Alberta bound? Only half of Canadians say they'd feel comfortable making the move

Cowboys, nodding oil pumpjacks on the prairie landscape, conservative politics — you could fill a Ford F-150 pickup truck with stereotypes about Alberta.

But a new national poll suggests Canadians' views of Alberta are a lot more complex than the cliches.

The survey of 1,500 people suggests many Canadians think Alberta is a good place to raise a family or where a young person can pursue a career.  But only half of Canadians who live outside the province say they'd actually feel comfortable living in Alberta. And a majority of those same Canadians (53 per cent) don't think Albertans care enough about climate change.

"We just wanted to know what people really think about Alberta," said John Wright, executive vice-president of Maru Public Opinion, describing his motivation to conduct the research in partnership with Calgary-based Janet Brown Opinion Research. 

The political podcast West of Centre recently dissected the data that examines how the rest of Canada perceives Alberta.

The representative poll gauged Canadians' attitudes toward Alberta, asking them if they agreed or disagreed with almost a dozen statements, including whether Alberta is viewed as a welcoming place for new immigrants or open to new ideas.  

Wright believes the results highlight how different aspects associated with Alberta appeal in different parts of the country.  

"The majority of Canadians," Wright told CBC News in an interview, "have an affinity to elements in Alberta, but they're different in different parts of the country."

Quebecers, for instance, agree in higher numbers than people in other regions of Canada that Albertans are more tolerant of others who are different (58 per cent) and that the province is well positioned for the economy of the future (59 per cent). Seventy-one per cent of people in Ontario consider Alberta as a good place to raise a family. 

David Herle, a political consultant and partner at The Gandalf Group, a polling firm, thinks Alberta's vibe hasn't been all that cool lately. 

Herle says that in recent years, Canadians have mostly heard angry voices coming from Alberta, shouting about the unfairness of equalization or climate change mitigation policies such as the carbon tax.

"None of that looks very future-focused, and none of that's very reflective of Calgary or Edmonton, I don't think," Herle told West of Centre host Kathleen Petty. 

Calgary-based pollster Janet Brown, who helped Maru conduct the research, stresses Alberta's perception in the rest of the country is important for the province's bottom line, noting that Alberta needs to be seen as a welcoming place if it wants to attract workers to move to the province. 

"We need new people with new skills," Brown said. "Recruiters are out there looking to fill very high skill positions right now in tech and renewable energy.… So I absolutely believe our reputation matters."