Same Old Story: Political Cartoons and the Persistence of Right-Wing Populist Narratives in Alberta, Canada, 1974-2012

Abstract

Over recent decades, some political satire in Alberta, Canada, has drawn on increasingly combative attitudes toward the federal government and the rest of Canada. The populist rhetoric in Alberta media in the late 20th century—and the stark resemblance of tone and content to contemporary political messaging in 2025, including the scapegoating the Trudeaus—highlights the consistency and potentially exceptional nature of Albertan political culture and populism. This paper explores the ways media framing interacts with Albertan political culture over time and has helped shape populist discourse in the province. Utilizing an extensive collection of Alberta-based editorial political cartoons, we tracked the presence of common populist themes over time to explore how populism in Albertan media has been represented and expressed. We argue that there is a relationship between the historical and contemporary presence of populism in Alberta, and that it materializes through blame attribution to the political elite. These findings have implications for the future of alternative, leftist political movements in the province and provide insight into the nature and form of political inertia in Alberta.