Talk:Alberta/Archive 1

Latest comment: 6 years ago by InternetArchiveBot in topic External links modified
Archive 1

Climatic data

The following data may be considered:--


CLIMATIC TABLE
ClimatePlacesAbove the SeaMean Winter Temp
(A) Moderate and changeableMedicine Hat, lat. 50 deg. N.2171 ft. 651m14.3 deg. F. -9.8 deg. C
Calgary, lat. 51 deg.3432 ft. 1049m15.4 deg. F. -9.2 C.
Banff, lat. 51 1/2 deg.4515 ft. 1355m15.9 deg. F. -8.9 C.
(B) SteadyEdmonton, lat. 53 1/2 deg.2210 ft. 663m10.3 deg. F. -12.0 C.
(C) SevereFort Chipewyan, lat. 59 deg. N.600 ft. 180m7.2 deg. F -13.8 C

Temporarily removed from the article until someone can figure out how to include it without &$%@@!ing up the information box. - Montréalais

In the context of this article, I do not see the need to have it. Moderate, steady, and severe are all pretty much POV in any case. Any place you go in Alberta, if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes. It can be warmer in Fort McMurray than in Lethbridge, and chinooks can actually reach as far east as Lloydminster in a good winter.

As a native Albertan, I have taken some pain to brush up this article without destroying or erasing your original hard work. Thank yo for an excellent foundation on which to continue. Salut à l'alberta! Denni 08:18, 2004 Apr 21 (UTC)

Suggest 31 possible wiki links and 10 possible backlinks for Alberta.

An automated Wikipedia link suggester has some possible wiki link suggestions for the Alberta article:

  • Can link western Canada: ...in Article: [[Geography of Alberta]]'' '''Alberta''' is in western Canada. Area 661,190 km² (260,000 mi²) It is bounded to the south... (link to section)
  • Can link water skiing: ...rta contains dozens of rivers and lakes ideal for swimming, water skiing, fishing and a full range of other water sports. There are ... (link to section)
  • Can link water sports: ...r swimming, water skiing, fishing and a full range of other water sports. There are a multitude of fresh-water lakes each less than ... (link to section)
  • Can link fresh-water: ... full range of other water sports. There are a multitude of fresh-water lakes each less than 260 km² situated in Alberta, and ... (link to section)
  • Can link above sea level: .... It is also further influenced by the different altitudes above sea level of the different parts of the province.... (link to section)
  • Can link dairy farming: ...n-forested part of Alberta is given over to either grain or dairy farming, with ranching predominantly a southern Alberta industry.... (link to section)
  • Can link natural gas: ...st producer of [[conventional crude]], [[synthetic crude]], natural gas and gas products in the country. Two of the largest produc... (link to section)
  • Can link oil refineries: ...produce products shipped all over the world, and Edmonton's oil refineries provide the raw materials for a large petrochemical industr... (link to section)
  • Can link raw materials: ...l over the world, and Edmonton's oil refineries provide the raw materials for a large petrochemical industry to the east of Edmonton.... (link to section)
  • Can link strip mining: ...own and developed. Many companies employ both conventional strip mining and non-convention methods to extract the bitumen from the ... (link to section)
  • Can link high-tech: ... effort and support from the provincial government, several high-tech industries have found their birth in Alberta, notably the i... (link to section)
  • Can link liquid crystal display: ...r birth in Alberta, notably the invention and perfection of liquid crystal display systems. With a growing economy, Alberta has several finan... (link to section)
  • Can link dryland farming: ...ith other [[grain]]s also prominent. Much of the farming is dryland farming, with fallow seasons interspersed with cultivation.... (link to section)
  • Can link province of Canada: ...ed with cultivation. Alberta is the leading [[beekeeping]] province of Canada, with some beekeepers wintering [[hive]]s indoors in specia... (link to section)
  • Can link Legislative Assembly: ...liamentary]] [[democracy]]. It consists of one house -- the Legislative Assembly -- of 83 members. The government is headed by the [[Premie... (link to section)
  • Can link oil sands: ..., which continues to [[Fort McMurray]], the location of the oil sands.... (link to section)
  • Can link Trans-Canada Highway: ...main east-west corridors.The southern corridor, part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, enters the province near [[Medicine Hat, Alberta|Me... (link to section)
  • Can link Icefields Parkway: ...ay, one of the most scenic drives in the world is along the Icefields Parkway, which runs some 300 km between Jasper and Banff, with... (link to section)
  • Can link mountain ranges: ... which runs some 300 km between Jasper and Banff, with mountain ranges and glaciers on either side of its entire length.... (link to section)
  • Can link cultural diversity: ...tage Days -- just to name a few -- highlight the province's cultural diversity and love of entertainment. Most of the major cities have s... (link to section)
  • Can link Pacific Coast League: ...e played professionally in Alberta. However, Alberta's last Pacific Coast League [[baseball]] team, the [[Edmonton Trappers]], left the prov... (link to section)
  • Can link night life: ...nicknamed Edmonton 'Deadmonton' for its lack of culture and night life. He later changed his mind after being given a tour by the... (link to section)
  • Can link self-reliance: ...symbol to many Albertans of the province's independence and self-reliance. Only an hour's drive from the [[Rocky Mountains]], Calgary... (link to section)
  • Can link far north: ...[History of Alberta]]'' The present province of Alberta as far north as 53°N latitude was a part of [[Rupert's Land]] from the t... (link to section)
  • Can link of Montreal: ...at is now of Calgary in ([[1752]]). The North-West Company of Montreal occupied the northern part of Alberta territory before the ... (link to section)
  • Can link Hudson Bay: ...erta territory before the Hudson's Bay Company arrived from Hudson Bay to take possession of it. The first explorer of the Athaba... (link to section)
  • Can link North Saskatchewan River: ...basca]] ten years later in [[1788]]. Mackenzie followed the North Saskatchewan River to its northernmost extent near Edmonton, then setting nort... (link to section)
  • Can link Athabasca River: ...ar Edmonton, then setting northward on foot, trekked to the Athabasca River, which he followed to Lake Athabasca. It was there he disco... (link to section)
  • Can link Mackenzie River: ...iscovered the mighty outflow river which bears his name the Mackenzie River, which he followed to its outlet in the Arctic Ocean. Retur... (link to section)
  • Can link critical element: ... behaved like the white men, and by removing the buffalo, a critical element of native culture, thought they could do so. Since then, bu... (link to section)
  • Can link Saskatchewan River: ...bs grow in virtually any terrain. On the north side of the Saskatchewan River evergreen forests prevail for hundreds of thousands of squa... (link to section)

Additionally, there are some other articles which may be able to linked to this one (also known as "backlinks"):

  • In Insulin, can backlink Alberta, Canada: ...'prone to failure') for many years, but some researchers in Alberta, Canada, have developed techniques which have produced a much highe...
  • In Ptilodus, can backlink Alberta, Canada: ...nian (late Paleocene) mammals from Cochrane 2, southwestern Alberta, Canada. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 47 (4), p.691-704.<br>...
  • In Mesodma, can backlink Alberta, Canada: ...aea'' Place: Gidley Quarry, Montana, as well as Wyoming and Alberta, Canada...
  • In Baiotomeus, can backlink Alberta, Canada: ...nian (late Paleocene) mammals from Cochrane 2, southwestern Alberta, Canada. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 47 (4), p.691-704.<p>...
  • In Canadian federal election, 2004, can backlink ALBERTA: ... in 2000. (Results are after approx. 99% of polls closed) ALBERTA (99.7% of polls reporting)...
  • In Thunderbolt (New South Wales), can backlink Alberta, Canada: ...ncisco. When the gold petered out in California he moved to Alberta, Canada where he stayed until the end of the gold rush there in the...
  • In Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie, can backlink Alberta, Canada: ... and comedy skit group from [[Edmonton, Alberta|Edmonton]], Alberta, Canada....
  • In Raphael Louis Zengel, can backlink Alberta, Canada: ...dstone can be found at Pine Cemetery, Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Canada. ...
  • In Raymond U. Lemieux, can backlink Alberta, Canada: ...emieux'' was born on June 16, [[1920]] in [[Lac La Biche]], Alberta, Canada. His family moved to [[Edmonton, Alberta]] in [[1926]]. H...
  • In Alexander Picton Brereton, can backlink Alberta, Canada: ...ant]]. Grave/memorial at Buried at Elnora Cemetery, Elnora, Alberta, Canada. Headstone. ...

Notes: The article text has not been changed in any way; Some of these suggestions may be wrong, some may be right.
Feedback: I like it, I hate it, Please don't link toLinkBot 11:34, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)

You'd definitely need to check them. "Far North" at this link, for instance, is a regional authority in New Zealand :) [[User:Grutness|Grutness talk  ]] 06:53, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Franco-Albertans

The original article stated that Alberta has the largest francophone population west of Ontario and that Albertans are familiar with Bonhomme de Carnival and poutine. So very, very wrong. I've been editing it out and for some reason people keep putting it back in so if your using this article for research, ignore that part - it is grossly inaccurate. First of all, the largest francophone population west of Ontario in Manitoba. Furthermore, there aren't many actual francophones in Alberta and their effect on Albertan culture is slight. You can get poutine at McDonalds, but not at most restaurants and having a familiarity with Bonhomme de Carnaval would be absurd as there is no major well-known event here with a Bonhomme de Carnaval (nor one entirely in French for that matter).

I agree with you that that passage gave a misleading view of the French presence in Alberta, but surprisingly enough, Alberta does have more francophones than Manitoba: see Language in Canada#Geographic distribution. However, it's the percentage that really counts, so that fact is misleading also. Indefatigable 15:04, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Perhaps you can't get poutine at most restaurants. I expect the same is true in Quebec. It's a fast food, and is available as such at more than just MacDonald's in Alberta. It's also a bit disingenuous to write off Albertans' knowledge of Bonhomme de Carnaval because there are no major well-known events which feature him. To my knowledge, that is true for all provinces except Quebec. L'Association Canadienne-Francaise de l'Alberta will verify the population status of Alberta's francophones: after about 534 000 francophones in Ontario, Alberta is next with 66 000, followed by Manitoba with 48 000. These are individuals whose mother tongue is French - the numbers expand considerably when all French speakers are included, but the proportions do not change. French speakers in Alberta still outrank those of any province but Ontario and Quebec. Denni 16:33, 2005 Mar 17 (UTC)

In response to the replies to my earlier posting on Franco-Albertans, I certainly didn't means to imply that the lack of festivals with a Bonhomme de Carnaval meant that Albertans weren't familiar with the concept. The larger question is why this encyclopedia would consider knowledge of that concept or familiarity with poutine as a fast food item as valid criteria for intimate knowledge of Francophone culture (as the article seems to imply). The whole country is technically familiar with poutine. As for the Bonhomme de Carnival, you can't turn on CBC in winter without some footage of the Carnival in Quebec or the Fete des Neiges in Montreal. But unless its happening where you are in a widespread, culturally impactful manner its illogical to imply (as this article does) that such knowledge makes your home province francophone-savvy.

But the more important issue is one of Francophone population. I stand corrected regarding the point on Manitoba's francophone population compared to Alberta. Despite the fact that Manitoba tourism markets the province as having the largest Francophone population west of Ontario this is not the case, according to the last census figures. We could argue over whether the term Francophone actually equals having French as your mother tongue (this encyclopedia doesn't define it as such - check for yourself) but any way you slice it, Alberta leads the West in numbers alone. Cultural impact is another story, as it is hard to buy this article's implication that the roughly 2% of Francophones in Alberta have a significant cultural impact on the province. Parts of it sure, but the entire province?

But this article, in its most recent re-write, now has much bigger problems. It asserts that "Alberta also benefits from having the largest Francophone population outside of Quebec and Ontario." OUCH. Tell that to New Brunswick, where according to 2001 census figures, 239,357 people speak French as their mother tongue (not counting the bilingual and those who adopted the language for everyday use)! Compare that to Alberta's 58,825 (2001 Census). Everybody seems to forget about the poor Acadians, now they're even taking a back seat to the Franco-Albertans! Glib cultural assertions and hastily given superlatives do not an encyclopedia make.

Oh, and one more thing. Say you're looking for information on a certain web browser and the company tells you "its the second most popular browser on the market." Wouldn't you consider that information irrelevant and downright misleading, although factual, if you found out the number one browser accounted for 91% of the market? Logically speaking, the implication of significant impact makes that kind of statement inaccurate even if technically true. The same applies for the statement in this article.

  • St. Albert. Morinville. Plamondon. Beaumont. Lac la Biche. Tell the francophone (in some cases, significantly francophone) residents of these communities that they are "misleading". I think you just might be wearing that poutine if you did. You are quite correct in assailing the statemet that Alberta has the largest francophone population outside of Ontario and Quebec; if you have not reverted that, I will. But the francophone population of Alberta is no small thing, given our status as the redneck kings of Canada. According to Les Rendez-vous de la Francophone, 65, 995 Albertans report French as their mother tongue, while 204 805 people describe themselves as able to speak French. That's not all that far off New Brunswick's 312 285 people able to speak French. I would contend that most of those who speak French have some interest in French culture and activities; I think the browser analogy is spurious - only BC comes remotely close to Alberta as a western province where francophones reside. Denni 22:08, 2005 Apr 7 (UTC)

Denni, I think you're missing the point of the analogy. The point is not to deny the existence of francophone culture in Alberta. The point is to recognize it for what it is culturally without extrapolating inaccurate assumptions from it. All the towns you mentioned are perfect examples of localized Francophone culture in Alberta. LOCALIZED, not province-wide. Culture isn't simply in the numbers, it's in the impact. A few points that should be recognized... not everyone who puts on the census that they live in Alberta and their mother tongue is French actually uses the language. You see, unlike Winnipeg, where just outside the big city you can converse in French with locals, Calgary has a heck of a lot of people who can claim French as their mother tongue and haven't used it in decades. It's not a very welcome language outside the core francophone communities here. By your own example the Franco-Albertan cultural impact is localized at best (Northwest, Northeast Alberta). Let's compare Nouveau-Brunswick and Alberta, shall we? Nearly 300,000 (33%) francophones, a century of Acadian 'nationalism' and the entire province becomes bilingual. Nearly 60,000 (2%) francophones and you get... well... what? A strong dose of francophone culture in a select list of small, rural Alberta towns, with a festival or two and a monthly newsletter here in Calgary. That's it and, thats the way it should be said. And as for the bilinguals, taking a course in Business French so you can work at one the many national corporations that are headquartered in Alberta doesn't necessarily give you special knowledge of or affinity for francophone culture, expecially not local francophone culture. [Heck, the cultural focal point of most French textbooks is either Paris or Montreal.] On a side note, Manitoba comes after Alberta in the West in terms of Francophone culture (as well as in numbers) It exceeds Alberta in provincial percentage at 4.4%. Until the boom in Alberta's population it used to be THE place in the West to be a Francophone (probably still is culturally speaking). There the roots of Francophone culture run deep with an impact only time and a long history of local cultural achievements can bring. British Columbia!? Shush, I think I hear Gabrielle Roy - the famous Franco-Manitoban writer - spinning in her grave.

That being said, I would say the most current rewrite is fair (or as fair as its gonna get). Although one has to wonder why this article reaches to discuss the one of slightest of Francophone minorities in the first place when the culture section is oddly silent about Alberta's large (and also localized) cultural minorities from Asia. Calgary has one of the largest Chinatowns in Canada. I guess that's not relevant compared to a 2% francophone population. Propaganda anyone?

  • Cultural viability does not depend on approval of the Anglo community for validity. The franco-Albertan community in St. Albert is not divorced from that in Calgary - they are tied together by common goals and common media. The culture is, in fact, province-wide. Crystal Plamondon belongs to all Alberta. It is just significantly subordinate to the anglo culture. To deny a francophone culture here, and to wipe it from this article, is to do a major disservice to a small but significant component of our population. I do not deny that there are gaps in this article - yes, the Chinese community does need to be recognised, as does the East Indian community. But that they are not here is not a carte blanche to remove any reference to the French community. Au contraire, IMO. By the way, it would be really good if you could sign your comments - (four tildes - ~~~~) so that I know with whom I'm debating.

I never came close to ever suggesting Franco-Albertans should be blotted from this article or from any other kind of public recognition. I merely (sarcastically) wondered out loud why they have gotten preference over most other minorities, visible or otherwise, in this article. I never said anything about the Anglo community. You are right, they have nothing to do with the cultural viability or legitimacy of Franco-Albertan culture, which is why I'm puzzled that YOU mentioned them as a reference point; I certainly did not (up until now). Here's my hypothesis on the matter. Canada is a bilingual country and its political center, due to population distribution and the events of history, happens to be Ontario and Quebec. As a result the Anglo-Franco duality is pushed to the forefront of any discussion of culture or politics in Canada. So much so that even when you investigate the culture of individual parts of the country, say a province for example, that paradigm is layered over any cultural discussion of the area whether it fits or not. Often we speak first of the Anglo-Canadians, second of the Francophones and anyone else only as time permits. This often takes the place of a more objective study of culture which would devote time and attention based on the raw numbers, cultural impact, and contributions to larger society of specific cultures. History is written by the victors, and while some might argue the Francophones of Canada are certainly not the winners of history, they at least always get mentioned. What Indians? What Asians? Where in Alberta? Try as you might, you won't find them in this article (or most other places).

I live in Calgary and for the most part Francophones in this part of the province have very different goals and very different media compared to rural, French Alberta. Their cultural compass is more likely to point to the east than to the north. And as much as I would like to see Alberta as a utopian cultural paradise where each minority culture truly belongs to 'all of Alberta,' I'm sorry but I can't simply toss out the facts of Albertan life for the sake of sentimental opinion. Try to get someone in Olds or Nanton to speak French with you. Better yet move there, and start the country's smallest Francophone cultural organization. I've got the perfect name for it, "Tout Seul," cause that what you'll be in that part of the province. True Francophone strength is better found in the facts rather than the sentiments. A friend of mine recently had to go up to the great northern Francophone parts of this province to meet with fellow farmers as a part of a farmer's group. The first question from those assembled was, "Will you answer our questions in French?" My friend didn't know French but was kind enough to find someone to serve as a translator. He had been asked plenty of thorny questions in his days, but he had never been asked that question before. In Southern Alberta, it just wasn't a language or a culture he had ever had to contend with. But crossing the cultural borders of the North, he had been compelled to recognize its very existence as well as its strength in that part of the province. Yes, Franco-Albertan culture is a part of Alberta. Yes, it belongs to all Albertans in some existential, philosophical, Zen kind of way. Is it a province-wide phenomenon? No. And it certainly doesn't deserve to carry more weight than any other minority culture in the province, especially those that outnumber it. As for Crystal Plamondon, she's a great artist, but every community has its leaders, its artists, its heroes. Her existence doesn't magically 'Frenchify' the rest of the province or country, even if it does bring honor and recognition to her community. Oh, and if you really want to know who you're debating with, you're talking to a former Montrealais, big city Albertan, expert on Canadian History. : ) Audentis

  • I appreciate the thought which went into your comments. I have modified the sentence to include reference to other ethnic minorities, and will attempt to track down some figures on the sizes of various groups in the province. Denni 22:17, 2005 Apr 15 (UTC)

I would love to put an end to the Francophone discussion. According to StatsCan, Manitoba has a higher proportion of Francophones than does Alberta. This is FACT and should not be a surprise to anyone. Any demographer or statistician will tell you that PROPORTIONS are far more important than shear numbers when discussing ethnicity. Proportionally, Manitoba has double Alberta's Francophone pop. PERIOD. This is not to say that I am undermining Alberta's French community (a strange argument indeed). It is simply MORE statistically relevant. Alberta has the second highest proportion of Francophones in western Canada, and I think that's pretty impressive in itself. To say we are first is simply manipulating the statistics. There. Can we all put an end to this?

  • Denni: You will also note that Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie lists Manitoba as having 4.5% vs. Alberta's 2.1%. It doesn't get more black and white than that. Let's not forget that Alberta has a pop. of about 3.1 million to Manitoba's 1.1. That makes all the difference. You should be very careful how you use statistics.
  • In case you had not noted, I stopped arguing with you a while back there. A quick glance at the article will show you I have put the French question in Alberta in perspective with the Germans, the Poles, and the Lithuanians. Well, the Germans at any rate. Denni 00:40, 2005 Apr 19 (UTC)

Question

Is this the proper place for this sort of question? Just wondering what criteria is being used in the ordering of the other major cities and towns in the first paragraph? It appears to be alphabetical at first but it isn't, it isn't in order of size, is there some reason for this?

I would do it using one of these two orderings:

  • Banff, Camrose, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Lloydminster, Medicine Hat, and Red Deer.
  • Red Deer, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray, Medicine Hat, Banff, Camrose, Grande Prairie, Lloydminster. (Approximately in order of importance, although obviously this sort of ordering would be open to much debate.)
    • Ordering by name or population are the best methods. --Zippanova 05:20, 26 May 2005 (UTC)

Politics

There is currently no mention of the UFA, or the fact the Liberals were Alberta's first government. This needs to be expanded. Thanks. --Zippanova 05:20, 26 May 2005 (UTC)

I think that there's not enough at all about politics on that page. Yes, POV needs to be kept in mind but I think it's certainly relevant to expand, especially given that, as I believe was noted above on this page, Alberta's politics are seen elsewhere in the country. --Jammoe 00:22, September 3, 2005 (UTC)

Politics of Alberta is a better place, since you can go into greater detail. --rob 00:59, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

What is with the map?

Can somebody explain what value the map Image:Alberta city locations map.PNG has. It seems like the only people who could possibly know what all boundries and red blots are, really don't need it, because they already know enough, not to need a map. --rob 11:09, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

You're right: it's not a useful map without labels giving the names of the cities. It's not accurate either: Fort McMurray is not a city anymore, having merged into the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. I say delete the map from the page. Indefatigable 15:14, 19 August 2005 (UTC)
I just removed it. I would welcome a new map, that labels at least a couple cities. --rob 22:53, 8 September 2005 (UTC)

Alberta's Environment (& other criticisms)

Funny enough there seems to be not a single reference to Alberta's environment. Alberta has taken a major role on the world stage as being both a potential source of future oil, as well as having notoriously "dirty oil". We constitute upwards of 30% of Canada's CO2 emissions, polluting our ground and river water, and destroying large areas of habitat/ecology (though, to an extent that is being addressed with the land reclamation - though the reclaimed land doesn't have the same ecological diversity that was once present). The latter is the least of my concerns among those three, and the first one is particularly troubling because we are burning large amounts of natural gas in order to produce oil - a very inefficient and wasteful process that depletes the very resource most Albertan's use for heating their homes.

There's also not a mention of the actual effectiveness of Alberta's high average incomes; I'm referring to our PPP (purchasing power parity). Everyday living tends to cost more in Alberta than many other parts of Canada due to a multitude of reasons, though many have to do with inflated prices from uncontrolled growth (and this was even more accentuated by poor provincial and urban planning on how to handle that growth). In terms of PPP, Fort McMurray is a prime example of a location where more is not necessarily better. The city has the highest average income in the country, yet it also has the highest rents and prices for goods/services. That's part of the reason for the massive "shadow population" that accounts for the additional 15000+ individuals that are estimated to be in the Fort McMurray/Wood Buffalo region - many of which are homeless. Nor is Fort McMurray an easy place to get an entry level construction job as many Canadians have erroneously found when they depart from eastern Canada or one of a multitude of other locations in order to find a high-paying job (only to find that nearly all the demand is in the trades and engineering, and that there are no accomodations so they wind up on the street or in overcrowded homeless shelters).

Ah, another tangent on which I can go upon, how about the fact that Alberta's expanding economic presence caused a spike in the value of our dollar, which was met with a fall in the export/manufacturing areas of the rest of the country (many of those migrant workers that end up in Fort McMurray from Ontario and the Maritimes).

If we're going to have an article on wikipedia then let it be balanced. I see a plethora of references to the things I love about Alberta, but there's also a ton to criticize. Why isn't that information up there? —Preceding unsigned comment added by David.aloha (talkcontribs) 17:59, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

First, these subjects are not covered in the articles on the other provinces, so why should Alberta be singled out among the ten provinces for special treatment (or are you arguing that Ontario's steel mills don't generate pollution or affect the value of the dollar), second, there would be problems with the Wikipedia:Neutral point of view policy.RockyMtnGuy (talk) 16:37, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
I didn't realize the lack of criticisms on other provinces, so from that side I agree with you. As far as the Wikipedia:Neutral point of view policy goes, it is being violated by exclusively showing positive references without mention of other points of view or controversy. Neutrality does not mean one sidedness (and I don't expect a completely derogatory article, but mention of criticisms would contribute to neutrality). In terms of emissions, the reason that Alberta gets singled out is because their per capita emissions are incredibly high, whereas Ontario's aren't. Here's old data from 2003 (keeping in mind that Alberta's emissions have steadily risen since then and Ontario has more than 3x the population of Alberta): http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/16-251-XIE/2005000/figures/figure6.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/16-251-XIE/2005000/figures/figure6.htm&h=322&w=495&sz=4&hl=en&start=3&um=1&usg=__Sf_l-g2D9sLwneJMpy4QSh7vghM=&tbnid=8wZt1TmCq24NPM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcanadian%2Bprovinces%2Bemissions%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7GFRD%26sa%3DN —Preceding unsigned comment added by David.aloha (talkcontribs) 22:10, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
While I personally think the whole issue has been overblown and the rest of Canada is hypocritical on the topic (particularly this nonsense about a spike in the value of the dollar - Canada's exports are commodity dominated, of course the dollar was going to increase when all commodity prices increased, that doesn't mean we should stop exporting commodities), I think Alberta's environmental issues should be mentioned in the article. I also think if you look at the numbers, the reason Alberta is so much higher CO2 emissions per capita than Ontario is not the oil sands but the power plants being coal and natural gas here, while Ontario is well over half nuclear and hydro (see here). I don't believe you'll find any examples of the oil sands polluting ground and river water, as that is constantly held as a "possible risk" rather than something that has actually happened. But the increased CO2 emissions and natural gas use seem like valid criticisms to me, and I wouldn't object to well cited information being put in the article. I think if you look at PPP numbers Alberta still leads the provinces, but I could be wrong. I disagree about your urban planning judgment, Calgary seems to have made pretty good infrastructure decisions over the years from my point of view, but is understandably struggling with the rapid population growth (which, considering the numbers I don't think could have been avoided). In any case, I think statements regarding the planning quality are a matter of opinion and not suitable for the article. TastyCakes (talk) 07:16, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

Industry Section references to Ft. McMurray

Just noticed that it lists it as being "one of Canada's youngest and liveliest cities." This should be edited, if only to fix the fact that Ft. McMurray is hardly a new settlement. Yes, it has experienced massive growth over the last few years over the previous population boom in the '60s and '70s that brought the population from around 500, but it is hardly a "young" area, even by Canadian standards. As well, being a part of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo means that the "city" isn't truly a city, even if it is still refered to as such by those who have, or do live there. Imput would be great so we can fix little things like this.

  • Sorry, forgot to sign. T. Sutherland 06:45, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

I'm fairly sure by "youngest" they mean demographics wise, not settlement wise.--72.45.80.147 (talk) 04:34, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

the oil

The article mentions that the oil sands production costs are nearing conventional production costs. having worked in the oil sands and being somewhat familiar I find this impossible to believe. maybe some one check the facts? i'm I'm not mistaken, primary extraction of conventional oil is pretty well free per barrel (cents per barrel), while tertiary is a few bucks more (~$3/barrel)... if i'm not mistaken oil sands production is roughly $12/barrel to produce. (which is bitchn' when the price to sell is around $60 and you produce a half million barrels a day. this is my recolection... but i'll check back with some references in a while if no else has changed it or verified it. -danimal --207.34.120.71 07:41, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Where is the criticism

And critisism has to be handled very very carefully in an Encyclopedia. I don't think I would even try, personally - I can distance myself enough from the issues, and I would end up writing stuff that has no place here.

It is notable that Albertain politicians, including Klein, really do kick the dust up on a national level, and I think that should be mentioned somewhere, even if it's not this particular entry. I'll try to see what the other pages have and do some other research. If anyone has any imput though, fell free to message me as a write this. Like I said, this is something that would be very easy to mess up. I'll post a rough draft when it's finnished. Kyle543 20:38, Apr 27, 2005 (UTC)

This area has been labelled as being a Bible Belt.

It has? I'd like to see a reference on that. I really disagree. --Arch26 02:44, 20 February 2006 (UTC)
Considering the existence of a separate school system for Catholics (although primarily due to historical rather than religious reasons), popular opinion on such issues as abortion, prayer in schools, and such, the political and religious views of the province do tend to follow those of "Bible Belt" areas. 205.206.98.72 07:13, 6 March 2006 (UTC)
Well.. bible belts aren't Catholic. So your school argument is completely out the window. I don't think any region of Canada with the exception of certain small community-scale areas, are really true "bible belts". --Arch26 08:08, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

This whole subsection is political debate. Don't debate here, this is an encyclopedia, not a debate forum. This should all get deleted. Kevlar67 01:46, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

I agree. I contributed to it, and a still think it doesn't belong here. Get rif of it. --Arch26 04:07, 26 March 2006 (UTC)
I have deleted a majority of the aforementioned irrelevant discussion. If it must be referenced for any reason, use the article history. --Arch26 07:25, 31 March 2006 (UTC)
I am a little surprised at the lack of historical knowledge of Alberta. The reason Alberta was called the Bible Belt was due to the radio preaching of William Aberhart in the 1930s. According to William E. Mann's book "Sect, Cult, and Church in Alberta" Aberhart's radio messages exerted "a tremendous influence in the province" (page 120). The Berean Bible Institute, where Aberhart and Ernest Manning taught, sent out a great number of men who started churches throughout Alberta. These two men, successively, were premiers of the province. Also the Prairie Bible Institute in Three Hills and the Peace River Bible Institute in Sexsmith were two other interdenominational evangelical Bible Colleges which influenced the province. For these reasons, William Mann uses the common term "Bible Belt" for Alberta. As Arch26 states, it was not the influence of the Roman Catholics. Cadillac 04:27, 26 March 2006 (UTC)
I came in halfway through so I'm not sure where this is going. But I would say the fact that Alberta is the province with the highest proportion of evangelical Christians, is noteworthy, but equating it directly with the Southern US Bible Belt in a stretch. Calling it "Canada's Bible Belt" ? Maybe, but be clear this isn't anywhere near the same as the S. US. Kevlar67 00:51, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Don't they have separate religious school boards everywhere in Canada? I was told (by a teacher) that in Quebec, the "default" school board is the Catholic board and protestant schools have their own separate board. I was also under the impression that Quebec was the most religious of the provinces, but I have no source to support that. TastyCakes (talk) 21:54, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

No. In most other provinces separate school divisions have been abolished. What happened was that in 1905 when Alberta and Saskatchewan became provinces, the prime minister of the time, Sir Wilfred Laurier managed to write the right to a Catholic education into their respective constitutions. (He could also have written the right to a French language education in as well, but I guess he didn't think it was as important.) Since, unbeknownst to most people, Catholics are the largest religious group in Alberta, the Alberta government has never felt the urge to lose the Catholic vote by changing it. RockyMtnGuy (talk) 19:06, 8 July 2008 (UTC)

Language

Does Alberta have language lesgislation? If not, the term "official language" is misleading. The official languages of Canada are English and French. Fishhead64 16:00, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

From Justice Canada: There is no constitutional obligation to provide services in French in Alberta...However, the Alberta Languages Act[10] recognizes a right to use French in certain courts, including courts of criminal jurisdiction. Subsection 4(1) of the Act provides: "Any person may use English or French in oral communication in proceedings"... However, that right is limited to oral communication...However, on the question of legislation, the provincial statutes are not published in both official languages, with the exception of the Alberta Languages Act. From solon.org: All Acts, Ordinances and regulations enacted prior to the coming into force of this Act are declared valid notwithstanding that they were enacted, printed and published in English only....All Acts and regulations may be enacted, printed and published in English... Members of the Assembly may use English and French in the Assembly. (emphasis mine). But anyways, English is the "official" language, and has been for a long time. In fact other languages were offcially restricted (in education) between WWI and the 1960s. Kevlar67 20:00, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Official Flower

The code to show a line about the official flower in the main info box is in the wikitext but doesn't show up on the page. Anyone know why? Kevlar67 20:41, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

There's no provision for it in Template:Canadian province or territory. You'll have to alter the template to get it to work. Indefatigable 23:06, 28 March 2006 (UTC)


Population

The latest StatsCan report puts the official 2005 end-year population at over 3.3 million, but I haven't any more official numbers than that. Anyone else have a source on something more accurate?--198.161.102.118 00:34, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

Homeschooling

I don't agree that homeschoolers 'pay a substantial portion of the costs'. The amount of grant money varies with jurisdiction but I find the Argyll reimbursement enough to cover pretty well all the costs I incur: computer rental, Internet usage, consumables (e.g. art supplies) and tuition fees for elementary/junior high music instruction. My major out-of-pocket is transportation expenses to lessons and field trips. 208.114.131.32 04:58, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

Reverted Link

No spam intended. Did not realize the two names were related in this way, and if it causes a problem I will gladly change my username. Thank You. --AlbertaWebRide 23:57, 4 July 2006 (UTC)

Tourism

Actually, Alberta Economic development quotes different numbers on a January 2006 document. Edmonton and Calgary are both about the same, with Edmonton hosting a few more, followed by Banff at 3 million. These numbers are more consistent with ones I've seen in the past anyway (I don't know where the 4 and 5 million figures came from). The reason I found the text misleading was because the editor referred to these numbers as being tourism indicators. Statistically, this is accurate. But in this encyclopedia, it is probably prudent to use different terminology. Tourism does not normally include business travel (but numbers are grouped into "tourism" anyway for statistical reasons because it is impossible to separate recreational from business travel). Edmonton, being the capital recieves a lot of government travel. Likewise, Calgary, being a business centre, recieves a great deal of economic travel. So, as a result, I have subtely reworded the passage. --Arch26 00:32, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

2006 Populations

Although I appreciate that fewer than half of the municipalities in the chart have released 2006 data, I removed the footnote anyway for the following reasons:

  • I felt that the number of footnotes was making the table confusing.
  • Most of these municipalities will have data within weeks anyway (they are released in the summer)
  • Some of these municipalities will never have 2006 data because they only conduct censuses in odd years
  • I think we should actually replace all the 2006 data with StatsCan 2006 data when it becomes available anyway. Then it will at least be consistent.
  • A footnote is still in place for communities where old data (2005 and older) is used as the most current.

--Arch26 00:28, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Okay that's actually a much better way to put it. I probably should've done it that way in the first place to avoid confusion. I've made a slight addition to the new footnote because you will notice that all those municipalities in the list marked with an asterisk (*) had their census done in 2005. Now as for population figures released by StatsCan, I've checked its site and it show the scheduled release date for population and dwelling counts as Feb 13, 2007 [1] (see attached link), which obviously much later than this summer. NorthernFire 01:25, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Religion Stats

Just wondering, Alberta has a small but long-established Ukrainian Catholic community (26,170 in 1991) and I don't see them on your list. Are they erroneuosly included in either the "Roman Catholic" or "Christian Orthodox" categories, or simply "other"?. Kevlar67 08:26, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Thanks to whoever fixed that. Kevlar67 21:37, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
You're welcome! AshleyMorton 06:18, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

LCD

Liquid crystal displays were invented in Alberta? An (admittedly) quick google search revealed nothing to back this up. --SaulPerdomo 04:22, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

I just visited the page again, and I see the wording is quite different and now there is a link to a relevant patent. Good job, whoever did it. --SaulPerdomo

History: Help needed

Please, go look at History of Alberta. It is currently pathetic. It needs help. Meanwhile, the history sections of the individual cities (Edmonton, Calgary, et all) are quite long. Heck, there is even a seperate History of Lethbridge for crying out loud!. I propose narrowing the scope of those articles, and History of Canada and transferring some of the material (for example, about early exploration, oil boom, etc.) to History of Alberta. Comments?Kevlar67 00:21, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

Archives 1

I moved all threads with no reasponse this year in Archive. Before archiveing this page was 42 kb now it is small enough to not give a warning but the archive page is 30 kb so I suggest further archives be put in a second archive page. Kc4 23:11, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

Wrong Wild Rose

Unfortunately we've been linked to the wrong wild rose as Alberta's provincial flower. I checked the provincial government website and the right rose is Rosa acicularis. I created a new stub for that species. I hope we can give it some more info. Kevlar67 05:09, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Reference section needs to be cleaned up

Has anybody taken a look at the Reference section lately? It's a mess! It definitely needs to be cleaned. NorthernFire 19:39, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

It's a fashion these days to convert from ref-note to cite.php. This particular conversion was sloppy too. Restored and left hidden comment in regard to the purpose of this old fashioned system (that being to have footnotes for that particular table, separate from general references). --Qyd 00:06, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
I sympathize. This is the second article in ref-convert's list of suggested articles. The same blind conversions happen with the table in ASCII. In the table here, one of the {{ref}}'s contains a cite.php note, so it can't be simply converted. Gimmetrow 19:41, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Welfare in Alberta

I was thinking why don't we have a section in Alberta regarding the free handouts given by the government to people who don't want to work? --Parker007 23:28, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Bias Statement

I believe the following statement should be removed from this article: "Alberta is well known for its warm and outgoing friendliness and frontier spirit." While this is not a negative statement, it is completely biased and therefore does not belong in a proper Wikipedia article. This is especially true as there is much evidence which contradicts the afore mentioned statement. I have removed this point and believe that any further attempts to include the statement should not be allowed.

Agreed. It certainly did not conform with NPOV policy. --Arch26 03:02, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Population Density

The population density figures do not add up. 3,413,500 / 661,848 km² = 5.2/km² and not 4.63/km² which is what it says for population density. Can anyone explain? Kesahun 20:51, 24 February 2007 (UTC)

Looks odd alright. I would guess that the 3,413,500 figure might be for 2006 while the 4.63/km² one might be for 2001. Those dates are guesses but that sort of time mismatch would explain the discrepancy. -- Derek Ross | Talk 06:53, 25 February 2007 (UTC)
Statistics Canada shows Alberta's population as 3,413,500 as of their October, 2006 estimate. The 4.63 number appears to be based on the 2001 census. Alberta's population is growing quite rapidly so these numbers are changing constantly. RockyMtnGuy 19:35, 19 March 2007 (UTC)
The latest official census data released last week indicate a population of 3,290,350 and a density of 5.1. Seems like the 3.4 million estimate was a bit over. My own math confirms StatCan's... once water is subtracted from the land area, the density I calculated worked out to exactly 5.12. --Arch26 05:01, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

City Skyline Photos

For a while now, I have felt we could improve on the longstanding Calary skyline photo Image:Downtown Calgary 2.jpg.

 

While the photo has merit, it has a blown out sky and is getting out of date given all the building activity in recent years. I noticed that it has recently been replaced by the Downtown Association's copyrighted night shot Image:CalNight.jpg.

File:CalNight.jpg

. This is a good photo with the exception of the pretty obvious sky exposure transitions where the component photos were stitched together. Additionally, this shot is used in the Calgary article. I have an extensive collection of Calgary skyline photos and I have posted several high res versions at the bottom the Views section of the Wikimedia Commons area for your consideration. I think these newer shots complement the iconic view of the Calgary Tower and Saddledome which is already captured in the lead Calgary article photo and we could avoid unnecessary repetition. Maybe I should just pick one but I wanted the benefit of additional input. Cszmurlo 03:35, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

We probably shouldn't use copyrighted photos where free alternatives are available. For the section in question I would like to see two very similar pictures of Edmonton and Calgary, so that the skylines can be compared (I don't know if that makes sense for anyone else, it does for me). Image:Calgary3-Szmurlo.jpg seems to be similarly composed as Image:DWEdmonton1.jpg (both day photos, river visible)--Qyd 14:02, 24 May 2007 (UTC)
This does not seem to have provoked a hornets' nest of controversy so I will go with Qyd's suggestion.Cszmurlo 18:42, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Fort McMurray's population

You need to add Ft McMurray to list of towns. It has an offical population of 64,000, an unofficial population of over 80,000. This makes it Alberta's fifth largest city officially, third largest unofficially. At least note it under the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. What's going on with the population for that for 2006 - your Ft McMurray page lists a higher population that the region does? -- said Anon 130.123.128.114 @ 22:55, 13 November 2007 (UTC) without signing.

Fort McMurray is an unincorporated community. It is not a city, which is why it isn't listed. --Kmsiever 00:43, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

please put up some more detailed information regarding canadian culture and the political parties

please put up some more detailed information regarding canadian culture and the political parties —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.92.207.130 (talk) 04:52, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Sounds like something for a national article. --Kmsiever (talk)

British

I reverted a change that was made from "Alberta is primarily thought of as British" to "Alberta is primarily thought of as English". I don't think the latter is true. The contributions of the Scots at least are well known. DJ Clayworth (talk) 15:30, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

Towns and districts named after Scottish equivalents and people with Scottish surnames certainly seem to be in the majority round here. While there is a strong Scottish cultural influence throughout Canada (and indeed North America as a whole), it seems to be particularly pronounced in Alberta. It certainly isn't obvious that English people formed the majority of British settlers to this province so a citation would be needed for that statement. -- Derek Ross | Talk 19:01, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

Bias in the section on economy

In the section on economy on the Alberta page, there is a reference to government provided-services as "Canadian-style quality of life." There is bias behind the phrase. If one looks at the sentence the phrase is found in, it implies that government-provided services improve the quality of life over similar services provided by the market. Many people, especially in Alberta, do no share this opinion. Further, this is a Wikipedia article, not a government of Alberta pamplet -- so it comes across as a biased advertisement. As such, the phrase should be removed from the article as the article, ostensibly, aims at neutrality. Something like "a Canadian amount of government services" is more appropriate.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.122.134.84 (talk) 00:06, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

Airport Statistics

In this article it says that Calgary is Canada's 3rd busiest airport. If based on aircraft movements, then it is correct. If based on passenger movement, it is incorrect - as Montreal has more passengers. Could you clarify.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.51.143.204 (talk) 04:19, 6 July 2005 (UTC)

(Prior to the closure of Mirabel, Calgary's airport handled more passengers than Dorval)

100th Anniversary Celebrations!

I attended the celebrations and feel that an image of the fireworks with the legislature "the Leg" could be used or someone could add the Alberta 2005 emblem to the page somewhere - I don't know how or I would.

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.148.212.220 (talk) 20:46, 2 September 2005 (UTC)

Hooray For alberta!!!! the only thing i disagree with alberta's history is that calgary should have been the capital instead of edmonton

Category:Provinces and territories of Canada vs. Category:Alberta

Category:Alberta is itself a category within Category:Provinces and territories of Canada. — Robert Greer (talk) 20:35, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

Irrelevant?

"Alberta is one of three Canadian provinces and territories to border only a single U.S. state"

Why does this matter? What relevance is it if the Idaho/Montana border was a couple hundred km further east, for example? This should be removed in my opinion. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.90.140.73 (talk) 21:42, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

External Links

Why is there a political activist's site listed in the external links, with the official AB gov't sites? The same link is already featured in the Alberta separatism article.

someone has removed this link--Diannaa (talk) 05:39, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

Highway 2 Error

The section describing Highway 2 is incorrect in it's statement that Highway 2 ends at Edmonton. Highway 2 continues north through Athabasca, into Peace River, and back south terminating at Grande Prairie. The wikipedia page on Highway 2 does a better job describing the Highway. Highway 2 Wikipedia Page —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.254.153.127 (talk) 16:35, 16 August 2009 (UTC)


—Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.186.218.188 (talk) 01:23, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

I have fixed factual errors about the highways.--Diannaa (talk) 05:37, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

RE: Fauna section

The "rat-free" status seems to be a bit in jeopardy. http://www.calgaryherald.com/Rodents+defying+Alberta+free+claim/1949949/story.html says rats have been found/trapped this year in multiple locations in Calgary, Taber, Newell County, Airdrie and one at Springbank's fire station. Thomas Dzubin (talk) 15:41, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Ya i saw this on the news. I suggest maybe keeping the current statement and mentioning this beside it. Kyle1278 17:15, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

Universities

Recent changes made to the universities section made Mount Royal University and Grant MacEwan University the second universities for Calgary and Edmonton. What about Ambrose University College & St. Mary's University College (Calgary), and Concordia University College, King's University College, & Taylor University College and Seminary (Edmonton)? 117Avenue (talk) 21:53, 13 October 2009 (UTC)

There is no up-to-date information on tuition in the universities section. The bit on Klein's saying rates will be frozen but no action has been taken is very out-of-date. There is a provincial limit on how much post-secondary institutions like U of A and U of C can raise tuition rates every year and it's why both those institutions raised rates at 1.5%/year for several years. What is also true, and not mentioned, is that several schools are making relatively large increases to their professional programs with permission from the provincial government - the largest amount being a 65% increase in tuition for U of A pharmacy students. David.aloha (talk) 11:29, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

Map of US

Why is there a map of US territorial acquisitions under the demographics heading? I see no relevance to an article on Alberta. Canadian Copy Editor (talk) 22:17, 27 November 2009 (UTC)

Read the paragraph starting "In 1803". 117Avenue (talk) 22:39, 27 November 2009 (UTC)
I am removing the map. So little of the land was in Alberta that the map is confusing rather than enlightening. --Diannaa TALK 04:58, 9 May 2010 (UTC)

proof needed

Many things in the article are not cited such as this 1st statement in the article. "Alberta is the most populous and fastest growing of Canada's three prairie provinces" Any proof?74.216.38.66 (talk) 05:08, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

[2] AlexiusHoratius 05:13, 25 April 2010 (UTC)
well what exact source would you like to see cited? Rjensen (talk) 05:32, 25 April 2010 (UTC)
Anything that is not common knowledge needs to be cited - very little are cited with a tag. Something like this info below:
"Alberta is named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (1848–1939), the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert."
How did you know that? where is that source is from?
Things like that need sources. Otherwise I'll have to tag this article to be check over for verifiable sources.74.216.49.135 (talk) 22:19, 26 April 2010 (UTC)
The Government of Alberta Web site states that, "Alberta was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria." http://alberta.ca/home/182.cfm Twhanna (talk) 17:45, 26 July 2010 (UTC)
I'm not sure one would need to cite that Alberta is the largest of the three, in Canada it IS common knowledge. Wikipedia also has population data (which is referenced) that verifies this. Something that should be removed however is any and all references to Fahrenheit as it is not a recognized measurement of temperature in the country. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.85.50.249 (talk) 10:12, 3 October 2011 (UTC)

Steam Trains

In the tourism section... It boasts one of the few operable steam trains in the world, offering trips through the rolling prairie scenery.

In the Australian state of NSW, and New Zealand's South Island have several each. Some only run on weeknds; others only on weekends, but there are many steamtrains... and they shouldn't be always celebrated as they run on abandoned lines. -- 58.105.129.146 (talk) 13:28, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

Loads of operating steam trains in the UK too. But I'm not sure what your point is. -- Derek Ross | Talk 15:50, 7 May 2010 (UTC)

Poor quality

No offense to the editors who have tried to create this article, but it is terribly written. Every fact is a comparison (Alberta is the second ... after _) (Calgary is the third ... after _ & _). Not everything has to be compared to somewhere else. The grammar could be improved in many areas. Also the words Alberta, Calgary, and Edmonton appear an insane amount of times. Sometime just "the province" is better and less repetitive. There are too many images, some of which add nothing to the article. I'm going to try and clean this article up a bit. UrbanNerd (talk) 19:15, 11 November 2010 (UTC)

Yes this is an old article..any thing you can do to help would be great. If you can do what you do to other articles here we should be up to speed in no time :-) .Moxy (talk) 19:19, 11 November 2010 (UTC)
This is overdue and the lack of references, despite the September 2010 request to add them, attests its current quality. Thanks for taking the initiative and for the good work. The momentum you are building is tempting me to join in once other distractions subside – keep it up! Hwy43 (talk) 07:50, 12 November 2010 (UTC)

See also inclusion

UrbanNerd has been blanking a useful link to Wiki articles on Alberta separatism that he does not want users to see --explaining he is unable to justify his action. That approaches vandalism. Rjensen (talk) 16:51, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

I have rationale as to why it should not be included, but I'm interested in what he wants to discuss on this talk page despite that he can't begin to explain why this is inappropriate. Hwy43 (talk) 18:19, 4 December 2010 (UTC)
He said he was going to take to the talk page, I am assuming here. But with no talk, it appears he doesn't want to defend his edits. 117Avenue (talk) 20:03, 4 December 2010 (UTC)
Ya let's include every fringe movement in the see also category. Why not start a Moonshing in Alberta article and include it there as well. I can't get over the amount of whining I'm seeing. UrbanNerd (talk) 06:42, 5 December 2010 (UTC)
Yes actually, any article related to the province of Alberta should be linked to, to build an interlinking encyclopedia. 117Avenue (talk) 08:51, 5 December 2010 (UTC)
Perhaps UrbanNerd is still caught up with the redneck fringe. Here's teh Western Standard report on 2005: "A movement that was once restricted to what central Canadians might call the redneck fringe, has managed to spread to westerners who are, in many cases, urbane, white collar and increasingly too young to be nursing any grudges over the National Energy Program. What's more, sympathy for breaking up the country along east-west lines is no longer strictly something you'll find in Alberta. More than ever, support for separation is growing all across the West. That's the conclusion of a Western Standard poll, which found that a record number of people in all four western provinces say they are willing to look at separating from the East. According to the poll, which was conducted in July, using random selection methods, 35.6 per cent of westerners agreed with the statement: "Western Canadians should begin to explore the idea of forming their own country." online Rjensen (talk) 15:45, 5 December 2010 (UTC)
Wow, good for you Rjensen, you found some western separation propaganda. It's irrelevant. The article has nothing to do with the province of Alberta or its article. It is more of a fringe theory which is not widely followed and has more to do with the famed western canadian inferiority complex. The separation article is only a loosely tied subject and as goes against wikipedias Wikipedia is not a directory policy. Also it's inclusion also seems to be somewhat of a promotion, advertisement, or recruitment into learning more on the subject. Which again is against policy. UrbanNerd (talk) 16:07, 5 December 2010 (UTC)
Bad for you UrbanNerd -- you have produced no RS to support your own POV, and instead try to block information. 40% of Albertans are fringe? Look at Western separatism: the myths, realities & dangers by Larry Pratt & Garth Stevenson (1981); and Bell, Edward. "'Separatism and Quasi-Separatism in Alberta," Prairie Forum, Sep 2007, Vol. 32 Issue 2, pp 335-355 for scholars who take it seriously as an indicator of serious anti-eastern sentiment Rjensen (talk) 16:14, 5 December 2010 (UTC)
Poor Rjensen, you don't get it. First of all those numbers are in no way accurate. Second that topic in no way ties to the provinces article. Please read WP:SOAP, specifically the areas on promotion, advertisement, or recruitment. Thanks. UrbanNerd (talk) 03:01, 6 December 2010 (UTC)

WP:SOAP (whether intentional or not), sources (whether factual/disputed or not), and POVs aside, the article in question, despite its notability, should not be listed under the See also section for the following reasons.

  • It is already appropriately wikilinked within the body of the article (see second last paragraph under the Government section). Including it again under the See also section is redundant.
  • No other Alberta-related articles wikilinked within the Alberta article reappear in the See also section, despite numerous of these wikilinked Alberta-related articles being as notable or more notable than the article in question.
  • The Quebec sovereignty movement is significantly more notable than this movement, yet it is not listed under Quebec's See also section. However, it is wikilinked in Index of Quebec-related articles, which is the listed main article under Quebec's See also section.

Based on the above, I am going to place Alberta separatism under Index of Alberta-related articles, where it can sit alongside numerous other Alberta-related notable articles, including those of similar political nature. While I'm at it, I'm going to place Symbols of Alberta there as well. Then, I will add Index of Alberta-related articles as the main article under Alberta's See also section to remove any perception of SOAP on the Alberta article.
Finally, please cease all personal attacks and patronizing comments directed at other editors anywhere on Wikipedia, including on talk pages, within talk section headings, and within edit summaries. This behaviour is disruptive and inappropriate. I also recommend placing appropriate and valid rationale in edit summaries when making potentially controversial edits, or proactively going to the talk page, instead of placing something that could be interpreted as being wholly motivated by POV. A little extra effort there could have saved us all some time that could have been better spent on making constructive article edits elsewhere on WP. Hwy43 (talk) 04:53, 6 December 2010 (UTC)

Just wanted to note about your first point. The fact that it is already linked to in the body of the article is not a reason to leave it off See Also. Because guidelines actually stipulate (WP:EMBED) that in order to link something in the See Also section it should already be linked to in the article. That being said, I don't have an opinion on if it should be included or not. Just wanted to point out that something already being linked in the article is actually a reason to put something in the See Also section. Not to remove it. -DJSasso (talk) 15:29, 17 December 2010 (UTC)
Thanks for the clarification on the first point. I recall reading the contrary previously, but it was likely from a discussion rather than a WP guideline. Hwy43 (talk) 20:34, 27 December 2010 (UTC)

Friendship partners

I just added an update section notice box to the Friendship partners section, and it wants to direct readers to this talk page, so I should also write something here. There is only one reference in this section, and it is dated 1999-2000. If Alberta truly does have friendship partnerships with countries, and provinces, around the world, wouldn't there be more coverage about it? 117Avenue (talk) 22:38, 4 September 2011 (UTC)

Reordering

I have ordered and grouped the sections in a way that seems consistent with a majority of the Province articles. I intend to do the same with the other 9 plus territories unless someone disputes this. Verne Equinox (talk) 00:50, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

Alberta's official Chinese name.

Alberta was named 阿尔伯塔 in Chinese before, like [3]. Also 艾伯塔 is used officially by Government of Alberta, like 艾伯塔旅游局(Tourism authority of Alberta)on weibo [4]. Anyone knows the official document about Alberta's Chinese name? -- Nndd (talk) 16:14, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

Chicago Manual of Style vs Oxford MoS vs Wikipedia MoS

I'm going through this article fixing minor style points. I just thought I'd come here and discuss in a small way what I'm doing. Please note I'm not an expert and I have to use the manuals as I edit.

One of the problems with the Wikipedia MoS is that it comes as separate pages. If you go to Wikipedia help and search usually the results returned are a mixture of user posts, talk pages, archived discussions and the MoS. The Wikipedia MoS is fine and covers all the points that the others do. The other two manuals are electronic books. The Oxford, in typical English fashion, is written almost like a discourse to be memorized by the reader. The Chicago manual has a brilliant electronic version that is a joy to work with especially the hyper-linked index.

I've just started out using the Chicago and Oxford and I do compare the two when editing. I am a UK editor so I understand why the Oxford MoS is written with a "we have ways of making you remember so as to make sure you can produce high quality work when stranded in the desert without this manual".

I actually would like Wikipedia to produce an electronic version of their MoS with linked index. Personally I think they should follow the layout of the contents of the Chicago manual. Of course it will contain different information.

I'm off to do the article now. Just thought I'd mention the three manuals.

Sluffs (talk) 12:40, 27 August 2013 (UTC)

You are doing good work cleaning this article. Thanks and keep it up. Note I have reverted two edits involving two-digit numerals. Hope the edit summaries sufficiently explain the reasoning. Cheers, Hwy43 (talk) 18:01, 27 August 2013 (UTC)

Geography of Canada

At the top of the talk page it says, “WikiProject Canada / Alberta / Geography (Rated B-class, Top-importance)”. This suggests that one of the WikiProjects is WikiProject Geography when in fact it is WikiProject Geography of Canada. For clarity it should say “WikiProject Canada / Alberta / Geography of Canada (Rated B-class, Top-importance)”.--Solomonfromfinland (talk) 05:50, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Semi-Protection?

This article may need semi-protection. Erroneous edits are being made by well intentioned editors, who are trying to replace Prentice with Notley as premier. GoodDay (talk) 04:33, 6 May 2015 (UTC)

Regarding this, as I understand it, Prentice resigned everything effective immediately in his concession speech last night, unless that was only as leader of the PCs and his seat. If the former, shouldn't the field be blank or state "vacant"? Another solution is to indicate Notley is the "premier-designate" in small text under Prentice/vacant. Hwy43 (talk) 03:20, 7 May 2015 (UTC)
Prentice resigned as PC leader & MLA 'only'. He hasn't gone to the Lieutenant Governor & tendered his resignation as premier. In Canada, the Prime Minister or Premiers only resign when their successors-to-be are ready to assume office. In this case, Prentice won't be resigning as premier until shortly before Notley gets sworn in, upon getting formally appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. The change over usually takes place about 2-weeks after the election. It's best to wait until then, before we change from Prentice to Notley. GoodDay (talk) 06:25, 7 May 2015 (UTC)
Thanks. I was listening to his concession speech live on the radio while driving so I did not quite catch everything. Hwy43 (talk) 06:35, 7 May 2015 (UTC)
No prob :) GoodDay (talk) 06:38, 7 May 2015 (UTC)
We're not dealing with vandalism, so I doN't think semi-protection is really called for. Curly Turkey ¡gobble! 07:02, 7 May 2015 (UTC)
Semi-protection would however, cut down the changing from Prentice to Notley. Having said that, things have eased off, in the last number of hours. GoodDay (talk) 07:08, 7 May 2015 (UTC)

Personally, I'd rather we not show Notley in the infobox, until she becomes premier. However, if it'll stop the newbies from continously replacing Prentice with Notley prematurely? so be it. GoodDay (talk) 12:18, 7 May 2015 (UTC)

Trouble archiving links on the article

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Census information could be updated

There has been another census since this article was originally written. I am not Canadian so I do not want to blindly update numbers if they are no longer relevant in terms of topic or language. I am happy to do the research once I get some guidance on the census details. Regards Bobdog54 (talk) 23:46, 10 July 2017 (UTC)

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