Newcomers vs. born-and-raised Albertans: Turns out, they're not all that different

Amid a colonisation surge past fall, Premier Danielle Smith delivered a televised code to the province, successful which she rolled retired the invited mat — with a caveat.

"Alberta has ever welcomed newcomers," Smith declared, "who person our shared values."

The 2nd portion of that enactment drew immoderate disapproval arsenic astatine the time, successful the discourse of her government's simultaneous absorption to a national program to find asylum seekers much evenly crossed the country, including much successful Alberta. Smith was accused, by some, of "fuelling xenophobia" and "stigmatizing newcomers."

Regardless of however you presumption that peculiar enactment successful that peculiar address, Smith's remark touches connected a longer lasting presumption among galore Albertans, dating backmost to colonisation booms of decades' past.

Conservatives person agelong fretted that planetary and interprovincial migrants volition bring with them a tidal question of views — and votes — astatine likelihood with traditional, right-leaning Alberta values. Some progressives, meanwhile, person been wishing and hoping for the time that happens.

So far, it hasn't.

And it apt won't, says pollster Janet Brown, adjacent with the latest question of radical moving to the province.

"It's a wide held content that newer Albertans are different, but the information has ne'er borne that out," said Brown, who precocious conducted a wide-ranging survey for CBC News that examined the beliefs and perspectives of radical successful this province.

The results were successful enactment with polls she had done successful years past; overall, Brown has recovered precise small quality successful sentiment betwixt Albertans who person lived each oregon astir of their lives successful the state and those who person moved present from elsewhere.

When it comes to galore beliefs, successful fact, the 2 groups are virtually indistinguishable.

Value statements

This astir recent poll asked Albertans whether they agreed oregon disagreed with a bid of worth statements connected a scope of topics and issues.

You tin spot for yourself successful the illustration beneath conscionable however akin the responses were.

Albertans who person ever oregon mostly lived successful the state are seen successful the left-hand column, portion Albertans who moved present from elsewhere are successful the right-hand column.

These results whitethorn travel arsenic a astonishment to galore Albertans, but not Brown.

As a pollster, she says the deficiency of quality betwixt these 2 groups has been evident for immoderate time, adjacent if others didn't judge it.

"In the past I'd person wide friends and they'd say, 'Well, if we conscionable hold for capable radical to determination from Ontario, past Alberta volition go liberal,'" Brown said.

That has yet to materialize, she said, due to the fact that "the radical who determination from Ontario aren't a random, typical illustration of radical who unrecorded there."

"Sometimes we find that caller Albertans are much stereotypical than radical who were calved here," Brown said.

'Middle of the road'

Faith Zachar didn't cognize overmuch astir Alberta erstwhile she moved present from Ontario successful 1968, isolated from the information that it sounded similar a much blimpish spot than she was utilized to.

She had met a born-and-raised Albertan, who would aboriginal go her husband, successful Guelph, Ont., wherever helium was studying veterinary medicine. She aboriginal moved to beryllium with him successful Nanton, Alta., wherever helium had opened up a practice.

In 1969, the mates moved a spot further south, to Pincher Creek, wherever they inactive unrecorded and tally the signifier to this day.

When they archetypal met, she says she recovered her hubby to beryllium much conservative-minded, portion she was much wide successful her governmental views.

But aft 57 years successful small-town Alberta, Zachar says she and her hubby hold connected a batch of things, and she mostly doesn't find the radical successful and astir Pincher Creek each that antithetic from those she grew up with successful the tiny municipality of Carleton Place, Ont.

"Some are precise fanatically blimpish — and that was existent successful Ontario, excessively — and immoderate are much liberal," she said. "Most are conscionable mediate of the road."

Stereotypes vs. lived experience

Thomas Ambrozitis is a much caller transplant, having moved to Calgary from Toronto conscionable 3 years ago, successful ample portion to beryllium person to the mountains.

He says his first content of the metropolis was that it was much blimpish successful its authorities than helium was utilized to backmost successful Ontario, but arsenic clip went on, helium saw much and much similarities, too.

"The abbreviated mentation would be: At the extremity of the day, we're each humans," Ambrozitis said. "And so, the aforesaid concerns, the aforesaid issues, the aforesaid cares and enthusiasms — I spot them successful the radical that I conscionable here, conscionable arsenic I would successful Ontario."

His ain stereotypes astir Calgarians started to disintegrate, helium said, erstwhile helium realized however Calgarians have their ain stereotypes astir Torontonians — successful peculiar that they spot themselves arsenic "the centre of the universe."

"I benignant of privation to accidental to people, 'Have you ever asked idiosyncratic from Toronto if they feel like the centre of the universe? Because my consciousness is: I don't. And truthful it's absorbing because, to me, there's a communicative astir Torontonians that Torontonians whitethorn not really experience," helium said.

"So to flip that, I've benignant of been like, 'Oh, Well, I person a communicative astir Calgarians that Calgarians whitethorn not person astir themselves either.'"

'Resistance is futile'

Several years ago, Brown says she delved deeper into immoderate of her polling data, which included a question for radical who had moved to Alberta, astir however agelong they had lived successful the province. 

"I tried to fig out: How agelong bash you person to beryllium successful Alberta earlier you're indistinguishable from idiosyncratic who was calved here? And I benignant of came to the decision it was astir 7 years," she said.

"After astir 7 years, absorption is futile. Even if you travel present and you determine you don't privation not to beryllium a stereotypical Alberta, you are going to beryllium one."

Of course, nary of this is to accidental each azygous idiosyncratic who moves present ends up being blimpish successful their mindset and their voting patterns. It conscionable means that, connected aggregate, the newcomers person ended up statistically akin to the born-and-raised Albertans, successful presumption of their values and beliefs.

Or, arsenic Brown puts it: "It's a stereotype to deliberation radical are going to travel to Alberta and alteration Alberta. People travel to Alberta due to the fact that Alberta makes consciousness to them."

EDITOR'S NOTE: CBC News commissioned this nationalist sentiment probe to beryllium conducted instantly pursuing the national predetermination and starring into the 2nd day of the United Conservative Party's provincial predetermination triumph successful May 2023. 

As with each polls, this 1 provides a snapshot successful time.

This investigation is 1 successful a bid of articles from this research.

Methodology:

The CBC News random survey of 1,200 Albertans was conducted utilizing a hybrid method from May 7 to 21, 2025, by Edmonton-based Trend Research nether the absorption of Janet Brown Opinion Research. The illustration is typical of regional, property and sex factors. The borderline of mistake is +/- 2.8 percent points, 19 times retired of 20. For subsets, the borderline of mistake is larger.

The survey utilized a hybrid methodology that progressive contacting survey respondents by telephone and giving them the enactment of completing the survey astatine that time, astatine different much convenient time, oregon receiving an email nexus and completing the survey online. Trend Research contacted radical utilizing a random database of numbers, consisting of 40 per cent landlines and 60 per cent cellphone numbers. Telephone numbers were dialled up to 5 times astatine 5 antithetic times of time earlier different telephone fig was added to the sample. The effect complaint among valid numbers (i.e., residential and personal) was 12.8 per cent.