Alberta Pissed?

I just watched a Global News piece on the Harper cabinet, with a focus on how Albertans feel miffed about the makeup. So, off to my keyboard to write an entry about my frustration with the never happy Albertans. However, I decided to check some of Alberta's main publications to get more information. The Edmonton Journal has the headline,"New cabinet good for Alberta, says Klein" and generally applauds the cabinet. CBC Calgary has it "Alberta well represented in Harper cabinet", again a positive piece. The Calgary Herald has a rather benign piece, outlining the cabinet picks with little analysis. The Herald had one story, "Ablonczy cabinet snub shocks observers", but it is primarily a numbers piece, rather than a regional bias accusation.

The Global News piece looks the outlier in this instance, apparently preferring to sow dissention and prop up marginal stories. I think it is interesting to look at the cabinet makeup based on proportional representation and see what objective numbers say:

Alberta- 4 ministers= 14.8%, population 10.1%

British Columbia- 4 ministers= 14.8%, population 13.2%

Saskatchewan- 1 ministers= 3.7%, population 3.1%

Manitoba- 1 ministers= 3.7%, population 3.6%

Ontario- 9 ministers= 33.3%, population 38.9%

Quebec- 5 ministers= 18.5%, population 23.5%

Atlantic- 3 ministers= 11.1%, population 7.2%

It would appear that Alberta is slightly over represented, with Ontario and Quebec slightly under population percentage. Overall, a nice balance that should keep all regions somewhat happy. As for Global News, I call bad journalism, or more aptly, sensational journalism. It also serves as a good reminder to always check your sources for objective accuracy.