Katheryn Speck said she used to be a Canadian nationalist, travelled the world with a maple leaf on her backpack and once lived in Quebec so she could become fluently bilingual.

But on Saturday she was among hundreds of people who rallied at the Alberta Legislature to support separation from Canada, with many in the crowd waving Alberta flags and a few even displaying the U.S. Stars and Stripes.

“I thought it was a beautiful, fantastic country. But now I’m so disappointed. I’m literally crushed that we’ll never be represented in this country and there’s never a chance of changing the government,” Speck said.

Earlier this week, Premier Danielle Smith’s government proposed legislation that would lower the bar for holding a referendum.

    • Someone@lemmy.ca
      5·
      22 hours ago

      Average population per riding federally is about 108000 (2021 numbers). For Nova Scotia it’s about 88000. AB, BC, and ON are all around 115000 and Quebec is pretty much the only one right on the average.

      Edit: I just did some quick spreadsheet math to see how even it could possibly get with the current total number of seats and making sure the territories each kept their seats: SK -3, NB NL NS PE -2 each, MB -1, NT NU QC YT no change, AB +2, BC +3, ON +7

        • Someone@lemmy.ca
          7·
          22 hours ago

          It is what it is, I’m not complaining, but your MPs represent less people than average. NS isn’t even that disproportionate, PEI and the territories are way worse.

          MPs/100,000 people
          BC 0.86
          AB 0.87
          SK 1.24
          MB 1.04
          ON 0.86
          QC 0.92
          NB 1.29
          NS 1.13
          PE 2.59
          NL 1.37
          YT 2.49
          NT 2.43
          NU 2.71
          Canadian average 0.93

          If you want to argue whether or not population is actually a good measure of over/under representation that’s fine, but you can’t argue some people’s votes count more or less than others.

          • PlaidBaron@lemmy.world
            4·
            22 hours ago

            That makes more sense. I genuinely didnt understand what you were getting at with your previous numbers. This isnt Reddit. It was a genuine question.

            But yes, I would argue that Alberta has more actual influence due to its far greater economy. Oil money brings with it influence. We shouldnt pretend Canada is above that.

            Nova Scotia simpy isnt that big a player in day to day decision making at the federal level. There isnt as much at stake.