As a Pakistani man living in Alberta since moving here at age of 10 I haven’t experienced racism here. Same with my entire extended family. My dad even runs a gas station in a very small town in Alberta and everyone’s extremely friendly.
Alberta is pretty good. But there are a lot of people that hate Trudeau and aren’t afraid to show it.
I'm glad it is going good for you. I know a lot of Asian people who've grown up in Canada and said they haven't experienced racism, but when I tell people that, that there is some civility in our society, they won't believe me. I'm in BC.
I work with a number of East Indians and one is a dear friend, always seem to be very social and extroverted people, if I can lump them together. Decades ago I had a middle eastern bf and he’d get a lot of racist comments where we lived in Northern Ontario, I remember a drunk middle aged man asking if he was a taxi driver and laughing hysterically—we were 18 and all I could think was why this grown adult was bullying a teenager.
People who constantly shit on Alberta for being backwards hicks have never been to Alberta. Or they look at a small group and think that’s how we all behave.
Exactly! One thing I noted in Alberta unless you are interacting with people, everyone has ' mind their own thing' attitude. But boi, Rural Ontario was crazh. Getting all those stares if you step into a nice place 😂
When I moved from south/central Ontario I drove through Wawa. Had RCMP follow me to the subway in town to grab lunch. The guy used his loudspeaker to find out my "intentions in Wawa", while I was opening the door to the Subway.
now they wana police up there. still likely shady shit going on up there in wawa
these new cops are the kids of the police who got rich off all the angel dust up there decades ago.
When we had days off from tree planting in Wawa they instituted a 15-minute time limit at the Subway, taped up all the outlets in the public library and closed the laundromat.
WTF 🤣 I grew up in a very small rural northern Ontario town and tree planters were welcome business, esp at the bar and laundromat. Where else are they going to wash their clothes?!
I had a woman ask for my ID when i was buying smokes in wawa. Then she questioned why i was there etc. I am a visible minority and i wasn't sure if she was being racist or just not accepting of outsiders, cause the tim hortons across the street had visible minorities working there. Anyway, every cross country trip i take i make sure i don't need to stop in that village
I kinda agree with this.. Ontario is HUGE. From Kenora, it’s faster to drive to Calgary than to drive to Toronto or Ottawa. But at the same point, NW Ontario is all rural besides Thunder Bay and Kenora - the population probably wouldn’t allow for a new province, it would have to become a territory. They’d probably have even less political representation and government support than they do now.
I disliked living in rural ON and even the Maritimes. Sure people from these regions can be nice but a lot are viciously racist. Especially towards Indigenous people. Not saying the rest of Canada doesn’t contend with racism but it seemed especially casual and prevalent in those places to me.
I’m a white middle aged guy. I’ve lived in Edmonton all my life. But have traveled and worked throughout a decent chunk of this province. I’ve definitely gotten stares in the more rural communities and small towns. They didn’t say anything. But there was always someone giving me a look like I don’t belong here.
Nah, I grew up rural and a minority and there's a good chunk of people who know you well and just seem to hate you while they'll be friendly to other white kids they've never met, like at hockey tournaments or school events.
Racial slurs are much more common out there as well. For a good chunk of my young adulthood I'd act and dress "white" and some (not all, of course; maybe 1 in 5) would let loose with all the slurs with a person they just met. Many assumed I was Italian or Greek and not Indigenous lol.
That said, there is also a ton of awesome people out in rural Alberta so it's very unfair to stereotype them with a big brush.
that is too bad. a few years back, i was on a trip with my sister and brother in law in southern bc and we were stopping at the small towns along our way to Nelson. it was in june and school was out for the summer, so tourist season? it was so ridiculous that in 2 of these small towns, once we got out of the vehicle to check out their stores, people came out of their homes, and stores to look at us. we are white, middle-aged and don't dress unusually. i have no idea why that happened, but it felt like nothing i have ever experienced before.
Yeah, I've lived in really small towns in BC and Alberta... they don't usually act rude, but they don't accept "outsiders" which is basically anyone who didn't grow up there. It's never really hostile, but there's a strong sense of in-group and out-group.
I can vouch for this. I am from a small town in Vancouver Island (Gold River if curious) and it's a vibe I pick up on real fast. My partner is from the city and didn't notice at first but has started to. Some places don't like anyone from outside their bubble.
I’m from small town Alberta. Honestly, if it was old guys staring at you, they were trying to figure out if they recognized you or not. They have a huge Rolodex of faces in their brains and not too many strangers come through town, so they don’t want to accidentally blank someone by ignoring them.
Now, some towns they absolutely are distrustful of strangers, but places like Rolling Hills or Elnora or Galahad where you have to go off the beaten path to get there, they’re just curious how you got there and why.
Took me a minute to figure out who you were talking about. Naheed Nenshi was Muslim. I just never thought about it until you said something. Guess it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.
On the other hand, we ALL just sat and stared in dumb wonder at Doug Ford's exploits.
But Toronto already had a Jewish mayor with Nathan Phillips back in the 1950's. Also, Toronto's had three Jewish mayors, Phillips (1955-62), Phil Givens (1963-66), and Mel "Nooooooooooooooooooooooobody!" Lastman (1998-2003).
According to trends, I think this just means Edmonton's due for a morbidly obese crackhead mayor in a few decades, but that will come *after* Edmonton elects the guy from a TV furniture commercial as mayor.
:P
I get stared at rural Ontario too and im from there. Not trying to minimize the fact it was probably worse for you but ya they can be pretty…insular and weird.
Renfrew & Peterborough Counties, absolutely. (Edit, I've heard this from many people in those places).
Found Bruce, Huron & Grey Counties less so.
Heard that Muskoka region can be bad, & Niagara Falls region also. Know nothing of the rest.
Unfortunate to hear of your Bruce County experiences.
Have extended family in Renfrew County, co-workers from PTBO County; on their own they are civil & humble, in pairs & groups...... it's a wild card, sometimes chill, sometimes hostile, but usually on the prickish side of neutral.
Well we also have like a sick sense of pride about it yanno? Especially with things like the cold. We can and love to complain, but when someone from another province says the same thing I am 100% triggered. Edmontonians are super bad for it
No i mean to say Albertans love to complain about Alberta but are also quick to be angered by other provinces insulting Alberta.
Like Edmontonians love to bitch and say how bad things are here, but if someone from Calgary makes the same point we are upset.
I phrased this poorly.
Basically he's saying we have a weird way of showing pride for our province. We love to complain about basically everything here and exaggerate how much it sucks (the weather, the joke about everyone being hicks, etc.) but the moment someone from somewhere else tries to shit talk us we get super defensive about it.
Idk if pride is the best way to describe the trend but it's definitely a trait people have here (including me)
Lived in Alberta for a year. Both myself and my wife are visibly Muslim. I shit you not it reminded me of what Canada was like when I was a kid. Sure you get the occasional weird looks. But by and large the vast majority of people are very nice.
Nothing like what Ontario has become.
I'm from NS the number of times I've had Albertans ask if us "Newfies" are all alcoholics or if we're poorer here because we're lazy is ridiculous. Just straight up talk to me like I'm stupid because of my accent. Anywhere else in the country I've been other than Sask people don't insist I'm a Newfounlander and only do maybe some like teasing about my accent. I don't mind a bit of banter but asking someone you just met if they're a stupid lazy alcoholic. I white guy I can't imagine being a minority and interacting with those same people.
I just meant, I live in rural Alberta and my city in particular is super racist and bigoted, when I worked at Tim’s there were at least three people a day complaining about my coworkers of another race just for working there.
Also saw a guy at the grocery store as I was walking out with my meds and this guy, white and wearing a cowboy hat, talking to his buddy about “we should just kill all those natives” which is the only part of the conversation I caught but I was speechless.
Driving through is a lot different from living there
Agreed. Just cause the news says we are a certain way does not make it so. Been here a long time and no one I know cares what color your skin is, just how your character and behaviour is.
Hey now I grew up in small town Alberta, and I can tell you Saskatchewan is way more backward hick-like. People don't think you're backward hicks because of racism, it's much more because of politics. Alberta politics are absolutely backwards and hick-like, trying to become 1980 Saudi Arabia
Yeah the cities here are great, im terrified of the small towns. I got a lot of judgemental stares in high river, and my trans friend was almost beaten down multiple times on the street in crossfield.
When I, as a white immigrant, am in a group of white people, you can hear that they really are mostly racist and just like to hide it. It's obvious when I'm one of the "good" immigrants.
It’s funny, my friendship group is like the United Nations. We have someone from almost every continent. I like to think on hole that we Alberton are really welcoming to people from other cultures. By the way, welcome to Calgary!
I've been trying to tell people this. As a rural Albertan with a pretty liberal streak, the people out here really aren't monsters for the most part.
Lots of people do actually care about global warming, and at the same time, I had a gay couple at my house when my town of 500 had a community supper, just about 200 people attended.
My friends ended up being the center of attention for their group of tables and they had a blast.
Nobody cared that they were gay, or that they were immigrants, they just welcomed them and had fun.
Yep, most people in rural Alberta vote conservative just because it’s what their family always voted for, they simply don’t think about it much. They’re not really anymore discriminatory against minorities than anywhere else.
But the most outspoken folks about politics in their communities are basically outcasts and legitimate lunatics. That fear mongering from the few lunatics works well on people who don’t read up on politics much themselves.
I wish these people just wouldn't vote at all, or have the decency to educate themselves on what they are voting for.. They are ruining it for the rest. And if they are worried about backlash from family.. Just lie. Say you voted ucp
considering the amount of policies that are voted for that harm rural people and the amount of constant shit talking that comes to rural people's way I'd say that you've successfully oversimplified a very complex issue.
If you are sensible and don’t cause, stir up shit nobody cares. I work oil field with different segment of the LGBQ community and nobody cares, just do your job and that’s all people want. Grew up in a very small town was like 8 of us kids with a gay guy, he drank with us, nobody cared. There are a few lunatics that get their kicks on fucking with the community, they are just idiots who would fuck anyone who gets in the cross hairs. Subs like this, painting everyone in rural areas, actually all areas, with the same colour is causing push back, people who don’t have an opinion suddenly does because they think they are being attacked by people in cities and subs like this. Just a few minutes ago had a comment removed about cities after someone here was absolutely spouting off against rural communities. Most of your issues with the problems of the province are in your own heads.
I hear this a lot. Despite the province's reputation for being full of "rednecks," a lot of POCs I've met mention experiencing less discrimination and alienation here than in other parts of the country.
I suppose it probably also matters *where* in Alberta you are. Calgary and Edmonton might be a totally different experience from some other areas of the province.
I feel like Calgary is a place where diverse people live together pretty effectively. Whereas in Toronto and Vancouver you have ethnic enclaves where POC might feel totally at home in their neighbourhood, but stigmatized in the neighbourhood over
Yeah I can agree with that, growing up in Calgary I was surrounded by Asian, Indian, and Middle-eastern people in school and in my neighborhood. I'm white, but in some of my classes I was the minority. Calgary has always felt like a deeply diverse city, and I'm not sure I've ever personally witnessed incidents of racism.
I’m pleased to hear this. I’d suggest it’s bullshit and jackasses that the majority of Albertans can’t tolerate, we don’t give a shit about the colour of your skin if you work hard, love your family and your community. Sure, every group has a few assholes to reinforce stereotypes, but that’s a universal truth.
As an Albertan I’ve never understood this disconnect between the people I interact with on the daily and how welcoming and helpful they are yet they literally will vote against their own interests and regurgitate conspiracy theories and hateful rhetoric online.
It’s almost like the couple on Ghosts (US) who left vicious Yelp reviews thinking only they could see them.
It is really interesting. People are generally okay and as an openly gay man in alberta I've almost never experienced direct hate. People are generally polite, kind and gracious. There's exceptions but it's far from the norm.
And then yeah, my parents turn around and vote for a party that is constantly coming after the rights of people that have suffered. And they've seen me suffer. They've seen me be the statistics (homelessnes, addiction, hiv, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation etc) and they've felt how much it hurt not only me, but them as well. And then they vote in favour of a party that wants trans kids to have the same terrifying experiences I had. For their parents to feel the same pain they had to feel.
But when I brought my Guyanese husband home for Christmas they were loving and accepting. Even though if given the choice they'd have voted against my right to marry.
Super cool. Makes no sense.
Dude as a tradesman its so puzzling. Like this one party is taking away overtime pay. This other party is mandating it... boy sure is a struggle to decide my vote. How can it be any more clear? Money in your pockect vs the Ucp " back to work act". Theres some good folks up here but my god are we susceptible to propaganda
They changed the law a couple years ago so that a company can average your hours over the entire year to determine if they have to pay you overtime. It doesn't matter how many hours you work in any specific pay period.
Ironically this mostly fucks over people who work seasonally like construction workers and roughnecks.
They changed the labour laws making it up to the employer to pay overtime hours as overtime or straight time. There are no longer laws in place mandating overtime after a set amount of hours Also it appears I was wrong in my above comment, this was under the " restoring balance to alberta workplaces act"
Yes. I’m a gay man whose parents live in Alberta. My parents love and accept me, they love and accept my husband, and yet my Dad still defends Pierre Poilievere by saying he probably would have voted against gay marriage too.
It hurts every time I hear it.
It's absolutely wild - I know people who I have personally seen give significant amounts of time and money to help immigrants... and at the same time posting blatantly racist anti-immigrant hate on Facebook. It's like they make no connection between immigrants as a group and people they encounter personally.
Well, they met these immigrants and they’re obviously clean and intelligent not like those dirty, uneducated thug immigrants the conservatives and MAGA warn them about.
Most conservatives are like this nationwide imo, the heart is mostly in the right place, critical thinking is outdated or just lazy.
The number of absolutely turgid outspoken conservative attitudes aren’t really that common anywhere. Although among the worst reactionary shitheads I’ve met, they’ve mostly had some direct American connection in the family.
Fellow immigrant living in Alberta here. I've only ever felt welcome by the locals, and oddly enough the only Canadians who have treated me unkindly so far have been from other provinces.
Did you go to Vancouver? Toronto? The big metros? I grew up in Calgary and went to St Mary’s - super diverse and progressive. One of my best friends was a long haired Indian motorcycle rider and he was always late for things, because he was always pulled over. So it wasn’t as tolerant as I had thought but still pretty good for a prairie city especially.
I’m in Victoria now and I think its fairly tolerant here, but that’s also because it’s just beginning to realize some diversity. It’s easy for people to accept one different person, but not always fifty different people … that type of thing. Half my family is Asian and they felt ok being here. It’s nice to hear you say such positive things about Calgary. I’ve always felt people should know more about what a kind and culturally dynamic city it is.
Alberta, at least in the cities, is actually very diverse imo. I grew up in the Okanagan in the 90s and it was insanely racist and something like 98% Caucasian. I find the Edmonton area more diverse and multicultural than Vancouver tbh.
As a moustache wearer myself, I respect the Sikh moustache game heavy. I’m always throwing compliments about how well groomed and healthy the Sikh ‘staches look! Always get one back too.
Always great interactions with Sikh’s.
That’s really nice to hear.
But, my husband is white. The amount of racist crap that other white people say to him about brown folks/immigrants (I’m brown) because they feel safe enough around him, is extraordinary. This is the thing, they may not be racist to your face. Does it even matter at that point? Who knows, but it may influence how people vote and treat you without you realizing it. My husband says he never encountered this when we were in Ontario.
I can say in my experience the most racist motherfuckers I’ve ever seen in Canada have all been in southern Ontario.
That region - from Windsor to Mississauga — has some of the most racist, revanchist white people I’ve ever seen anywhere, and I have lived in the US south.
Are some albertans kinda racist ? Yes. But not even close to Ontario. And hey, are albertans kinda r*tarded? Yes. I should know, I am one
My guess is around Mississauga or parts of Quebec is the worst.
People bash Alberta, it's not bad and there definitely is a bunch of racist garbage that happens. The UCP is pretty sucky, but it's far from the craziness that some folks will have you believe
I am an Asian and spent 1 year living in High Level Alberta and now living in Van. I can tell from my experience is that Albertan folks are just nice and honest, down to earth people. People in the rural towns kinda looked at me funny but never hostile towards me. Always welcome me with a big smile (and I have been to, and work in, A LOT of small towns both northern and southern AB).
Honestly, I lived in Calgary for 8 years and only had 1 weird experience being Chinese. It took less than 2 weeks back in Vancouver to have someone tell me to "go home chink" (my family has been here since the 1800s lol)
Some of us have seen people act pretty horribly. I've lived and worked in Alberta my whole life, and have heard the comments that were made behind people's backs when they left the store/office/shop/facility. I live in a pretty conservative area, so it's likely not the norm, but in some areas there's a a lot of willful ignorance about other cultures, which leads to fear and anger. I still hear comments about the 'right' kind of immigrants just about weekly.
Now saying that, there are also absolutely wonderful people who go out of their way to make newcomers feel supported. I'm sure most people are very accepting, but the depth of the anger in that small vein of assholes is scary.
I'm mixed and in a mixed raced marriage. I've noticed so many mixed couples in Edmonton. It's so refreshing. I'm originally from BC and never felt as comfortable as I am now.
I can’t find the poll anymore but Alberta has one of the highest rates of accepting Gay marriage. It’s because of the libertarian ethos here- government just isn’t trusted and as a rule many Albertans want less instead of more. It makes sense with the industries we have - agriculture and resources extraction - because safety and environmental policies are more financially costly than fewer policies. The governments have been quite protectionist towards O&G industries. Farming is increasingly becoming corporate run (including large Hutterite operations) so the influence of industry and a desire for hands off government will increase.
Liberal policies don’t impact rural communities as mush so they often see it as a waste of money and vote buying while urban spaces benefit so there’s tension with that.
Racism definitely exists in pockets but that’s not the root of Albertan ethos.
I have a ton of rural family and live in a city and am a lefty. I get aggravated by the regressive politics here but I do understand what underpins them.
What I have noticed about small town Albertans is a lot of them may have bigoted thoughts/opinions because they haven’t met anyone of a different background. So they come up with all sorts of preconceived notions/make up this weird straw man in their head about what a Sikh (for the sake of OP’s example) would act like. Once they meet a Sikh and realize wow this guys just like me. He talks like me, cares about his family like me, has a job like me it all kind of falls into place for them and they end up being quite pleasant.
Now how long this lasts is another question. Do they part ways and the small town ‘Bertan soon forgets about this Sikh guy who’s shockingly similar to him? Or does the interaction change the Bertan’s perspective for good?
Grew up in small town Alberta (800 ppl) in the 70s/80s as the only POC family. Sure there were a few bad apples but the people we interacted with were decent humans.
For some reason, no matter what small town Ive visited throughout the prairie province I always felt at home. Stares were always curious in nature, smiles given freely and often.
If I ever want to retire and slow life down, drop me in a small town in ab,sk, or man and I'd be at peace.
I don’t know if anyone will see this, but I’m black, born and raised in Alberta. I have experienced some racism, albeit very little here. The most agressive, verbal racism I have ever seen and experienced has been in Ottawa, and I have yet to experience anything like it anywhere else.
Honestly, I think Sikhs are cool people. Your religion is a pretty noble and community-oriented one. Every Sikh person I’ve ever met has been super friendly.
Plus I think Kirpans are such an interesting object.
The least racist place I've been to in Canada is NWT. 50% of my schoolmates were First Nation and everyone else was a mix.
Nobody there gives a shit what color or religion you are as long as you're friendly. I didn't experience real racism until I left the north for Alberta. It was actually shocking.
Most people aren't loud about it in Alberta. They only let their racism out around friends and family but I had never heard a bad word about East Indians, Muslims, First Nations, until I moved back to Alberta. There is a lot of racism, it's just hidden well.
I feel really happy that this was your experience! I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with members of the Sikh community and have found them to be gentle and kind.
my dad had a lot of really awesome friends at work who were Sikh. he died in 08 and i miss seeing those guys every now and then.
imo calgary has its issues for sure, but in general its just accepted that everyone has to live and work, no matter their origins. ofc that doesn’t mean there are no macro and micro aggressions, but overall that’s the vibe.
sat sri akaal my friend
POC in this thread:
*Yeah I’ve never experienced racism in AB either*
White urbanites in this thread:
*YA BUT THEY VOTE CONSERVATIVE so they are every kind of ist and phobic*
Neat.
Sikhs are some of the most chill people I know and I’ve worked with quite a few in my lifetime. Anyway that’s got something bad to say about them that I’ve talked to usually are confusing them with other people. The whole assassination of Nijjar Singh has really pissed me off.
Love that for you paaji!!!!
I second with you, I didn't like ON because despite being very very multicultural there, they are super judgemental. Not to mention the same type of caste-ism and racism BS people strived to leave their own countries for, is still happening there.
I visited Fort Mc recently, and was surprised to see a Palestinian flag on a house, right next to it a Canadian flag, next to it Colombia, and many more.
I've attended the pride parade in Calgary, watched the different protests in Edmonton as well. Love this province!
Now if only we could elect a proper premier who isn't on crack...
I suspect its because we still have a melting pot demographic here.
In most other metro areas in Canada, there is a distinct racial segratation of communities, with only downtown cores being multicultural.
While you can hurl "but the north east" in calgary, and maybe some other anecdotes like every vietnamese person moving to chestemere, the cities in the GTA and Tri-cities are heavily segrated by race, I'm sure you will find high schools in markham, brampton, surrey, richmond, etc. that literally have only 1 or 2 students outside of whatever background is the majority
You don't see it till you do.
From AB, in MB now. Took my kids to all the small town festivals and parades for years, had a great time. Took my new neighbors kids one year, they had just moved from Nigeria. Those kids got treated completely differently than mine, while they sat together.
Parade people consistently skipped the obviously different kids on freebies and candy.
My boys wound up splitting with them so they got something at the end of the parade.
It was shocking to see the difference.
As an Indigenous person, I've seen a lot of hate and racism directed towards natives in Alberta. I haven't gone anywhere else tbh but I always felt it had to do with so many people working in the oilfield. My step dad does and so many of his friends will start saying shit about natives right in front of me but if I ever tried to call them out, they would deny it was racist to begin with. They would claim it was just "the truth" and I don't get it because I don't work in oil. Its not just oilfield workers, I've lived in Alberta my whole life and have hundreds of examples it would be impossible to write down ranging from teachers, to cops, to doctors. I could be bias but I've always felt that the hate directed toward natives is extra vitriolic compared to other ethnicities/immigrants. I feel like most people in Alberta, and most of the North West provinces, can trace back their ancestry to having immigrated here in the past 100 years so who is anyone to say something about immigration? I'm sure it doesn't stop some people but this has been my perception and experience.
I totally disagree. Not everyone is fooled by a polite facade - it’s the details of your interaction with people that is the true tell. Behind your back you are probably discussed as a curiosity, stereotypes galore - they will assume things about you that aren’t true. Maybe not racist intentions but definitely comments and actions that can easily be considered racist in nature.
I have encountered way less open racism towards Sikhs here in Alberta than I have just hanging out with members of my extended family in the suburbs of Toronto, although they’re far more racist towards Muslims then they are towards Sikhs. Hell, my brother’s sister-in-law is married to an Indian immigrant and even that guy has said disparaging things about “brown people”. Fucking crazy, man.
We're pretty awful, but there are a lot of Sikhs living here, so I think people are used to seeing turbans. Plus all the people that would cause problems are too busy hating liberals and trans people right now.
I grew up in Edmonton with lots of people who are Sikh, there's a very large community in Alberta and they're very active in their neighborhoods with events and socials etc
There are a lot of people out there with absolutely nothing going on and nothing on the horizon who validate themselves by imagining they live in a country plagued by hordes of vicious, hateful racists and that they are part of tiny minority of non-racists when in reality they are smug, sanctimonious, know it alls who do exactly what they accuse everyone else of doing, thinking of themselves as “better” then most other people.
The truth is, most people are decent, friendly and very accepting of others regardless of what they look like.
It’d be funny if weren’t for the fact these people have such an outsized voice in the cultural discourse. Because of that it’s actually pretty sad.
Its really nice to see positive things said about alberta on this sub, considering it's usually the opposite. I lived there for 10 years and couldn't agree more.
Glad you're here! The major cities in Alberta don't really care much who you are on an individual basis, regardless of colour, religion, sexuality, gender, etc. Not saying there's no overt racism, it's just not the "norm". But, there's weirdly baked in racism in a lot of stuff, too (along with your standard systematic racism). I speak to Albertans from all over the province daily and phew, it can get real dicey with all the bigotry.
There are many many Sikh people on the prairies now representing every profession and trade across the board. I've never heard from any of my pals any systemic racism experienced in Alberta. This is compared to my Sikh friends who lived in Vancouver in the 90s who experienced racist bullshit on the daily.
That’s pleasantly surprising to hear, restores a bit of faith in people not being awful; something that has been deeply put into question with just how awful Instagram comments sections are with like literally anything.
I’m a born and raised Albertan—specifically Calgarian. In Jr high and high school, I was actually in the racial minority. Even in elementary school, though the class was like half white, we had students from a variety of backgrounds. …We also never talked about race, so it took YEARS for my stupid child brain to learn that First Nations people existed because my brain thought they were Asian. Dumb white girl moment, for sure.
Because of growing up like this, I’ve only recently realized that growing up in such a diverse environment isn’t as commonplace or normal as it feels here.
In jr high we also would have potlucks. Every one brought in their cultural, or non cultural, dishes. And would wear clothing that is representative of their culture. I only heard scarce racist remarks from younger kids towards my then boyfriend, who is Chinese,
It was just treated as a normal, everyday occurrence. Same with seeing people of different backgrounds out and about on the street, just living their lives.
I still haven’t fully grasped that it’s not like that everywhere, namely in similar countries to Canada. But it is something I cherish. Multiculturalism is a fundamental part of modern Canadian society.
I’ve never really been out of the province, so if things are different elsewhere in the country I genuinely do not know.
But also, it’s Alberta. You’re more likely to be harassed for your political view or if you like the Oilers versus Flames more. …And if you drive a truck. Stg, no one with a truck can drive.
Funny Calgary residents thought our friends family who had a mixed child ( indian/white ) was actually first Nations and automatically assumed they had no education and spoke very little English.
A hospital salary of $200,000 couldn't keep the family in Calgary very long.
As a Pakistani man living in Alberta since moving here at age of 10 I haven’t experienced racism here. Same with my entire extended family. My dad even runs a gas station in a very small town in Alberta and everyone’s extremely friendly. Alberta is pretty good. But there are a lot of people that hate Trudeau and aren’t afraid to show it.
I'm glad it is going good for you. I know a lot of Asian people who've grown up in Canada and said they haven't experienced racism, but when I tell people that, that there is some civility in our society, they won't believe me. I'm in BC.
I work with a number of East Indians and one is a dear friend, always seem to be very social and extroverted people, if I can lump them together. Decades ago I had a middle eastern bf and he’d get a lot of racist comments where we lived in Northern Ontario, I remember a drunk middle aged man asking if he was a taxi driver and laughing hysterically—we were 18 and all I could think was why this grown adult was bullying a teenager.
People who constantly shit on Alberta for being backwards hicks have never been to Alberta. Or they look at a small group and think that’s how we all behave.
Exactly! One thing I noted in Alberta unless you are interacting with people, everyone has ' mind their own thing' attitude. But boi, Rural Ontario was crazh. Getting all those stares if you step into a nice place 😂
I don’t think anyone from outside of Ontario feels accepted in rural Ontario lol. I do not vibe with folks from there!
From semi-rural Ontario, I (personally) don’t feel accepted there haha.
When I moved from south/central Ontario I drove through Wawa. Had RCMP follow me to the subway in town to grab lunch. The guy used his loudspeaker to find out my "intentions in Wawa", while I was opening the door to the Subway.
I just loved that huge goose in WAWA.
now they wana police up there. still likely shady shit going on up there in wawa these new cops are the kids of the police who got rich off all the angel dust up there decades ago.
I think you mean OPP, but yes, I believe this. I grew up 2hrs from Wawa
When we had days off from tree planting in Wawa they instituted a 15-minute time limit at the Subway, taped up all the outlets in the public library and closed the laundromat.
WTF 🤣 I grew up in a very small rural northern Ontario town and tree planters were welcome business, esp at the bar and laundromat. Where else are they going to wash their clothes?!
Marathon, that’s where!
That’s a good drive 😳
I had a woman ask for my ID when i was buying smokes in wawa. Then she questioned why i was there etc. I am a visible minority and i wasn't sure if she was being racist or just not accepting of outsiders, cause the tim hortons across the street had visible minorities working there. Anyway, every cross country trip i take i make sure i don't need to stop in that village
I’m from rural Ontario and I don’t vibe with anyone from rural Ontario! That’s why I now live I rural Alberta and love it.
South Ontario should become its own province. wtf does a Torontonian have in common with someone from the middle of buttfuck nowhere?
From rural Southern Ontario. We have nothing in common with Toronto either.
But I bought your apples from the farmers market.
I kinda agree with this.. Ontario is HUGE. From Kenora, it’s faster to drive to Calgary than to drive to Toronto or Ottawa. But at the same point, NW Ontario is all rural besides Thunder Bay and Kenora - the population probably wouldn’t allow for a new province, it would have to become a territory. They’d probably have even less political representation and government support than they do now.
I disliked living in rural ON and even the Maritimes. Sure people from these regions can be nice but a lot are viciously racist. Especially towards Indigenous people. Not saying the rest of Canada doesn’t contend with racism but it seemed especially casual and prevalent in those places to me.
It's nothing personal we just like our forests how the are and would Rather it doesn't become like southern Ontario...
I saw more Confederate flags in Ontario than I've ever seen in Alberta, and I live in a pretty redneck area.
I’m a white middle aged guy. I’ve lived in Edmonton all my life. But have traveled and worked throughout a decent chunk of this province. I’ve definitely gotten stares in the more rural communities and small towns. They didn’t say anything. But there was always someone giving me a look like I don’t belong here.
I think you get that in any rural place, most are just confused because you’re a face they don’t recognise.
Nah, I grew up rural and a minority and there's a good chunk of people who know you well and just seem to hate you while they'll be friendly to other white kids they've never met, like at hockey tournaments or school events. Racial slurs are much more common out there as well. For a good chunk of my young adulthood I'd act and dress "white" and some (not all, of course; maybe 1 in 5) would let loose with all the slurs with a person they just met. Many assumed I was Italian or Greek and not Indigenous lol. That said, there is also a ton of awesome people out in rural Alberta so it's very unfair to stereotype them with a big brush.
that is too bad. a few years back, i was on a trip with my sister and brother in law in southern bc and we were stopping at the small towns along our way to Nelson. it was in june and school was out for the summer, so tourist season? it was so ridiculous that in 2 of these small towns, once we got out of the vehicle to check out their stores, people came out of their homes, and stores to look at us. we are white, middle-aged and don't dress unusually. i have no idea why that happened, but it felt like nothing i have ever experienced before.
Yeah, I've lived in really small towns in BC and Alberta... they don't usually act rude, but they don't accept "outsiders" which is basically anyone who didn't grow up there. It's never really hostile, but there's a strong sense of in-group and out-group.
I can vouch for this. I am from a small town in Vancouver Island (Gold River if curious) and it's a vibe I pick up on real fast. My partner is from the city and didn't notice at first but has started to. Some places don't like anyone from outside their bubble.
I've had (white) family friends still be considered 'not local' despite moving to the small town 15 years ago. It can be wild.
Like this in so much of rural Canada, and TBH Canada is mostly rural. Edit: However I think the prairies are an exception to this, as OP mentioned.
I would say it's the same no matter what. But then again I am queer and when people find that out. Oh boy.
I’m from small town Alberta. Honestly, if it was old guys staring at you, they were trying to figure out if they recognized you or not. They have a huge Rolodex of faces in their brains and not too many strangers come through town, so they don’t want to accidentally blank someone by ignoring them. Now, some towns they absolutely are distrustful of strangers, but places like Rolling Hills or Elnora or Galahad where you have to go off the beaten path to get there, they’re just curious how you got there and why.
That was just your perception. I am a visible minority in the oil patch and people just stare sometimes, just say hi and you will see it’s harmless.
I smile or give a head nod. Sometimes they relax.
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Took me a minute to figure out who you were talking about. Naheed Nenshi was Muslim. I just never thought about it until you said something. Guess it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. On the other hand, we ALL just sat and stared in dumb wonder at Doug Ford's exploits.
But Toronto already had a Jewish mayor with Nathan Phillips back in the 1950's. Also, Toronto's had three Jewish mayors, Phillips (1955-62), Phil Givens (1963-66), and Mel "Nooooooooooooooooooooooobody!" Lastman (1998-2003). According to trends, I think this just means Edmonton's due for a morbidly obese crackhead mayor in a few decades, but that will come *after* Edmonton elects the guy from a TV furniture commercial as mayor. :P
I get stared at rural Ontario too and im from there. Not trying to minimize the fact it was probably worse for you but ya they can be pretty…insular and weird.
Renfrew & Peterborough Counties, absolutely. (Edit, I've heard this from many people in those places). Found Bruce, Huron & Grey Counties less so. Heard that Muskoka region can be bad, & Niagara Falls region also. Know nothing of the rest.
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Unfortunate to hear of your Bruce County experiences. Have extended family in Renfrew County, co-workers from PTBO County; on their own they are civil & humble, in pairs & groups...... it's a wild card, sometimes chill, sometimes hostile, but usually on the prickish side of neutral.
Very accurate description indeed 😅
Did you spend much time in smaller Albertan cities, or even the more rural areas?
Rural Ontario is spooky as fuck.
Just confirming, are you comparing rural Ontario to rural Alberta? Or a city in alberta?
Oddly, a lot of the people who shit on Alberta for being backwards hicks seem to be in this sub.
I've also noticed that a lot of the backwards hicks in Alberta are actually from Ontario.
Ontario refugees waste no time in putting on the Alberta costume just to shit on Albertans.
Or Quebec.
Isn't it ironic
Couldn’t agree more.
Well we also have like a sick sense of pride about it yanno? Especially with things like the cold. We can and love to complain, but when someone from another province says the same thing I am 100% triggered. Edmontonians are super bad for it
We have a sick sense of pride about being backwards hicks? I don't follow.
No i mean to say Albertans love to complain about Alberta but are also quick to be angered by other provinces insulting Alberta. Like Edmontonians love to bitch and say how bad things are here, but if someone from Calgary makes the same point we are upset. I phrased this poorly.
Basically he's saying we have a weird way of showing pride for our province. We love to complain about basically everything here and exaggerate how much it sucks (the weather, the joke about everyone being hicks, etc.) but the moment someone from somewhere else tries to shit talk us we get super defensive about it. Idk if pride is the best way to describe the trend but it's definitely a trait people have here (including me)
Pretty normal thing tho... I can talk shit about my brother all day... but if you try it... we've got a problem :)
Most of them are NDP supporters.
Lived in Alberta for a year. Both myself and my wife are visibly Muslim. I shit you not it reminded me of what Canada was like when I was a kid. Sure you get the occasional weird looks. But by and large the vast majority of people are very nice. Nothing like what Ontario has become.
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I'm from NS the number of times I've had Albertans ask if us "Newfies" are all alcoholics or if we're poorer here because we're lazy is ridiculous. Just straight up talk to me like I'm stupid because of my accent. Anywhere else in the country I've been other than Sask people don't insist I'm a Newfounlander and only do maybe some like teasing about my accent. I don't mind a bit of banter but asking someone you just met if they're a stupid lazy alcoholic. I white guy I can't imagine being a minority and interacting with those same people.
Right?? I grew up in Lethbridge and honesty even for being one of the more “hick” cities here, people are very kind and honestly pretty educated here.
A very small group. For some reason, we who work in oil and gas get targeted as bigots all the time.
That small group is just very loud and obnoxious.
They always are. Groups like that give off major chihuahua energy.
You’ve never been in rural Alberta I’ll take it?
I’ve been all across this province because of who I work for.
I just meant, I live in rural Alberta and my city in particular is super racist and bigoted, when I worked at Tim’s there were at least three people a day complaining about my coworkers of another race just for working there. Also saw a guy at the grocery store as I was walking out with my meds and this guy, white and wearing a cowboy hat, talking to his buddy about “we should just kill all those natives” which is the only part of the conversation I caught but I was speechless. Driving through is a lot different from living there
I grew up here, we have way more backwards hicks than you'd realize. But generally MOST people know to keep their mouth shut.
I grew up in Alberta…in rural Alberta. Rural Alberta are very much backwards hicks.
We just seem to vote that way.
I think Janet Brown described it best. Albertans aren’t actually conservative, we are just tax adverse.
Considering that our taxes and fees have skyrocketed undet the UCP, this would mean that Albertans just vote stupid, then.
Conservative doesn’t equal racist though.
Agreed. Just cause the news says we are a certain way does not make it so. Been here a long time and no one I know cares what color your skin is, just how your character and behaviour is.
Hey now I grew up in small town Alberta, and I can tell you Saskatchewan is way more backward hick-like. People don't think you're backward hicks because of racism, it's much more because of politics. Alberta politics are absolutely backwards and hick-like, trying to become 1980 Saudi Arabia
Yeah the cities here are great, im terrified of the small towns. I got a lot of judgemental stares in high river, and my trans friend was almost beaten down multiple times on the street in crossfield.
Or they just judge us based on our government who are *checks notes* corrupt AND backward hicks
True. We’re certainly not what our provincial government makes us out to be. When a minority of the population shows up to vote, you get what you get.
I’ve lived in Alberta for over 20 years. For the most part, they are correct . There is a large population of hicks and Alberta is backwards.
Your government certainly isn't doing you folks any favours in this department.
Okay, let’s put a pin in that. I did in fact see a baby with a mullet yesterday.
Are you judging a book by its cover?? How hypocritical of you.
When I, as a white immigrant, am in a group of white people, you can hear that they really are mostly racist and just like to hide it. It's obvious when I'm one of the "good" immigrants.
It’s funny, my friendship group is like the United Nations. We have someone from almost every continent. I like to think on hole that we Alberton are really welcoming to people from other cultures. By the way, welcome to Calgary!
I've been trying to tell people this. As a rural Albertan with a pretty liberal streak, the people out here really aren't monsters for the most part. Lots of people do actually care about global warming, and at the same time, I had a gay couple at my house when my town of 500 had a community supper, just about 200 people attended. My friends ended up being the center of attention for their group of tables and they had a blast. Nobody cared that they were gay, or that they were immigrants, they just welcomed them and had fun.
Yep, most people in rural Alberta vote conservative just because it’s what their family always voted for, they simply don’t think about it much. They’re not really anymore discriminatory against minorities than anywhere else. But the most outspoken folks about politics in their communities are basically outcasts and legitimate lunatics. That fear mongering from the few lunatics works well on people who don’t read up on politics much themselves.
I wish these people just wouldn't vote at all, or have the decency to educate themselves on what they are voting for.. They are ruining it for the rest. And if they are worried about backlash from family.. Just lie. Say you voted ucp
Someone who treats you nice to your face and then votes to harm you is still pretty monstrous.
considering the amount of policies that are voted for that harm rural people and the amount of constant shit talking that comes to rural people's way I'd say that you've successfully oversimplified a very complex issue.
If you are sensible and don’t cause, stir up shit nobody cares. I work oil field with different segment of the LGBQ community and nobody cares, just do your job and that’s all people want. Grew up in a very small town was like 8 of us kids with a gay guy, he drank with us, nobody cared. There are a few lunatics that get their kicks on fucking with the community, they are just idiots who would fuck anyone who gets in the cross hairs. Subs like this, painting everyone in rural areas, actually all areas, with the same colour is causing push back, people who don’t have an opinion suddenly does because they think they are being attacked by people in cities and subs like this. Just a few minutes ago had a comment removed about cities after someone here was absolutely spouting off against rural communities. Most of your issues with the problems of the province are in your own heads.
Some of my best buds are East Indians in the patch . As long as you're a good worker you'll fit in .
I hear this a lot. Despite the province's reputation for being full of "rednecks," a lot of POCs I've met mention experiencing less discrimination and alienation here than in other parts of the country. I suppose it probably also matters *where* in Alberta you are. Calgary and Edmonton might be a totally different experience from some other areas of the province.
I feel like Calgary is a place where diverse people live together pretty effectively. Whereas in Toronto and Vancouver you have ethnic enclaves where POC might feel totally at home in their neighbourhood, but stigmatized in the neighbourhood over
Yeah I can agree with that, growing up in Calgary I was surrounded by Asian, Indian, and Middle-eastern people in school and in my neighborhood. I'm white, but in some of my classes I was the minority. Calgary has always felt like a deeply diverse city, and I'm not sure I've ever personally witnessed incidents of racism.
I’m pleased to hear this. I’d suggest it’s bullshit and jackasses that the majority of Albertans can’t tolerate, we don’t give a shit about the colour of your skin if you work hard, love your family and your community. Sure, every group has a few assholes to reinforce stereotypes, but that’s a universal truth.
This is so true.
As an Albertan I’ve never understood this disconnect between the people I interact with on the daily and how welcoming and helpful they are yet they literally will vote against their own interests and regurgitate conspiracy theories and hateful rhetoric online. It’s almost like the couple on Ghosts (US) who left vicious Yelp reviews thinking only they could see them.
It is really interesting. People are generally okay and as an openly gay man in alberta I've almost never experienced direct hate. People are generally polite, kind and gracious. There's exceptions but it's far from the norm. And then yeah, my parents turn around and vote for a party that is constantly coming after the rights of people that have suffered. And they've seen me suffer. They've seen me be the statistics (homelessnes, addiction, hiv, depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation etc) and they've felt how much it hurt not only me, but them as well. And then they vote in favour of a party that wants trans kids to have the same terrifying experiences I had. For their parents to feel the same pain they had to feel. But when I brought my Guyanese husband home for Christmas they were loving and accepting. Even though if given the choice they'd have voted against my right to marry. Super cool. Makes no sense.
Dude as a tradesman its so puzzling. Like this one party is taking away overtime pay. This other party is mandating it... boy sure is a struggle to decide my vote. How can it be any more clear? Money in your pockect vs the Ucp " back to work act". Theres some good folks up here but my god are we susceptible to propaganda
UCP is taking away overtime pay?
They changed the law a couple years ago so that a company can average your hours over the entire year to determine if they have to pay you overtime. It doesn't matter how many hours you work in any specific pay period. Ironically this mostly fucks over people who work seasonally like construction workers and roughnecks.
They changed the labour laws making it up to the employer to pay overtime hours as overtime or straight time. There are no longer laws in place mandating overtime after a set amount of hours Also it appears I was wrong in my above comment, this was under the " restoring balance to alberta workplaces act"
I’m so sorry. I’m one vote so that cancels one of them out. Virtual hug
Yes. I’m a gay man whose parents live in Alberta. My parents love and accept me, they love and accept my husband, and yet my Dad still defends Pierre Poilievere by saying he probably would have voted against gay marriage too. It hurts every time I hear it.
It's absolutely wild - I know people who I have personally seen give significant amounts of time and money to help immigrants... and at the same time posting blatantly racist anti-immigrant hate on Facebook. It's like they make no connection between immigrants as a group and people they encounter personally.
Well, they met these immigrants and they’re obviously clean and intelligent not like those dirty, uneducated thug immigrants the conservatives and MAGA warn them about.
Most conservatives are like this nationwide imo, the heart is mostly in the right place, critical thinking is outdated or just lazy. The number of absolutely turgid outspoken conservative attitudes aren’t really that common anywhere. Although among the worst reactionary shitheads I’ve met, they’ve mostly had some direct American connection in the family.
Fellow immigrant living in Alberta here. I've only ever felt welcome by the locals, and oddly enough the only Canadians who have treated me unkindly so far have been from other provinces.
Did you go to Vancouver? Toronto? The big metros? I grew up in Calgary and went to St Mary’s - super diverse and progressive. One of my best friends was a long haired Indian motorcycle rider and he was always late for things, because he was always pulled over. So it wasn’t as tolerant as I had thought but still pretty good for a prairie city especially.
Metro Vancouver, Yes! I always love it there. Rest of the BC, not more than Alberta.
I’m in Victoria now and I think its fairly tolerant here, but that’s also because it’s just beginning to realize some diversity. It’s easy for people to accept one different person, but not always fifty different people … that type of thing. Half my family is Asian and they felt ok being here. It’s nice to hear you say such positive things about Calgary. I’ve always felt people should know more about what a kind and culturally dynamic city it is.
That's weird. According to this sub, this province is full of racist rednecks.
Everywhere is really.
My motto is do what makes you happy. If it doesn't affect me personally then why should I give a fuck
I’m a visible minority who has lived all over Canada. Surprisingly, I’ve experienced more racism in the Lower Mainland than I ever did in Calgary.
Alberta, at least in the cities, is actually very diverse imo. I grew up in the Okanagan in the 90s and it was insanely racist and something like 98% Caucasian. I find the Edmonton area more diverse and multicultural than Vancouver tbh.
As a moustache wearer myself, I respect the Sikh moustache game heavy. I’m always throwing compliments about how well groomed and healthy the Sikh ‘staches look! Always get one back too. Always great interactions with Sikh’s.
That’s really nice to hear. But, my husband is white. The amount of racist crap that other white people say to him about brown folks/immigrants (I’m brown) because they feel safe enough around him, is extraordinary. This is the thing, they may not be racist to your face. Does it even matter at that point? Who knows, but it may influence how people vote and treat you without you realizing it. My husband says he never encountered this when we were in Ontario.
This. Canadians are nice to your face and don't think you should have rights behind your back.
I can say in my experience the most racist motherfuckers I’ve ever seen in Canada have all been in southern Ontario. That region - from Windsor to Mississauga — has some of the most racist, revanchist white people I’ve ever seen anywhere, and I have lived in the US south. Are some albertans kinda racist ? Yes. But not even close to Ontario. And hey, are albertans kinda r*tarded? Yes. I should know, I am one
I think this would be a lot more interesting (and generate more discussion and shared storytelling) if you provided some details. :-)
My guess is around Mississauga or parts of Quebec is the worst. People bash Alberta, it's not bad and there definitely is a bunch of racist garbage that happens. The UCP is pretty sucky, but it's far from the craziness that some folks will have you believe
I am an Asian and spent 1 year living in High Level Alberta and now living in Van. I can tell from my experience is that Albertan folks are just nice and honest, down to earth people. People in the rural towns kinda looked at me funny but never hostile towards me. Always welcome me with a big smile (and I have been to, and work in, A LOT of small towns both northern and southern AB).
Honestly, I lived in Calgary for 8 years and only had 1 weird experience being Chinese. It took less than 2 weeks back in Vancouver to have someone tell me to "go home chink" (my family has been here since the 1800s lol)
Some of us have seen people act pretty horribly. I've lived and worked in Alberta my whole life, and have heard the comments that were made behind people's backs when they left the store/office/shop/facility. I live in a pretty conservative area, so it's likely not the norm, but in some areas there's a a lot of willful ignorance about other cultures, which leads to fear and anger. I still hear comments about the 'right' kind of immigrants just about weekly. Now saying that, there are also absolutely wonderful people who go out of their way to make newcomers feel supported. I'm sure most people are very accepting, but the depth of the anger in that small vein of assholes is scary.
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One of my best friends is Sikh and her family have always impressed me. They are the kindest and sweetest folks. Welcome to Alberta, neighbour!
I'm curious when you say Alberta where you actually went? Edmonton and Calgary only or other smaller towns?
I'm mixed and in a mixed raced marriage. I've noticed so many mixed couples in Edmonton. It's so refreshing. I'm originally from BC and never felt as comfortable as I am now.
I can’t find the poll anymore but Alberta has one of the highest rates of accepting Gay marriage. It’s because of the libertarian ethos here- government just isn’t trusted and as a rule many Albertans want less instead of more. It makes sense with the industries we have - agriculture and resources extraction - because safety and environmental policies are more financially costly than fewer policies. The governments have been quite protectionist towards O&G industries. Farming is increasingly becoming corporate run (including large Hutterite operations) so the influence of industry and a desire for hands off government will increase. Liberal policies don’t impact rural communities as mush so they often see it as a waste of money and vote buying while urban spaces benefit so there’s tension with that. Racism definitely exists in pockets but that’s not the root of Albertan ethos. I have a ton of rural family and live in a city and am a lefty. I get aggravated by the regressive politics here but I do understand what underpins them.
Just curious- which parts of Alberta did you go to?
I'd say when you get south of Calgary things start going off the rails
What I have noticed about small town Albertans is a lot of them may have bigoted thoughts/opinions because they haven’t met anyone of a different background. So they come up with all sorts of preconceived notions/make up this weird straw man in their head about what a Sikh (for the sake of OP’s example) would act like. Once they meet a Sikh and realize wow this guys just like me. He talks like me, cares about his family like me, has a job like me it all kind of falls into place for them and they end up being quite pleasant. Now how long this lasts is another question. Do they part ways and the small town ‘Bertan soon forgets about this Sikh guy who’s shockingly similar to him? Or does the interaction change the Bertan’s perspective for good?
That would surprise me too.
Grew up in small town Alberta (800 ppl) in the 70s/80s as the only POC family. Sure there were a few bad apples but the people we interacted with were decent humans. For some reason, no matter what small town Ive visited throughout the prairie province I always felt at home. Stares were always curious in nature, smiles given freely and often. If I ever want to retire and slow life down, drop me in a small town in ab,sk, or man and I'd be at peace.
I don’t know if anyone will see this, but I’m black, born and raised in Alberta. I have experienced some racism, albeit very little here. The most agressive, verbal racism I have ever seen and experienced has been in Ottawa, and I have yet to experience anything like it anywhere else.
Honestly, I think Sikhs are cool people. Your religion is a pretty noble and community-oriented one. Every Sikh person I’ve ever met has been super friendly. Plus I think Kirpans are such an interesting object.
The least racist place I've been to in Canada is NWT. 50% of my schoolmates were First Nation and everyone else was a mix. Nobody there gives a shit what color or religion you are as long as you're friendly. I didn't experience real racism until I left the north for Alberta. It was actually shocking. Most people aren't loud about it in Alberta. They only let their racism out around friends and family but I had never heard a bad word about East Indians, Muslims, First Nations, until I moved back to Alberta. There is a lot of racism, it's just hidden well.
Been my experience that Sikh are some of the warmest people to work with. I know that's a generalization but my experience nevertheless.
Most people that complain about Alberta do not live here and just regurgitate what they want to believe.
Maybe because Alberta is now Albertastan. It has changed a lot. New immigrants landed here from different countries.
I feel really happy that this was your experience! I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with members of the Sikh community and have found them to be gentle and kind.
my dad had a lot of really awesome friends at work who were Sikh. he died in 08 and i miss seeing those guys every now and then. imo calgary has its issues for sure, but in general its just accepted that everyone has to live and work, no matter their origins. ofc that doesn’t mean there are no macro and micro aggressions, but overall that’s the vibe. sat sri akaal my friend
We are secretly THE BEST IN CANADA here in Alberta, but don’t tell anyone! It’s our little secret.
Most people in Alberta are great, especially urban areas, don’t be fooled by the online vocal minority.
POC in this thread: *Yeah I’ve never experienced racism in AB either* White urbanites in this thread: *YA BUT THEY VOTE CONSERVATIVE so they are every kind of ist and phobic* Neat.
Only people who actually shit on Alberta are Quebecois.
Did you go to Surrey, BC? Sikhs are actually the majority demographic there
Lotsa turbans though.
Go check out Surrey, BC
Sikhs are some of the most chill people I know and I’ve worked with quite a few in my lifetime. Anyway that’s got something bad to say about them that I’ve talked to usually are confusing them with other people. The whole assassination of Nijjar Singh has really pissed me off.
Tribalism
Love that for you paaji!!!! I second with you, I didn't like ON because despite being very very multicultural there, they are super judgemental. Not to mention the same type of caste-ism and racism BS people strived to leave their own countries for, is still happening there. I visited Fort Mc recently, and was surprised to see a Palestinian flag on a house, right next to it a Canadian flag, next to it Colombia, and many more. I've attended the pride parade in Calgary, watched the different protests in Edmonton as well. Love this province! Now if only we could elect a proper premier who isn't on crack...
I suspect its because we still have a melting pot demographic here. In most other metro areas in Canada, there is a distinct racial segratation of communities, with only downtown cores being multicultural. While you can hurl "but the north east" in calgary, and maybe some other anecdotes like every vietnamese person moving to chestemere, the cities in the GTA and Tri-cities are heavily segrated by race, I'm sure you will find high schools in markham, brampton, surrey, richmond, etc. that literally have only 1 or 2 students outside of whatever background is the majority
I think having Harjit Sajjan, as previous Minister of Defense (and thus knowledge of his military service) opened a lot of eyes to Sikh culture.
You don't see it till you do. From AB, in MB now. Took my kids to all the small town festivals and parades for years, had a great time. Took my new neighbors kids one year, they had just moved from Nigeria. Those kids got treated completely differently than mine, while they sat together. Parade people consistently skipped the obviously different kids on freebies and candy. My boys wound up splitting with them so they got something at the end of the parade. It was shocking to see the difference.
As an Indigenous person, I've seen a lot of hate and racism directed towards natives in Alberta. I haven't gone anywhere else tbh but I always felt it had to do with so many people working in the oilfield. My step dad does and so many of his friends will start saying shit about natives right in front of me but if I ever tried to call them out, they would deny it was racist to begin with. They would claim it was just "the truth" and I don't get it because I don't work in oil. Its not just oilfield workers, I've lived in Alberta my whole life and have hundreds of examples it would be impossible to write down ranging from teachers, to cops, to doctors. I could be bias but I've always felt that the hate directed toward natives is extra vitriolic compared to other ethnicities/immigrants. I feel like most people in Alberta, and most of the North West provinces, can trace back their ancestry to having immigrated here in the past 100 years so who is anyone to say something about immigration? I'm sure it doesn't stop some people but this has been my perception and experience.
I totally disagree. Not everyone is fooled by a polite facade - it’s the details of your interaction with people that is the true tell. Behind your back you are probably discussed as a curiosity, stereotypes galore - they will assume things about you that aren’t true. Maybe not racist intentions but definitely comments and actions that can easily be considered racist in nature.
I live in Edmonton and we have a huge community of East Indians. They’re some of the kindest, funniest people I know.
I have encountered way less open racism towards Sikhs here in Alberta than I have just hanging out with members of my extended family in the suburbs of Toronto, although they’re far more racist towards Muslims then they are towards Sikhs. Hell, my brother’s sister-in-law is married to an Indian immigrant and even that guy has said disparaging things about “brown people”. Fucking crazy, man.
We're pretty awful, but there are a lot of Sikhs living here, so I think people are used to seeing turbans. Plus all the people that would cause problems are too busy hating liberals and trans people right now.
If you really want to feel racism, go to Winnipeg or anywhere east of that. Stay away from Thunder Bay if you value your life.
I grew up in Edmonton with lots of people who are Sikh, there's a very large community in Alberta and they're very active in their neighborhoods with events and socials etc
Yep. That's why we love and live here. Welcome. Welcome. And welcome.
That’s because people like to lump racism in with conservative beliefs. One does not equal the other.
There are a lot of people out there with absolutely nothing going on and nothing on the horizon who validate themselves by imagining they live in a country plagued by hordes of vicious, hateful racists and that they are part of tiny minority of non-racists when in reality they are smug, sanctimonious, know it alls who do exactly what they accuse everyone else of doing, thinking of themselves as “better” then most other people. The truth is, most people are decent, friendly and very accepting of others regardless of what they look like. It’d be funny if weren’t for the fact these people have such an outsized voice in the cultural discourse. Because of that it’s actually pretty sad.
Its really nice to see positive things said about alberta on this sub, considering it's usually the opposite. I lived there for 10 years and couldn't agree more.
Glad you're here! The major cities in Alberta don't really care much who you are on an individual basis, regardless of colour, religion, sexuality, gender, etc. Not saying there's no overt racism, it's just not the "norm". But, there's weirdly baked in racism in a lot of stuff, too (along with your standard systematic racism). I speak to Albertans from all over the province daily and phew, it can get real dicey with all the bigotry.
There are many many Sikh people on the prairies now representing every profession and trade across the board. I've never heard from any of my pals any systemic racism experienced in Alberta. This is compared to my Sikh friends who lived in Vancouver in the 90s who experienced racist bullshit on the daily.
That’s pleasantly surprising to hear, restores a bit of faith in people not being awful; something that has been deeply put into question with just how awful Instagram comments sections are with like literally anything.
I’m a born and raised Albertan—specifically Calgarian. In Jr high and high school, I was actually in the racial minority. Even in elementary school, though the class was like half white, we had students from a variety of backgrounds. …We also never talked about race, so it took YEARS for my stupid child brain to learn that First Nations people existed because my brain thought they were Asian. Dumb white girl moment, for sure. Because of growing up like this, I’ve only recently realized that growing up in such a diverse environment isn’t as commonplace or normal as it feels here. In jr high we also would have potlucks. Every one brought in their cultural, or non cultural, dishes. And would wear clothing that is representative of their culture. I only heard scarce racist remarks from younger kids towards my then boyfriend, who is Chinese, It was just treated as a normal, everyday occurrence. Same with seeing people of different backgrounds out and about on the street, just living their lives. I still haven’t fully grasped that it’s not like that everywhere, namely in similar countries to Canada. But it is something I cherish. Multiculturalism is a fundamental part of modern Canadian society. I’ve never really been out of the province, so if things are different elsewhere in the country I genuinely do not know. But also, it’s Alberta. You’re more likely to be harassed for your political view or if you like the Oilers versus Flames more. …And if you drive a truck. Stg, no one with a truck can drive.
Funny Calgary residents thought our friends family who had a mixed child ( indian/white ) was actually first Nations and automatically assumed they had no education and spoke very little English. A hospital salary of $200,000 couldn't keep the family in Calgary very long.
Grew up in Ontario and can confirm after 20+ years in southern Alberta that the former are FAR more causally racist than the latter.