I moved to AB from the east coast many years ago due to government mismanagement and lack of employment opportunities. I grew up in an area where I was isolated for half of the year. I know a lot of hardy, based, survivalist people from there, people who cut their own wood, mill their own lumber, and build their own houses, people who hunt, fish, and garden for most of their food.

These are places where government doesn't usually spend much time in, other than coming by once every four years to beg for your vote. Most people there think government folks are full of shit and would rather they stay out of their lives, because when they get involved they make incoherent laws around fishing and hunting.

NL hasn't taken equalization payments in the last ten years, but the government is bankrupt due to financial mismanagement and lack of a stable industry. To most NL'ers outside of St John's, Ottawa seems like another planet, hell St. John's seems like another planet.