Quote:
Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN
This.
The 49th parallel is an imaginary line that weather, soil type, and animals of all stripe do not care about. I totally get that a person from Edmonton would have little in common with a Rancher from Sweet Grass Montana, but a Rancher near Milk River Alberta certainly would. Same as a Miner in Thompson MB would have little in common with a Farmer from St John ND but a farmer from Lena MB certainly would.
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But in terms of the overall Alberta population, there are only so many ranchers/people altogether that live in the area where the climate geography is most similar to Montana. That is what throws me off. If Alberta was like much of Canada where the population hugged the border I might understand, but most of the population is further north primarily because the goegraphy and climate is arguably a bit more conducive to settlement away from the border. I think its fair that some Albertans would identify with Montana, I'm surprised at how high that number is. Even if you include the entire population of the Lethbridge/Medicine hat region & the Drumheller/Camrose region (Camrose is a stretch to compare to Montana geographically IMO) you still dont have enough people to reach a number that high.
I'm thinking apart from some geography, it might have something to do with the libertarian streak you see in much of rural Southern AB, and to some extent Calgary. I can see some of the people that voted wildrose in the last election seeing themselves better reflected in the ideology of Montana.
It would still seem strange to me to see Calgarians identify with Montana because Montana is anything but urban. However, politically I can see some Calgarians aligning themselves with Montanas values.