Alberta, Canada and God’s Good World

Before 2025 ends, I will have lived in Alberta more than half my life.

Immigrants

I am the son of the daughter of immigrants.

My great-grandmother and her family moved to Canada from London, England, in 1905. She was influenced  by William and Catherine Booth, the founders of the Salvation Army. General Booth wrote a personal note to her on the inside cover of a Bible. She later passed the Bible on to my Grandfather, Percy Atkins, and it was passed on to me. It’s one of my precious treasures.

The Atkins family settled in the Thornbury, Ontario area. Percy later moved to Weston, a suburb of Toronto.  I came on the scene in May 1954. I spent my formative years in the GTA and then in numerous communities in Ontario. Jocelyn grew up in the Maritimes, with a stint in Ontario and then back to the Maritimes. We met at a Bible College in Ontario, married in ’79, lived in Quebec for 7 years and moved to Alberta in 1990.

Westerners

Our sons were 7 and 5 when we moved. They spent their formative years in Alberta. Our youngest married an Alberta girl and our oldest married a Saskatchewan girl. Our grandkids are born and raised Westerners.

Alberta is an interesting province. The reality is, Alberta is the most prosperous jurisdiction in Canada and vies as one of the most prosperous jurisdictions in the Western world. We, and I say “we” as in identifying as an Albertan, are blessed with the highest amount of God-given natural resources in our nation. We have a responsibility to steward them well for the benefit of the nation and the world.

Alberta leads in energy production, particularly oil and natural gas, with a large share of Canada’s total production. Our GDP per capita is the highest in Canada. We have the highest migration in Canada particularly with young workers. That bodes well for the future. Alberta has consistently had one of the highest per capita GDPs in Canada and the world. At one time it was higher than all US states.

Alberta also has the highest disposable income per household in Canada.

Listening to the communications out of the Alberta government this week is interesting. They reflect the reality that there is an epidemic of having some of the information without seeing the big picture.

And I may have lost some of our readers at the previous sentence.

Perspective

Perhaps it’s because I have lived in three provinces that gives me a certain perspective on our nation. We loved our time in Quebec. Most of the ways that Quebec was described by those outside the province were not our experience. Certainly, Quebec has changed in the last 35 years, but many of our Anglophone friends still live and prosper there. Quebecers are like Albertans. They want to be gainfully employed, raise a family in peace, and be Canadian.

Will there be a referendum on Alberta separation? If so, I hope it will be addressed, and for that to be the end of it. There are shared, urgent needs that our province and country require the focused attention and energy of our government. Canada can rise up as a global leader.

A unified Canada from coast to coast to coast, using our resources to shape global justice, freedom, and compassion is a prudent way to be good stewards of our wealth and contribute to the betterment of God’s good world.

Please join the conversation and post a comment below. Thank you.

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