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ON NOVEMBER 2, Edmonton’s Boot Scootin’ Boogie Dancehall was filled to capacity. Hundreds were there to vent their grievances — grievances stirred up by a series of speakers who lashed out at the federal government for everything from its habit of taking climate change seriously to what one person called its “creeping socialism.” MAGA (that is, Make Alberta Great Again) merchandise was sold, the Canadian flag was held upside down, and the CBC was roundly booed.
The rally was hosted by Wexit Alberta, a separatist group founded by Peter Downing that is calling for a referendum that would allow the province to break away from Canada. A former Mountie, Downing promised the packed room that his movement — now a federal political party — would excise “the parasite of eastern Canada off from our necks,” a sentiment finding new favour after the Liberal party was reelected without securing a single seat in Alberta or Saskatchewan. The Vote Wexit Facebook page today boasts over 250,000 members — according to the Canadian Press, that number went from 2,000 on the night of the election to nearly 160,000 by the following afternoon. On the same day, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney spoke of a conversation with Justin Trudeau in which he told the prime minister that the election results reflected a “profound sense of alienation that must be taken seriously. Many Albertans feel betrayed.”
Esta historia es de la edición April 2020 de The Walrus.
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Esta historia es de la edición April 2020 de The Walrus.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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MY GUILTY PLEASURE
I WAS AS SURPRISED as anyone when I became obsessed with comics again last year, at the advanced age of forty-five. As a kid, I loved reading G.I. Joe and The Amazing Spider-Man.
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Pick a Colour
BACK HERE, I can hear a group of women trickle in. Filling the floor with giggles and voices.
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Quebec's Crushing Immigration Policy
Familial separation can have devastating consequences on mental health and productivity
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The Briefcase
What I learned about being a writer from trying to finish a dead man's book
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In the Footsteps of Migrants Who Never Made It
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Blood Language
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My Guilty Pleasure
"The late nights are mine alone, and I'll spend them however I damn well please"