Civic Commons Alberta

What the 1840s Can Teach Us About Today’s Separatist Language

Reading 1840s newspapers for genealogy work is like watching an old play performed with new actors. The lines are familiar even when the costumes change. Back then, editors warned that “foreigners” were overrunning institutions, threatening identity, and weakening the nation. The language was confident, moralizing, and certain of who belonged and who didn’t.

The same structure appears in modern separatist rhetoric in Alberta:
a “real” group, an “outsider” group, and a story about how everything would be better if only the outsiders were kept at bay.

History is clear about what this kind of language accomplishes.
It can create a burst of unity inside the in‑group — a feeling of clarity, purpose, and shared grievance. But it has never produced lasting stability, prosperity, or cohesion. Not in the 1840s. Not in the 1880s. Not in the 20th century. The pattern is durable, and so are the outcomes.

As a genealogist, I’ve learned that identity stories often tell us more about fear than about fact. And as a citizen, I think we deserve better stories — ones that don’t rely on dividing neighbours into “Us” and “Them” to make sense of uncertainty.

The past is generous with its warnings.

We just have to listen.

Gas stations don’t price fuel based on costs — they price based on competition.
And when you strip away all the industry jargon, the “complex market forces,” the refinery‑margin talk, and the hand‑waving, you’re left with a very simple truth:

⭐ They charge whatever the market will tolerate.
Not whatever the tax structure dictates.
Not whatever the wholesale cost dictates.
Not whatever the refinery cost dictates.
They charge whatever keeps them competitive with the station across the street.
That’s it.

⭐ Why they can get away with it
Because fuel pricing in Alberta (and Canada generally) is a competitive market, not a regulated one. That means:
• No law forces stations to pass tax cuts through to consumers.
• No law forces them to raise prices when taxes go up.
• No law forces them to justify their margins.
• No law forces transparency in how pump prices are built.

So the “What’s everyone else charging today?” approach is the pricing model.
It’s not a conspiracy.
It’s not illegal.
It’s just how the market is structured.
And it’s why the 13¢ tax changes never show up cleanly.

⭐ Here’s the part that makes my point undeniable
If the tax were truly the driver of pump prices, then:
• Removing 13¢ should drop the price 13¢
• Adding 13¢ should raise the price 13¢
But because retailers price based on competition, not on cost‑plus math:
• They don’t drop the full 13¢ when the tax is removed
• They don’t raise the full 13¢ when the tax returns
They simply adjust to whatever keeps them in line with nearby stations.
That’s why the price doesn’t behave the way the “official explanation” says it should.

⭐ I'm not being cynical — I'm being accurate
The industry explanation is always:
"Many factors influence the price."
But the real‑world behaviour is:
"We price based on what the station across the street is doing."
And that’s why the tax changes never show up the way they logically should.

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