, I'm unfamiliar with the Western Standard. Liked their "Libranos" poster, though.

 

[Infanteer]

Agree Zartan - having lived quite close to the downtown gay community, it wouldn't surprise me one bit that Vancouver/BC polled that way.   So, now Vancouver, the largest city in the "West", isn't considered part of the "West", according to the "Western Standard" (or LFCMO)?

I'll say again that I think West/Central disagreements are based more along political lines than moral ones.

 

[Zartan]

I'll say again that I think West/Central disagreements are based more along political lines than moral ones.

And I agree. What I had meant was that the Western Standard is one of those publications that erroneously promotes western Canada as a single homogeneous political entity.

 

[mdh]

Just one point of clarification here - think there might be some confusion between what used to be the old Western Report Magazine edited by Ted Byfield and his son Link.  Both were definintely in the socon camp but Western Report is now defunct.

Western Standard is a relatively new magazine edited by Ezra Levant and I would say has more of a neo-con tone despite highlighting Steyn as a star columnist. (Andrew Coyne also writes for them)

Otherwise I agree with you guys, there is a real split between rural and urban electorates with Alberta representing something of a distinct society of its own (even though as Infanteer alluded to there is still a split between rural/urban. They don't call it "Redmonton" for nothing.)

There is still one other permutation to note, and that's the suburbs, which can often have very different political priorities compared to "hardcore" urban centres. 

During the late 90s the so-called 905 belt around the GTA was a stronghold for the Mike Harris Tories while downtown Toronto, the so-called 416 ridings, all went Liberal eventually (albeit Harris was not a socon and purposefully avoided getting entangled in social issues.)

In the most recent BC election most suburban areas in the lower mainland stayed with the Campbell Liberals - most rural areas (especially Vancouver Island) went back to the NDP.

Cheers, mdh

 

[Infanteer]

Just one point of clarification here - think there might be some confusion between what used to be the old Western Report Magazine edited by Ted Byfield and his son Link.   Both were definintely in the socon camp but Western Report is now defunct.

That is the one I was thinking of, sorry for the confusion.

 

[FSTO]

The Urban (which I mean as Downtown) and semi-urban split is there, but it is no where near as large as the Urban - Rural split. These two have nothing, I mean absolutely nothing in common. On friday the CBC in BC (which is based in Downtown Vancouver) had a call in show regarding hunting. They had a couple of hunters in as guests (one man, one woman) and a large majority of the callers and the host herself were very hostile to the hunters. I give the two guests credit for not losing their cool.
This is just a taste of the attitude of the downtown core. These folks have no idea what goes on outside of the urban jungle. When they do interact with a rural person their distaste at the encounter is obvious.

I could go on, but hey, I'm just a dinosaur waiting for the meteroite to come and wipe us all out! 

 

[Infanteer]

This is just a taste of the attitude of the downtown core. These folks have no idea what goes on outside of the urban jungle. When they do interact with a rural person their distaste at the encounter is obvious.

Likewise, trying to watch the rural folks navigate downtown Vancouver is good fun.  As I've said in other threads, I think "Regionalism" in Canada is peanuts - the real divide is the Urban/Rural split; perhaps our notion of Federalism should evolve to recognize this.

 

[jmacleod]

No surprise that their is a cultural "split" between urban and rural voters, and I must point out that
the Western Standard is a conservative publication which espouses conservative values, and contains
articles by authors and contributors who are, well; "conservative". It does not speak for Western
Canada - there are no newspapers which speak for Western Canada - all dailys are controlled in the
eastern media establishments, who are very closely aligned with the Liberal government. The
Sun Newspapers are, despite their claims to be otherwise, not a conservative voice, they in
fact have done, and continue to do great damage to the Canadian Conservative Party and their
Leader, Mr. Stephen Harper. The irony is, that except for British Columbia, the Liberal Party of
Canada could not care less about Western Canada - they know that they will easily win the next
Federal election, because they have the full support of "Canadian" media, and the CBC, which motivates
the electorate with their pro small "l" liberal agenda. MacLeod

 

[SHELLDRAKE!!]

Lets think about the average high school graduate fresh out of school anywhere in Canada. Typically they have no political views and not much knowledge of the political process. This age group is the one the government is trying to appeal to the most. What is it that sways these young peoples vote? IMHO its usually the same way their parents vote. How many senior citizens vote for a certain party because "that's the way they have always voted".

One would think that peoples votes would differ greatly from neighbor to neighbor and not province to province. In my time in the Military I have known people from every corner of Canada and everyone's political desires seem about the same. I say the parties should drop the bickering, make their party policies crystal clear and then its a matter of choosing A B or C on the ballot.

 

[LF(CMO)]

"That Libranos edition, and the gorgeous movie poster that came with it , marked a coming of age for our magazine.  Not only did it dominate national political news for a week, including two days of hot exchanges in Question Period, but it became a fun and potent addition to the political lexicon.  'The Libranos' is now political short hand for the corrupt Liberal party.  Our thanks to Liberal cabinet Joe Volpe, whose over-the-top reaction to our free poster gave our magazine a million dollars worth of free publicity.  We have signed him up for a free subscription."

"Our independence and trustworthiness have struck a cord with thousands of Canadians who haven't been able to get what we offer anywhere else."

The above quoted from 'More than a magazine' in Publishers Letter, Western Standard, June 13, 2005 by Ezra Levant.

 

[Zartan]

Our thanks to Liberal cabinet Joe Volpe, whose over-the-top reaction to our free poster gave our magazine a million dollars worth of free publicity.   We have signed him up for a free subscription."

True, so true, (tear).

If you don't want someone to know about something, don't tell them about it.

- there are no newspapers which speak for Western Canada - all dailys are controlled in the
eastern media establishments, who are very closely aligned with the Liberal government. The
Sun Newspapers are, despite their claims to be otherwise, not a conservative voice, they in
fact have done, and continue to do great damage to the Canadian Conservative Party and their
Leader, Mr. Stephen Harper.

One could argue that Mr. Ralph Klein has done a far degree of damage to the Conservative Party. Like in the last election. He is a member of the conservative party. Anyone can shoot themselves in the foot. The biggest problem with the Sun is that they are far too overzealous in their promotion of the CP, but at the same time, declare that the CP should follow more Reform Party-esque platform. The Sun is conservative, they just don't feel the conservatives are conservative enough to fulfill their ideas of an ideal conservative.

 

[pbi]

Likewise, trying to watch the rural folks navigate downtown Vancouver is good fun.   As I've said in other threads, I think "Regionalism" in Canada is peanuts - the real divide is the Urban/Rural split; perhaps our notion of Federalism should evolve to recognize this.

You've hit the nail on the head. My service across this country suggests to me that farmers in Consort AB, Beausejour SK and Shelburne ON have more in common with each other, (as do urbanites across the country), than the folks in Viking AB do with people lounging around in Kensington district in Calgary or on Whyte Ave in Edmonton. I know from living in MB that people in liberal, very multicultural Winnpeg have little in common with the more conservative, aging, western European descent population down in Boissevain MB or small rural places like that. And, I guess, the fact that we are one of the world's most heavily urbanized countries (IIRC about 83% of our population live in cities) means that the gap is widened even further. I wonder how much of what publications like the Western Standard have to say is relevant to Western urbanites (who make up the huge bulk of the population in the West), as opposed to just the rural folks.

Cheers.