ALBERTA, NOT CANADA, FOR 51ST STATE: Few folks in either country took seriously President Donald Trump’s several quips about Canada becoming America’s 51st state and references to then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “Governor Trudeau.” But Liberal Party were sufficiently agitated that Trudeau’s successor, Mark Carney, should thank Trump.

As Rod Martin points out in the most intelligent analysis of the Canadian scene I’ve read in years, things might have turned out differently had Trump focused in on the real brewing crisis in Canada, the intensifying alienation of conservative voters in the western province of Alberta:

“Alberta doesn’t belong in this Canada.

“That’s not treason. It’s not even radical. It’s a simple observation of cultural, economic, and political reality — a reality growing starker by the year. Albertans have known for decades that something is deeply broken in the Confederation they were born into. But it’s only recently, as Ottawa’s indifference curdled into hostility, that many have begun asking the inevitable question: What if we left?”

Where would, should Albertans go? Go here and Martin will lay it out for all to see. If you aren’t following this guy, you should because he sees the world through clear eyes.