OLDS, Alta.- The question of whether Alberta should vote to stay as part of Canada on the Oct. 19 referendum has neighbours on opposing sides navigating political differences without allowing them to become personal.
In Olds, Alta., the debate is hard to miss. Canadian flags and “Forever Canadian” signs in red and white appear throughout some neighbourhoods, while blue signs advocating for Alberta to take the next step toward a separation referendum are sprinkled among them.
But on one street, opposing signs sit side-by-side — without putting the neighbours displaying them at odds.
“I don’t want to provoke my neighbours to anger or anything, but I do want to state my opinion,” said Cheryl Morgan, who supports separation and is temporarily renting a home in Olds while normally living in nearby Sundre.
Morgan’s blue signs read, “Quebec got to vote, why can’t we?” and “Send Ottawa a message. Choose Alberta.”
Her neighbour displays signs supporting the other side.
“I have found her and I have had a wonderful rapport,” Morgan said. “She has respected my opinions, and I have also respected hers.”
The signs are part of a much larger debate playing out across Alberta ahead of the provincewide referendum.
Neighbours at odds
On Oct. 19, residents will be asked whether Alberta should remain a province of Canada or whether the provincial government should begin the legal process required to hold a binding referendum on separation. The result of the Oct. 19 question itself is non-binding.
This comes as Ottawa moves to address some of Alberta’s longstanding concerns. Prime Minister Mark Carney was in Fort McMurray this week to announce the proposed Pacific Link oil pipeline has been designated a project of national interest, potentially opening a new route for Alberta oil to Asian markets.
In another Olds neighbourhood, Christine Ewing has hung a “Forever Canadian” sign from her fence.
“As far as the grievances, I mean, maybe under Trudeau, but Carney is working hard to address some of those,” Ewing said. “I feel like we need to give him a chance.”
Despite their opposite views, Ewing and Morgan share a concern about publicly showing where they stand.
“To put up the “Forever Canadian” sign, you feel potentially targeted,” Ewing said.
Morgan said she has seen significantly more Canadian flags and signs than blue ones advocating for the separation process and believes some supporters are reluctant to publicly display their position.
“I think it’s mostly due to the fear of retaliation and just people judging you,” she said.
University of Alberta psychology professor David Rast said debates such as this can become especially intense when political positions become intertwined with identity.
“It’s not just that it’s a personal issue per se, but it’s actually an issue of identity,” Rast said. “So it’s how we’re thinking about ourselves, our identities, our self-concept.”
Rast said people can begin viewing others through competing group identities — such as separatist and non-separatist — rather than primarily as neighbours, friends or relatives.
Families divided
For Ewing, the political divide has already affected some of her relationships. “A really good friend of mine. We were friends for decades and no more because she’s a separatist.”
Morgan has also encountered the divide within her family.
Her father opposes separation, while she supports taking the next step toward a binding vote.
“We don’t agree. But yet at the same time, I’m always going to love my dad,” Morgan said.
With Thanksgiving approaching, she said they have learned to navigate the disagreement. “We just try not to provoke each other,” she said. “I appreciate it when he listens. That’s all I’m asking — is for people to listen to what others have to say.”
Morgan said she has also encountered insults directed at people who share her position, but is deliberately trying not to add to the hostility.
She argues supporting Option 2 on Oct. 19 should not necessarily be interpreted as supporting Alberta’s eventual separation from Canada.
“You’re just simply saying that you would like Canada to recognize that they really need to address what we’re seeing here in Alberta,” she said.
Ewing sees the choice differently. She said separation does not make financial sense to her and worries about what leaving Canada could mean for future generations.
“I know what would be best for our children and our grandchildren, and it’s not tearing apart our province,” she said.
If Alberta ultimately became independent, Ewing said she would leave.
“I would move and I know a lot of people like that.”
Rast said those divisions aren’t unique to politics and can emerge whenever people strongly identify with opposing groups.
“When I’m looking at this divide, I don’t see anything really different here than I see when I look at, like, the Battle of Alberta playing out during the season or when we’re looking at the trade disagreement going on between Canada and the U.S. right now,” he said.
“It’s a lot of the same identity issues that are going on and that need to be resolved, and we just haven’t figured out a good way of addressing these things yet.”
For Ewing and Morgan, the hope is that whatever happens next, those divisions don’t last.
“I love this neighbourhood. And I don’t want any lasting divisiveness,” Ewing said.
She hopes people will ultimately accept the result and find a way forward together.
Morgan expressed a similar hope.
“We’ve been a very resilient country for a lot of years,” she said. “We’ve always been known to be the friendliest and kindest country, and I do hope we can keep that.”
