Conservative voters in Alberta seek respect from newly elected Liberal government

At the Morinville Grill on Tuesday, breakfast was being served with a side of election talk as voters dished on their hopes for the Liberal government led by Mark Carney.

Corey Brenneis is an Albertan who voted Conservative in Monday's election but said she doesn't mind the new Liberal leader.

"I think Carney's going to be all right," she said. "I don't feel doom and gloom."

With the Conservatives sweeping nearly every riding in Alberta, voters — including those in Morinville, Alta., a town about 40 kilometres northwest of Edmonton — want to see more respect from the newly elected Liberal minority government.

The Liberals secured two seats in Alberta, one in Edmonton and one in Calgary, and captured about 28 per cent of the popular vote on Monday. In 2021, the Liberals earned a little more than 15 per cent of the popular vote in the province, according to Elections Canada. 

But the province traditionally votes conservative, and residents like Brenneis say they want more openness from Ottawa.

"I want to be listened to and [know] that people here matter," she said. "Treat us fairly. Like, treat Alberta fairly."

Fellow diner Matthew Brister, who also voted for the Conservative party on Monday, said he expects the existing issues with the Liberal government to continue but has hopes for how the province and Ottawa interact going forward.

"[It] would be nice if there was a greater degree of respect for our ownership of the resource and the development of the resource," he said.

Feelings of western alienation have been simmering for years, and the election brought it again to the surface.

During the campaign, Reform Party founder Preston Manning said a vote for the Liberals would be a vote for western secession.

On Tuesday, Manning issued a statement saying plans are in the works to form next steps, including what he called "independence-oriented proposals."

While Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said her government would not put forward a referendum on whether the province should secede from Canada, the UCP tabled legislation Tuesday that would loosen the rules for referendums in general to be held.

The idea for Alberta to separate has support from Peter Downing, a founder of the western separatist movement including the defunct Wexit party.