Prosperity is not a statistic, and it is not something you feel because a government release tells you GDP is up. You feel it in ordinary life. You feel it when a paycheque goes a little further, when buying a home still feels possible, when your community feels safe, and when you believe your kids have a fair shot at doing better than you did. That is the Alberta I remember, and it is the Alberta I believe many people are trying to find again.
That doesn’t mean Alberta was ever perfect. It wasn’t. We had recessions, bad governments, and oil crashes. But it was not supposed to become the main character in your life. People disagreed about politics without treating each other as enemies. You could argue over dinner, disagree completely, and still get up the next morning and go to work together. Somewhere along the way, we started losing some of that confidence.
Originally published in the Western Standard, October 30, 2026.
