After years of deliberation, it appears as though Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have decided to become Canada’s first ‘superprovince’. The new plan, which is set to be released later today, cites a variety of issues that the provinces feel might be best tackled together.
First up- population. As the middle provinces, there is a growing concern that the population does not reflect the supposed impact each should have on the country at large. But, by combining each province (Manitoba with roughly 1.4m, Saskatchewan with 1.2m, and Alberta with 4.4m), the new superprovince will bolster some 8m people in total. Still less than the population of Toronto, but hey, it’s way more than BC, and just slightly less than Quebec!
Next- size. Like with population, the guiding light here is that the new superprovince isn’t the biggest province around, but is still more than the sum of its parts. With Alberta bolstering some 662,000 sq. km., Manitoba at 648,000 sq. km. and Saskatchewan with 651,000 sq. km., the resulting region would just be slightly smaller than Nunavut, and bigger than everything else in the country. “Not huge, but definitely big enough” said a source close to the matter.
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Last but certainly not least is infrastructure and economy. Comparing themselves to the ‘flyover States’ in America, the new superprovince would focus almost exclusively on generating tourism and sightseeing, according to the plan. Very little information has come out about this part of the plan, but some rumblings include a new ‘year-round Stampede’, a theme park/heritage village/hockey rink with the working name of “The Pride of the Prairies”, and of course, the Mall of Canada.
As for the names, a few are set to be included in the plan. These include Canadoitbetter, Alsaskitoba, and of course, Mid-Land. However, word on the street is that it’s been tough to get the members of the Tolkien estate to sign off on those obvious Lord of the Rings undertones. Plus, proponents of the plan have been hesitant to go with that, saying that “some of their children’s friends have used the term in a disparaging fashion.”
However, the plan does mention that the new name will be decided by popular vote, alongside a potential capital for the new area. We’re expecting competition to be fierce, as each resident of the various cities will be allowed to vote multiple times, to display their devotion to the opportunity.
And for a timeline? Well, nothing is set in stone. A source close to the matter said that the superprovince would come together “once all of Canada is on the same page about that problem” but refused to elaborate. Might be a few years, folks.
And on that note… Happy April Fools’ Day, Canada!
