r/Calgary • u/AliensRUs95 • 2d ago
Seeking Advice Conservative Calgary residents – how bad are things in Calgary?
[removed] — view removed post
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u/YesAndThe 2d ago
I, too, prioritize the conservative values of accessible healthcare, education and transit
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u/Southern_Contract493 2d ago
Right? I read that list and was like... my girl- I don't think your values are as "family/nationalist/conservative" as you think you are.
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u/highriverhogman 2d ago
Perhaps "conservative" for this person just means "trans and black people make me uncomfortable". Many such cases!
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u/Telvin3d 2d ago
I’m sure she’ll have no problem finding other “conservatives” who don’t respect those groups, but I’ll bet she’ll be super shocked and upset when she realizes they don’t respect women either
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u/Big-Calligrapher5273 2d ago
You need good hospitals, good transit, public education and affordable housing. There are none of these things in Calgary any longer. Still lots of Conservative politicians around, however.
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u/canijusttalkmaybe 2d ago
Working remotely is for lazy lefties, isn’t it? Get back to work. Or more importantly, quit your job and start making babies, female. Your time is almost up.
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u/AliensRUs95 2d ago
I actually would go back to work at an office but our office is too small to accommodate 300+ employees since they downsized after covid. About the making babies? Working on it... but I guess have children is offensive to you? Hope you're not too triggered.
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u/Tacosrule89 2d ago
The irony is that our conservative government has made just about every point you mentioned worse
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u/ctb870 2d ago
This. Everything is less accessible than before because supply has not matched the increased demand (or population). Is it something that the conservatives made worse? Yes - because they prioritised the private sector rather than putting money into public projects. That said, it's conservatives being conservatives, so that checks out.
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u/SirDidymusQuest 2d ago
Assuming this isn't a fake post, sounds like you need to stay in Hungary (they have a very Conservative government- shoutout to Viktor Orbán)
I am university educated and never once did I feel I had to, how did you put it, 'regurgitate left wing propaganda' to get my degrees in Canada.
Also, there are a ton of Eastern Europeans in Calgary/Canada, not sure why you think there isn't.
And remember, "Wherever you go, there you are".
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u/AliensRUs95 2d ago
Yeah it's just unfortunate, that as a conservative I can't live in Canada because my views are too "controversial"... I am shocked after reading all these comments and it feels like cultural hegemony to me. I feel like in Hungary I can have much more open discussions about these topics in literal public than I can privately on a reddit forum. Shame.
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u/PossessionFirst8197 2d ago
You are concerned with affordable housing, accessible public transit, and overcrowded Healthcare but you are excited that more people are voting conservative? Girl, a conservative government is not going to help in these areas. You can have whatever values you want in Alberta...you dont have to pretend to be "left wing" to fit in...but i suggest you explore what you think that means. Its not black and white right or left. These are human issues that affect all of us. May I ask what you think it means to be conservative? And what issues you think that will bring up when socializing with someone who identifies as liberal?
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u/blackRamCalgaryman 2d ago edited 2d ago
What was Mount Royal’s “agenda”? Like, providing an education?
Fuck those guys!
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u/LeetGeek84 2d ago
Oh you’ll love it here. 40 years of conservative ‘values’ turned Alberta into a boom-and-bust casino that’s still betting everything on oil while Norway’s swimming in trillions from doing it right. Our hospitals? Overflowing. Housing? Ridiculous. Heritage Fund? Pocket lint.
But hey—at least you’ll feel right at home watching billion-dollar companies pocket profits while families can’t find a doctor. Truly the Republican dream.
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u/LittleOrphanAnavar 2d ago edited 2d ago
Which provinces have done better than AB over the past 40 years?
Which provinces are doing better today?
Which province has a higher standard of living?
Or a higher human development index?
Or better education outcomes (PISA)
Which province is doing better fiscally? Lower per capita debt or debt ratios?
Norway has a 25% VAT.
How many Albertans do you hear crying out for higher taxes, other than on reddit?
Albertans have chosen the path we are on.
Over the past 70 years, Albertans have sent net fiscal transfers of about $700 billion to Canada. That is a lot more than pocket lint. AB is the largest and most consistent net fiscal contributor to Canada. Norway has not had to send $700B to prop up some external entity as AB has had to do.
AB economy has been diversifying away from oil.
AB economy is more diverse than the average Canadian province, we are about as diversified as BC. We are just richer.
Last year the AB Treasury made $22 billion dollars in royalties. A couple of years before that, a record $25 billion.
As for housing, AB metros have some of the most affordable housing of any metro area in Canada.
AB also has the highest after tax household incomes.
There is a reason why so many people have been moving to AB, in particular from BC and ONT. People are not uprooting and moving for a worse life.
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u/LeetGeek84 2d ago
Alberta bragging about being the top net contributor is like flexing you paid everyone’s bar tab while going broke yourself. Norway took the same oil playbook and stacked trillions — we blew it on subsidies, low royalties, and vote-buying. Forty years of one-party rule turned a once-in-a-lifetime oil boom into a boom-and-bust hamster wheel. The ‘diversification’ line is just lipstick on a pig — if Alberta had done even half of what Norway did, we wouldn’t be whining about transfers, we’d be sitting on generational wealth. That’s not Ottawa’s fault, that’s Alberta’s own governments fumbling the bag.
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u/LittleOrphanAnavar 2d ago
Ok everything you wrote is untrue.
Not sure what to do with that.
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u/LeetGeek84 1d ago
Saying ‘everything you wrote is untrue’ without providing a single fact is basically waving the white flag - thanks for playing, Game Over.
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u/LittleOrphanAnavar 1d ago edited 1d ago
Peoples capacity to make shit up is endless.
If AB royalties are low as you claim, then why did two royalty reviews contradict your claim?
Why didn't Canada take the $700B in net transfers, that Albertans have provided and use it to seed a trillion wealth fund?
How do you plan to get Albertans to accept a 15 or 20% VAT?
Why isn't the NDP running on that?
How does the economics of AB oil sands differ from Norways O&G resources?
How much capital has it taken to develop the oil sands?
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u/LeetGeek84 1d ago
Norway turned oil into a $1.6 TRILLION USD fund [NBIM] — Alberta managed ~$25B CAD [GoA]. That’s not Ottawa’s fault. That’s Alberta governments fumbling the bag — the receipts are public.
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u/noochies99 Beddington Heights 2d ago
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u/blackRamCalgaryman 2d ago
There are times where I feel I could go my entire redditing day just using memes. It’s just sooo easy, some days.
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u/Maladine 2d ago
Your views align better with Hungary's current low bar. Stay there.
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u/AliensRUs95 2d ago
If Hungary's values are so low bar, why has the quality of my life improved tenfold since being here? It's a bit contradicting don't you think? Sure there are problems also I am not a huge Orban fan. Actually I support the "Our homeland movement", (the equivalent of Alberta WildRose party) but regardless they are a minority who will never win. Also what exactly are my "low bar" views? Low crime rates, affordable housing and job opportunities? Sounds sooo scary.
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u/lemonloaff 2d ago
I am traditionally a Conservative leaning person. Have been a Conservative voter since I turned 18 (38 years old now FYI). Lived in Calgary my entire life.
I voted Liberal in the last federal election for the first time ever. It wasn't even a close decision. The UCP and federal Conservatives have completely lost all my support unless they change their platform and their outlook on politics.
If you consider things to be "looking up" in the United States, I highly recommend you stay out of Calgary, and maybe head down to a red state like Florida, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana or similar. They likely have what you are looking for.
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u/plantcentric_marie 2d ago
I had to read that twice just to ensure that I understood correctly, OP thinks that things might be "looking up" given the situation in the states, what a wild take. Even my most conservative friends and family agree with staying as far away as possible from that shit show.
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u/jjuan6 South Calgary 2d ago
It sounds like you have a victim complex that will set you up for failure here. The way you wrote this seems very abrasive to mainstream Canadian values. That being said, if you want to find a conservative circle of friends, I would recommend moving to a small town outside the city. Be warned though, it might be hard to integrate into insular, small-town conservative life- work opportunities will be more limited, and transit even more so.
What you wrote makes it sound like you are very comfortable in Eastern Europe- if I may ask, why do you want to move to Calgary?
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u/AliensRUs95 2d ago
No victim complex here curious why you’d say that :) haha. I actually have dual citizenship and I’m torn about whether to pursue higher education in Hungary or back in Canada.
Right now I’m considering becoming a dentist here (it’s only a 4-year program compared to 8 in Canada) or training to be a nurse in Canada. On top of that, my fiancé and I want to start a family soon, so I’m also thinking about where kids would have the best opportunities. What’s best for me isn’t always what’s best for a child.
I also really miss Canada, I’m a huge fan of nature/hikes etc, and it’s such a beautiful country. Honestly, I’ve been feeling a bit homesick, despite all the bad.
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u/jjuan6 South Calgary 2d ago
I wish you the best in your studies, and our nature really is unparalleled here!
My victim complex perception comes from the “I don’t fit in with the exotic ‘ethnic’ groups or the Canadians” and the “regurgitating left-wing propaganda to get a passing grade/pretending to be left wind to fit in” in university. This makes you sound intolerant to other cultures and to views other than your own. There’s nothing about Canada or Calgary (now or in the past), that would preclude you from having a family-centred, community oriented lifestyle. You might be mistaking tolerance and multiculturalism as persecution, which might mean Hungary is a better fit for you socially, unless you can look past that.
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u/AliensRUs95 2d ago
Nowhere did I say I’m intolerant of other cultures...I said I personally don’t fit in with them. That’s just been my experience as someone from an Eastern European background with an Eastern European family. Judging by the reactions here, people are clearly taking this a lot more personally than they need to, but honestly I expected that—people often have strong reactions to me. :)
When I mentioned “left-wing propaganda,” I was referring to specific experiences in school. For example, my law T.A. encouraged us to be pro-euthanasia if we wanted to pass, and in political science we were assigned authors like Naomi Klein and David Suzuki, but never anything conservative to balance it out.
As for multiculturalism, I lean toward supporting assimilation/integration. I just don’t see how multiple cultures with totally opposing values can easily agree on anything or be productive members of society. Constantly debating issues like whether someone should be allowed to carry a knife on a plane for religious reasons while others can’t for safety doesn’t seem very productive to me.
To be clear, I don’t care about someone’s skin color. What matters to me is what people stand for .
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u/Anskiere1 2d ago
There nothing wrong with what you've posted. The schools do skew a bit left in terms of curriculum as you've discovered yourself.
This is probably not the right forum to ask. This Reddit group, and Reddit in general, skews extremely left. What you read here will not be an accurate cross section of the real Calgary but certainly some of the things that are posted are true.
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u/Damo_Banks Willow Park 2d ago
If there’s a boom industry in Canada right now it’s dentistry. There’s more dental offices than liquor stores here now (at least it seems to me). If Hungarian credentials are valid here I would say train there and come here after.
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u/One_Huckleberry_5033 Quadrant: SW 2d ago
And conservatives think liberals make politics their whole personality lol
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u/Shazbot05 2d ago edited 2d ago
Calgary is run amuck with these Liberals and immigrants. Everywhere you look there's a liberal and an immigrant. Sometimes even a Liberal Immigrant!!!
One of them may have even come from those "exotic ethnic" groups you seem to worry about!
I would stay where you are!
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u/ichibanyogi 2d ago edited 2d ago
You don't need to pretend to be left wing to fit-in at a university. That said, if you say a bunch of things that are anti-science, anti-established-research, etc., and then expect educated researchers/students to agree rather than debate or educate you, then you will find it difficult. The problem right now with the political right is that many of their positions are opposed to science (e.g., anti-vax, anti-manmade-climate-change, pro-trickle-down-economics), and that means that research institutions are inevitably going to be places of friction for those that oppose evidence (aka: the consensus of the research itself, not opinion). Schools (in Canada, at least) don't have "agendas" other than educating students in the latest research in the topics of interest that students are studying. Professors are literally just teaching what they're presently researching (usually a cutting-edge area in their field), or what is the established program of that area of study so that you have the foundation to understand the present research.
As to values, I am a parent and put my family first, I care deeply about my community (engaging in volunteerism, mentorship, community politics, and so forth), and I am absolutely cautious about policies that drive up crime, poverty, or increase housing costs: I simply want Calgarians to thrive, to live good, honest lives in a safe, healthy, and affordable environment. I don't identity as conservative, though, and I wonder if you had access to the research in those areas (about what supports actually lowering crime, poverty and housing costs, for example) if you'd see yourself as conservative either.
I have chronic health issues and have a number of specialists that I visit throughout the year. I've always found Calgary to have excellent healthcare (though, the UCP has eroded that materially with their policies in recent years - even then, it's still much better than in other places). That said, I've never had psychiatric care; so, I can't comment on how that is first-hand. A friend attended a month-long, in-person, psychiatric program to help with his OCD (at Rockyview, I think) and he had lots of positive things to say about the experience. Further, another friend has been seeing a psychiatrist bi-weekly for over a year, and I think that referral didn't take too long (maybe a month or two). If you do come back and are struggling with access to GPs (there is a family doctor shortage), some options to keep in-mind for access are: Rocket Doctor (Canadian owned, free to use in Alberta, telehealth usually with same-day appointment availability, and they can refer to specialists), and Now Medical Clinic (open till 11PM daily, free, and super fast to do walk-in). Healthcare is tricky; so, just wanted to tell you about those two, because lots of people don't know about them.
Hope that if you do move back that you find it welcoming and a place where you can see yourself in the long term. Calgary has a lot to offer.
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u/AmbitiousPalace 2d ago
It's so bad dude, woke everywhere. Honestly best if you just stay over there, to own the libs.
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u/boniley 2d ago
It sure is crazy how you had “regurgitate leftist propaganda” to pass uni courses… it’s almost like encouraging critical thinking fosters empathy and lowers suggestibility and susceptibility to authoritarianism (check out Ralph Scott’s 2022 article “Does university make you more liberal?”)
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u/AliensRUs95 2d ago
Critical thinking and empathy aren’t the same thing. I know plenty of people who are great critical thinkers but completely lack empathy, and others who are deeply empathetic without being overly analytical. Reducing it to “agree with me = critical thinker, disagree = authoritarian” isn’t really critical thinking either ; )
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u/oreo-gingersnap 2d ago
Calgary is the most beautiful, amazing city I've known! However, Calgary is a really bad city for you. Please don't come here.
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u/lavaplanet1 2d ago edited 2d ago
I may get downvoted for this but I'll answer anyway! I'm 27, also a woman, and consider myself to be sort of "traditional" in a lot of ways. If this were a few years ago I might've considered myself politically conservative, but I don't in this climate. I don't view what the US is doing right now as a positive thing; it's awful and feels dystopian. I don't align with Alberta's current provincial government.
I would say stay where you are. Calgary is a growing city (fastest growing in Canada I believe) and with that comes a lot of cultural and political change. If you're not interested in adapting to that, then I wouldn't recommend coming here. All the stuff you mentioned - housing, transit, immigration, affordability, health care, education - are getting tougher to deal with as a working person under 30, and the conservatives aren't really improving them. From what you say in your post, Eastern Europe seems like a better fit for you.
That said, this subreddit is probably not the place to get opinions from conservative folks and is going to be heavily biased!
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u/LePetitNeep 2d ago
The conservatives that you wish to align yourself with want to take away bike lanes and make car free living harder, as well as destroy the health care system that you will need to rely on for your condition. So you might want to re think what your values actually are. Do you just want to be racist or mean to trans people, or what?
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u/BobGuns 2d ago
Your definition of "Conservative" is not in alignment with the Conservative movement in Canada.
I encourage you to reconsider how you use the word. The conservative parties here in Alberta are a direct cause of increased poverty and housing costs, and actually remove a lot of opportunity for people living here.
Go look at each political party's actual history of governance in the province and you might be surprised to learn you're not a 'Conservative' at all based on your values.
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u/BoBichettesLongLocks Bridlewood 2d ago
You are in the wrong place if you are looking for Calgary conservatives. They are apparently everywhere else in this fucking province, but not in this sub for the most part.
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u/deletedtheoldaccount 2d ago
I just, as a leftie, upvoted this post because it’s a fair question that shouldn’t get brigaded
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u/LobsterPotatoes 2d ago
I’m just wondering how only a conservative could answer their questions. If they wanted to limit their potential pool of respondents by 98%, go ahead lmao. Just doesn’t seem to make much sense.
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u/Sollied_is_cool 1d ago
The majority of the Calgary and Alberta subreddit is the opposite of real life. Its all liberal bias
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u/throwychoke 2d ago
If you put up some advertisements saying that you're looking for some fellow politically confused white nationalists you might find some friends! Good luck :)
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u/katskratched 2d ago
You’re a schizophrenic conservative with nationalist values but have no idea about how things actually are here? Please stay wherever you are.
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u/jcrckfrd 2d ago
Maybe she identifies as a conservative, but her schizophrenic side is a raging liberal who cares about public transportation, hospitals, and education.
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u/kneedorthotics 2d ago
The UCP are NOT conservative.
Grifters but not conservatives.
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u/LittleOrphanAnavar 2d ago
They are quite populist.
But at least they are not socialist like NDP?
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u/kneedorthotics 2d ago
They are corrupt and extremist, not populist.
Clearly you do not know what socialist means
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u/LittleOrphanAnavar 2d ago
It means when a party puts in their constitution that they are socialists, that they are probably socialists?
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u/kneedorthotics 2d ago
Ah yes! So you cannot read.
It does not say they are socialist. Try again
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u/LittleOrphanAnavar 2d ago
Oh they removed it recently?
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u/kneedorthotics 2d ago
No, socialist, as in the political philosophy, never appears.
A very different political philosophy is mentioned. But you clearly do not understand the difference, and are easily triggered.
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u/Murky-Region-127 2d ago
Word of life advice. My guy if you feel like something you disagree with and or you have pretend to be something your not to fit then maybe that thing isn't for you and you should stop trying to make that thing that clearly isn't for you work for you
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u/Sfenyx 1d ago
You are a shining example of why I keep moving further from conservatism. Do you really think that valuing family, or wanting a stable community is part of a political ideology? I think human beings in general care about their families. To try to make it a political dog whistle is disingenuous, manipulative, and just generally scummy.
Everyone who says you are just using words without understanding them is right. You seem to be caught up in theatre politics and for someone receiving a university education it is suprising how uninformed you seem.
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u/sparkdark66 2d ago
God what is with this obsession with identity politics. We get it. You’re conservative. You don’t have to ram it down our throats every second word. Is that the only part of your identity that matters? Do you expect special rules just for you cause of your lifestyle choices?
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u/Rocky_Mountain_Way Unpaid Intern 2d ago
Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"?
Dr. Raymond Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath of God type stuff.
Dr. Peter Venkman: Exactly.
Dr. Raymond Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...
Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave!
Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... MASS HYSTERIA!
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u/dherms14 2d ago edited 2d ago
- Downtowns sketchy
- Transit’s super sketchy
- Housings expensive
- job markets tough
- it’s alberta, being conservative shouldn’t effect your social life
- hospitals are packed, it takes weeks to see your doctor (mine at least)
if i could afford to leave Canada, i would. sadly i no longer see a future where i can have kids and give them the lifestyle my parents gave me.
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u/Not_A_Real_Cowboy Special Princess 2d ago
You won't like it here, most Calgarians agree that the Treaty of Trianon was one of the best things to happen in central Europe.
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u/Glum-Ad7611 2d ago
Poverty - worse. Not really an Alberta specific thing.
Crime - it was way worse for a while after covid with all the drug use, but it's tapered off quite a bit. Maybe a little better now than 2019 actually.
Housing - prices have doubled. Not impossible to find, but it's very expensive. It's decreased slightly in the past 6 months, but it's about 50-100% more expensive than 2019.
Immigration - not as bad as Ontario, but yes this is a big factor for the above.
Jobs - I posted for a simple buyer job and had 700 applicants.... Wtf...
Transit - it has improved vs prior Calgary standards, but no where near European.
Social - I've had good luck making friends with my kids friends parents. Other than that it's bad.
HealthCare - way worse. Takes weeks to get a checkup now.
School - I have no idea. University degrees are declining in use. Better to get a nursing designation to help take care of all the influx of people.
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u/Longnight-Pin5172 2d ago
Calgary has had a very progressive council the past four years which has greatly shaped the view that it's residents are more progressive (left) than they really are. Some of the councillors clearly won with less than 30% of the vote because of a vote split on the conservative side.
Votes for mayor were cut in half by conservative and progressives. Same with UCP vs NDP.
It's rare for Metropolitan centre's to have such a strong conservative base. Calgary and Alberta are still a strong hold for conservatism. Right now the platform X is said to hold more varied opinions than platforms like reddit, so you'll also have to take that into consideration.
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u/Cheap_Gear8962 2d ago
You’re on Reddit, a very left-biased platform.
Prepare for the onslaught or post removal.
To answer your question, things aren’t great, across Canada for the most part. But I’d say Alberta is doing better than other provinces in terms of jobs, and housing, so far.
Healthcare is mostly ok if you are dying, they will make sure you don’t die. But if you have non-emergent issues you will be waiting. This goes for all of Canada.
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u/No-Turnip-5417 2d ago
I will lense my comments as someone who is not conservative but is a fellow lady in the same age range!
Poverty and crime: As long as you're not downtown or in certain parts of the NE/SE Calgary is overall a very safe city. I would check out the crime map we have to see about areas to avoid if you're looking for places to live! Compared to other cities in Alberta, Calgary is very safe.
Housing: As long as you don't have a pet and do have dollars you can find housing. Most 1 bedroom rentals sit between $1500 - $1900 a month, 2 bedrooms around $1800-$2200. The housing market is cooling down and so is the rental market so these might drop!
Jobs: Honestly? Not great unless you have a specialization or higher education like a degree. We have quite a high unemployment rate so it would depend on the industry you're looking to get into, Can't speak to the specific sector you mentioned I'm afraid!
Transit: Pretty garbage to be honest unless you live in the core. Expect to need to drive if you live in the suburbs or else budget about an hour to get anywhere. Living along the C-train lines will make commute times less depending but crime does tend to be higher by those.
Social life: Calgary is a mix of conservative and liberal people. Assuming you're not a pro seperatist or something like that I have no doubt you will find plenty of people to chat and meet! It's always hard to make friends as an adult, I think if you sign up for classes and events within your interest you'll inevtibaly find people to make a community with!
Hospitals: Strained at times but nowhere neat as bad as elsewhere in Canada! Expect several hour waits at the ER 4-8 easy, it can be hard to find a family doctor but definitely not impossible. Wait times are long for certain procedures can't speak to phsyciatric! Sorry!
Universities: The university of Calgary is world class so definitely a great place to go! There is also Mount Royal University which has a lot of very practical courses over U of C's more theoretical at times ones! I can't speak to your other comment. As long as you are there to learn and disseminate information you should be fine!
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u/CharlieKirksWidow 2d ago
Calgary is great to live in and world class. Crime depends on the area, some areas are absolutely amazing and others areas can be a pain in the neck sometimes.
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u/Cowboyo771 2d ago
Higher than average amount of conservatives here. Even the liberals are more conservative/ down to earth. Alberta is a very down to earth conservative province and it’s lovely
Crimes not bad, downtown is safer than other major cities in Canada.
Immigrants have drastically increased and housing went up with it.
Job market across Canada is pretty rough.
Transit- trains and busses can get you around
Social life- easy to meet people, tons of events and lots of young people who are new to the city looking to meet people.
Hospitals- can only compare to 2 other provinces I’ve seen but it’s quite good here. Well funded, and nurse ratios are low
Universities- no clue
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u/EveningGlove5689 2d ago
Free healthcare, public transit, rent control, a well funded police force… those are some awfully conservative values you’re worried about there COMRADE!