ed_rex

Alberta reminds Canada of its past and its future

In Calgary, we have met the Other 
(and found only ourselves)

Traditional Canadian values: Calgary's mayor-elect Naheed Nenshi in victory.

	Traditional Canadian values: Québec Premier Jacques Parizeau in defeat.

On Tuesday, the people of Calgary elected to the mayorship a brown man — the first time a Moslem has been handed the keys to a major Canadian city.

15 years ago next week, the people of Quebec very narrowly opted to hold their province within the Canadian political experiment; the second time Quebecers voted for Canada in repudiation of their homegrown Indépendatistes.

At first glance, you might not think the two events, separated by a generation in time and half-a-continent in space, have much to do with one another.

What does a narrow defeat for the forces of a defeatest tribal isolationism 15 years ago have to with an apparent victory by the forces of tolerance, progress and pluralism today?

Quite a lot, actually.

Click here to find out why.