July 20, 2003
Alberta's image takes a beating
By DR. ROGER GIBBINS -- For the Calgary Sun
http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/gibbins.html

Alberta's reputation has recently taken a distressing number of hits. The province has been offside on a variety of national policy issues, including the Kyoto Accord on greenhouse gas emissions, health-care reform, the legalization of same-sex marriages and the proposed creation of a National Health Council.

All of these have let others brand Alberta as being out of step with the times, even a throwback to a Canada long since departed.

On top of these policy conflicts, have come mad cows (or mad cow) and West Nile disease. Even SARS, although not an immediate issue for Alberta, has had an impact for the many international visitors who equate Toronto with Canada, a mistake even Canadians often make.

Of all of these hits, the trade restrictions on Alberta beef in the light of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has been the cruelest cut.

Alberta beef has been such a strong provincial symbol, a trademark for quality that speaks to both our ranching heritage and the quality of life within the province. Nothing captures the emotional connections that Albertans have with their province as well as photos of cattle grazing in the foothills of the Rockies, under a clear blue Alberta sky.

In short, Alberta's reputation has been kicked around pretty badly.

The question is, does it matter? And, if it does matter, can anything be done?

Reputation does matter for the attraction and recruitment of human capital, for the annual flow of new Alberta-bound migrants from other provinces and international immigrants into the province.

If, for example, we are seen by those outside the province as being hostile to minorities or the environment, then we will be less attractive.

The reality of the situation doesn't matter; in this game, perceptions are everything.

Alberta's reputation is also a factor in the retention of provincial residents, and particularly those who are young, well-educated and highly mobile.

They have the potential to live and work anywhere, and the choices they make will be shaped, at least at the margins, by Alberta's reputation in the national and international press.

Thus, the impact of a negative national and international reputation can extend well beyond the number of visitors coming to Banff or the Calgary Stampede. But, if reputation does matter, what can be done about it -- if anything, ?

I am not suggesting the policy positions of the Alberta government should necessarily be changed in order to bring them into line with national public opinion and/or the policy preferences of the federal government.

Sometimes it is more important to be right than popular, and there have been many policy disagreements in which the Alberta government has been right.

Individual Albertans might disagree on just what those were, but the point is that some measure of autonomy and stiffness of spine should not be discredited.

One strategy is to portray more aggressively the diversity that characterizes both contemporary Alberta and its major cities.

For example, external perceptions of Alberta too often fail to take into account the province's large and growing visible minority population.

Visible minorities, excluding Aboriginal people, constitute 11.2% of the provincial population, compared to a national norm of just over 13%, and the province's substantial Aboriginal population brings that figure above the national norm.

Or take Calgary's situation.

Calgary is often portrayed as a very homogeneous community, both in terms of political values and demographic composition.

The reality, however, is quite different. Note, for example, that Calgary has a much higher foreign-born population than do Montreal, Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Halifax or Quebec City.

I would also argue that we need to expand our definition of the Alberta Advantage.

While this slogan nicely captures the advantages of low taxes and fiscally responsible government, it does not fully capture the province's natural capital, including the landscapes that emotionally connect Albertans to their province and attract visitors from around the world.

If we are to market Alberta to the world through the Alberta Advantage, we need an advantage that explicitly embraces the natural beauty and assets of the province.

Is the current assault on Alberta's reputation fair?

No, but then fairness is irrelevant.

The point to stress is that the province is being painted into a reputational corner, and no one will come to our defence.

We can no longer assume that Alberta's appeal is self-evident, that it will speak for itself, or that it is sufficient to be a low-tax haven.

Alberta's reputation, our reputation, needs more careful attention than it has received to date.