Alberta's political polarization fuelled by identity, not ideology, survey suggests

The internet memes starting meme-ing within days of Monday's Alberta provincial election.

"If you voted Rachel Notley, you don't support Alberta," said one, referring to the leader of the province's defeated New Democrats.

"Having the city of Edmonton in Alberta is insulting," said another, after the provincial capital rejected the governing United Conservatives in every one of its 20 ridings.

"The senseless insults and degrading comments posted here are about as useless as Danielle Smith herself," came a response, attacking the victorious leader of the United Conservative Party.

Those comments reflect worries the province is becoming increasingly polarized.

"Citizens appear to have lost the shared sense of purpose and values necessary to debate matters of the public good respectfully, without alienating or disparaging their neighbours," concludes Common Ground, a research effort led by academics at the University of Alberta that has conducted extensive polling on the issue.

The group sponsored a poll conducted by Leger Marketing of more than 1,200 Albertans in January and February of this year. It asked questions on how respondents define their politics, how they see those who disagree with them, what governments should do and how they should use their power.

The results are available on the group's website.

On the one hand, the poll suggests Albertans share more than what trolling social media might imply.

"When we use measures of actual policy positions and political values, Albertans are just as progressive as anyone else in Canada," said political science professor Jared Wesley, who leads Common Ground.

About a third of Albertans — rural, urban, male and female — place themselves squarely in the middle of the left-right spectrum. Fifty-three per cent identify as moderates. Nearly half — 42 per cent — want "a society that places compassion ahead of prosperity."

Nor do Albertans care about rigid ideological boundaries. Only about a quarter of respondents consider themselves party loyalists.

About one in five United Conservatives preferred Notley to their own party leader. There are even New Democrats who preferred Smith to Notley, though far fewer.

Even among those who do identify with a party, the lines aren't clear. The poll found 10 per cent of UCP identifiers say they believe in left-wing political ideologies; 13 per cent of New Democrats call themselves conservatives or libertarians.