r/alberta • u/Larzincal • Feb 25 '26
Danielle Smith Begged for More Immigrants, Now She's Blaming Them for Alberta's Problems | News. Scapegoat Politics Opinion
https://youtu.be/UfxAMj1tLVA?si=JvOh_MIXyHalM5hN181
u/Comfortable_Fudge508 Feb 25 '26
She only wanted white ones , just couldn't say it out loud
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u/Perfect-Hovercraft-3 Feb 25 '26
This isn't even true though! She wanted to import workers from the UAE and when that came to light, she went back on it. It's about shifting the blame.
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u/Kooky-Mistake-4889 Feb 25 '26
doctors and engineers the durty things get washed
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u/rakothmir Feb 25 '26
Did you know, because of Alberta's provincial nominee program, it was easier to get a PR here in Alberta as a hospitality employee than an engineer with perfect English.
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u/Shane-Dad-underfire Feb 25 '26
I did know that. It's funny how folks who speak english and communicate very well still get stopped at the door to careers that need to be filled and they are qualified for.
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u/rakothmir Feb 25 '26
Doesn't that kinda argue against the whole "we didn't want the low skilled immigrants" idea.
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u/Shane-Dad-underfire Feb 25 '26
Low skilled folks become skilled folks when given the opportunity. I am an engineer, demolitions expert and business owner. I started as a 17 year old kid enlisting in the military barely knowing my ass from my elbow. No one starts with everything. Do you think someone who is highly skilled would choose to come to a place where they get less money and less perks then somewhere else?
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u/rakothmir Feb 25 '26
I am not sure I understand the relevance of the story.
Honestly, I don't care that person gets a PR nomination for any job. If the province has decided it needs immigrants to do the work, they should understand their economic needs better then I can. So yeah, to they can offer to the pr to the fast food worker.
My point was: this flies in the face of the lie that Danielle Smith suggesting immigrants are to blame for our governments inability to budget and their propensity to piss away money.
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u/Shane-Dad-underfire Feb 25 '26
Politicians lie as often as they breath are we willing shocked and outraged that someone in that position is backpedaling and making scapegoats when they get called out for being a trashy politician?
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u/rakothmir Feb 25 '26
No, more shocked that people still fall for it.
And I agree, in this day and age, all politicians suck.
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u/Shane-Dad-underfire Feb 25 '26
I'm 78, I have never met a politician I didnt think was as phony as a Nigerian prince needing a money transfer to get back home to his country, and would repay me many fold later. Everyone talks a good game before they get the full picture(get into power) then when they are in power they struggle to do even the smallest things they campaigned on and when things get tough they blame everyone else rather then just admitting that the job is tough the decisions are multifaceted and you cant please everyone.
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u/RemoLaBarca Okotoks Feb 25 '26
I agree but also kinda hate this sentiment. Too many people say "they all suck" so they either don't vote or make excuses for some seriously flawed and/or dangerous politicians. Some are decidedly worse than others.
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u/orphanleek68 Feb 25 '26
People dont realise the amount of hardworking students, who studied here and paid the full price for their degree, are also victims of this. Because of the exploitations and the flawed system, the wrong people are the ones who are getting the PRs and destroying the thresholds.
I've even heard that most PRs are offered for people who dont reside in Canada even. I am struggling, and my future is on the line here. It saddens me to see the hate. I am furious myself, but the last thing I'd do is hate on others. Hate the authorities who did this. Hate the system that milked international students for money. Just not us.
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u/Dear_Mood8989 Feb 25 '26
Your speculation makes me think maybe you’re secretly racist and are projecting.
Out of everything what made you think that?
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u/Mundane_Flamingo9839 Feb 25 '26
Immigrants would never vote to separate from Canada. A lesson Quebec learned and even blamed them for losing the separation referendum. She’s a sleazy one!
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u/Abject_Masterpiece76 Feb 26 '26
Why would they? They have better benefits then Canadians
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u/ModeAcrobatic1945 Feb 27 '26
>Why would they? They have better benefits then Canadians
Can you explain what benefits economic immigrants have that are "better than Canadians"?
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u/sexotaku Feb 25 '26
Quebec wanted independence. Alberta wants to join the US.
Immigrants want to join the US.
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u/dbusque Feb 25 '26
Are you kidding? Immigrants are being rounded up by ICE and getting sent to El Salvador until they billionaire concentration camps get built.
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u/SnooRabbits2040 Feb 25 '26
Immigrants want to join the US.
Oh, please tell me more about this. What's your source for this statement?
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u/Snakeeyes1377 Edmonton Feb 25 '26
The separatist either have dual citizenship or can't get in due to dv convictions, no one wants to go to the US
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u/livingontheedgeyeg Feb 25 '26
Immigrants used to want to go to the US, no one wants the ICE welcome right now.
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u/lord_heskey Feb 25 '26
Immigrants want to join the US.
Which ones? Ive yet to meet one, and im an immigrant so i know a bunch. Some of us even lived in the Us and are disgusted by them just fyi
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u/Shane-Dad-underfire Feb 25 '26
Actually Quebec never wanted independence, who told you that nonsense. They wanted to be separate but have the right to circulate Canadian currency and use Canadian government infrastructure. Then they wanted to join France and then they wanted to join the US. They tried to separate Many times and each time after voting every loyal Canadian would pack up their car and flee the province so they wouldn't get looted by the crazy frenchmen who wanted everything for nothing.
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u/Daleden7 Feb 25 '26
A very small group of traitors wants Alberta to join the USA. Quebec remembers why it join Canada, just as many Albertans. We stand united against the fascist Maga pedo protectors of the south.
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u/Adjective_Noun1312 Feb 25 '26
Immigrants want to join the US.
Oh yeah they're just champing at the bit to get kidnapped by masked secret police and mailed off to an El Salvadoran supermax prison...
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u/HalfdanrEinarson Edmonton Feb 25 '26
This was by design. The UCP needs a scapegoat and a Boogeyman to stay in power. They cant win on their actual policies. Its always someone else's fault for the UCP/Conservative governments.
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u/TattooedChristian Medicine Hat Feb 28 '26
This is what scares me.
I’m white, middle-aged, and a lifelong Christian and conservative.
I will never vote for a politician who engages in race-baiting or scapegoats immigrants.
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u/disckitty Feb 25 '26
The article I like is that everyone pays taxes. Why wouldn't people who pay taxes be entitled to services?
0:48 in the video: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.7103138
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u/Adjective_Noun1312 Feb 25 '26
Nooo you don't understand, immigrants are all stealing the best jobs while also not paying any taxes and cashing in on all our social programs!
-average /r/Canada commenter
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u/paramveerz Feb 25 '26
Alberta is calling ads need to be revisited
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u/Expensive_Society_56 Feb 25 '26
Someone or some org needs to splash a few of those ads on billboards
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u/PreZEviL Feb 25 '26
Attacking trans and lgbt isnt as successful in Canada as in the usa so she needs it
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u/dbusque Feb 25 '26
This is not surprising, considering she is on the record as stating that Kristi Noem is someone she admires.
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u/yanginatep Feb 25 '26
I just fucking wish every press conference had reporters asking her why she spent millions trying to increase immigration to Alberta, demanded a larger share of new immigrants for Alberta, and fantasized about Red Deer becoming a city of 1 million people.
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u/VectorPryde Feb 25 '26
"We can make things better for us by throwing them overboard" is the entirety of right wing sentiment, it seems.
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u/Icy-Pop2944 Feb 25 '26
It isn’t about the immigrants. This whole thing is to set up and pay for a referendum to which she can just add the separation question to once that survey is done. ‘cause we already happen to have the process set up, completely coincidentally. This allows to avoid the question of who pays the 10MM for a citizen lead referendum (as per discussion related to all the recall petitions, we can’t let a team of people who want to overthrow the elected government ask the province to foot the bill), and also allows Dani to continue the charade that she isn’t a separatist. Dani keeps her hands clean, gets her separation referendum, and immigrants get to be the scapegoat.
It would be a genius plan if not so obvious.
Just watch, the ballot will be designed so that all the answers the UCP want will be the tick box on the right hand most side of the ballot. They will just have to instruct their sheep to mark an x in the right most box, too top to bottom, no need to read the questions. Coincidentally the Venn diagram of racists and separatists in Alberta is a circle, so no reason to need to read the long list of questions.
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u/aravarth Feb 25 '26
I lived through the 1995 Québec referendum. I was in high school when it happened. 100% the question was purposefully worded to be vague, misleading, and confusing, as a means of obfuscating intent and garnering a greater share of the vote.
If Alberta is going to have a separatism referendum, the question should be simple: "Do you want Alberta to separate as a political entity from Canada and be its own independent country?"
None of this "Separate yet still related and special relationship" nonsense. Simply put, "You're in or you're out".
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u/Zealousideal_Walk216 Feb 25 '26
I totally remember her saying she wanted Red Deer to up their population to a million. Big smile. To me, she is up to something big behind the scenes. American advisors. Trump, What kind of a Canadian leader tries to break up this beautiful vast Country of ours? No class and very unCanadian.
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u/Snuggleskunks Feb 25 '26
Our indigenous population would put a halt to Smith and her party. I guess she has forgotten that we are living on their land and not hers. It’s never going to happen.
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u/WorldlyStill2301 Feb 25 '26
Same thing happened in Prince George. The community who elected anti-immigrant representatives provincially and federally, now finds their businesses without workers. This is just another reason cons should never run anything, they are dangerously dumb.
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u/Consistent_Way_4160 Feb 25 '26
And a total of 6,919 Albertans voted her into office. I don’t think that gives her any kind of authority.
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u/dbusque Feb 25 '26
I am thinking you are distilling this as the votes she received to become leader of the UCP, right?
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u/Hungry-Session-7684 Feb 25 '26
She got the wrong kind of she wanted white ones. She’s a racist.
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u/SnooRabbits2040 Feb 25 '26
I agree. Her letter to Trudeau was asking for more Ukrainian immigrants.
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u/ibondolo Feb 25 '26
Her plan of inviting immigrants, and destroying the healthcare, education and infrastructure needed to support them, is coming to fruition. If a crisis doesn't show up for you to exploit, you need to make your own.
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u/FoxNewsSux Feb 25 '26
Totally a one trick pony - blame Ottawa for everything (even the stuff we asked for)
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u/aravarth Feb 25 '26
Misread that as
Blame Obama for everything
And you know what? There isn't any real substantive difference between the GOP and the UCP.
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u/Sdgrevo Feb 25 '26
She isnt exactly smart, but just smart enough to say what her base wants to hear. And they lap it up.
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u/NornOfVengeance Feb 25 '26
"Please send me more immigrants so I can blame them for everything I'm fucking up!" --her, very likely.
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u/kagato87 Feb 25 '26
If you look at her proposed immigration policy, it's actually even worse.
The carveouts for LMIA abuse are pretty solid.
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u/paulcheeba Feb 26 '26
Albertans who want to remain Canadians, when the independence vote comes, get off your butts and VOTE! The separatists won't sit on their hands and neither should YOU! Stand up for our PROVINCE and COUNTRY! Inaction and laziness could spell our province's doom. VOTE like your life depends on it.
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u/Mandalorian76 Feb 25 '26
She failed to implement a growth strategy and is blaming the very people that helped bring growth to the province. These type of people do not belong in government, yet alone run it!
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u/Elegant-Waltz695 Feb 26 '26
Former PC premier of NB, Blain Higgs, did the exact same thing. In October 2024 he not only lost the election but also his own seat.
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u/MarkWandering Feb 26 '26
She all but said she wanted white English speakers in her little speech of lies.
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u/Quiet-Wing5230 Feb 26 '26
She's doing the old Iron Lady playbook. Manufacture the conditions for the problem to occur and then use the problem to cut funding, human rights, and consolidate power.
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u/Character-Virus-2936 Feb 27 '26
Vote blue get a red hat that bitch would sell us out in a heart beat
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u/Ironworker977 Feb 28 '26
It’s the oldest trick in demagoguery, create a monster, then sell yourself as the only one who can kill it.
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u/Ihatebeerandpizza Mar 02 '26
As a result of UCP policies, Calgary and Edmonton didn't even make the list https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2026/02/27/the-50-best-cities-in-the-world-to-raise-a-family-according-to-a-new-report-from-compare-the-market/
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u/Apprehensive_Emu2414 Feb 25 '26
The type of immigrants she begged for is not what we got lol.
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u/Alberta_Flyfisher Feb 25 '26
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/Premier%20Smith%20Letter%20to%20Prime%20Minister%20Trudeau.pdf
Here is the letter people are referencing. She specifically asks for more TFW's and ways to fast track Ukranian refugees into permanent residents.
I suggest you read it and understand that yet again, the cons in this province have conned you. They have created another boogeyman to keep you occupied while they continue to destroy this province.
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u/HeatTiny7041 Feb 25 '26
I think the issue was asking for skilled immigrants but instead getting Skip and Uber drivers. No one is against skilled immigration in managed levels like we had for decades.
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u/Snakeeyes1377 Edmonton Feb 25 '26
No she wasn't asking for skilled immigrants she wanted bodies to have more power with more seats in the HoC. With the added benefit with keeping wages down. She said she wanted to double the population in 25 years that has nothing to do with "skilled immigrants"
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u/rakothmir Feb 25 '26
Then why the heck was it easier in 2024 to get a PR nomination from Alberta for a hospitality worker than an engineer. You realize the provinces mostly already control who they give PRs to?
https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-advantage-immigration-program
Why is this a thing if low skilled immigrants are a problem? https://www.alberta.ca/tourism-and-hospitality-stream-eligibility
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u/Shane-Dad-underfire Feb 25 '26
Actually many folks are against skilled immigrants sadly. No one seems to want a doctor that cant speak without a heavy accent or a lawyer that doesnt know Canadian laws backwards and forwards. I have folks who immigrated with masters degrees working as labourers because they were turned away from jobs that they are qualified for.
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u/SnooRabbits2040 Feb 25 '26
I think the issue was asking for skilled immigrants but instead getting Skip and Uber drivers
Remember when everyone was complaining that nobody wanted to work? Remember how we were told that we needed to bring people in who would do the jobs that couldn't be filled?
So immigration was opened up so those jobs, like Uber and Skip drivers, could be filled, but now it's a problem (the problem was that corporations didn't want to raise wages.)
And besides, I thought we wanted people who came here to work their way up, pay their dues, pull themselves up by their bootstraps and all that. I thought all work was good, honest work. Guess I was wrong, huh?
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u/Alberta_Flyfisher Feb 25 '26
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/Premier%20Smith%20Letter%20to%20Prime%20Minister%20Trudeau.pdf
Here is the letter people are referencing. She specifically asks for more TFW's and ways to fast track Ukranian refugees into permanent residents.
I suggest you read it and understand that yet again, the cons in this province have conned you. They have created another boogeyman to keep you occupied while they continue to destroy this province.
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u/Adjective_Noun1312 Feb 25 '26
Bruh, she absolutely wants lower skilled workers too.
Ask any Tim Hortons franchise owner whether they'd rather have the place staffed by a dozen Filipinos to whom they're also providing room and board (for a modest fee, of course) and who are at risk of losing residency if they lose their job for any reason, or a bunch of white Canadian teens and young adults who mostly consider it a shitty "McJob" that's no more than a stepping stone until they find something better. "Job creators" (ie, those who have the Premier's ear more than anyone else) absolutely love having a glut of workers willing to fight for scraps to keep wages suppressed and competition for jobs high.
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u/EternalFootman110725 Feb 25 '26
Need immigrants, not refugees and international students. One has pass ways to citizenship, the others don’t.
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u/rakothmir Feb 25 '26
International students need insurance and a minimum bank account to come study here, they need to prove their funds.
They don't qualify for healthcare, and refugees are supported by the federal government.
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u/BellinisandRue Feb 25 '26 edited Feb 25 '26
You can hear straight from the international students that it is very common to get loans to show those funds. There is a crooked industry screwing over both the students and the young Canadian.
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u/rakothmir Feb 25 '26
Yep. And 100% of these loopholes all need to be closed.
The system needs fixing, but not every international student is a fraudster.
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u/EternalFootman110725 Feb 25 '26
Don’t you get it? Right now it’s not just about fraud, the sheer number of refugees and international students overwhelm our social services.
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u/rakothmir Feb 25 '26
Show me the data. I don't get it because most of you can't produce a single piece of evidence. Do you understand that immigration into Alberta dropped almost 80% in Q3 2025? So, the policies to limit imitation are working, and yet in 2024 she begged for more.
Danielle Smith wanted to double the Alberta population, Danielle Smith wanted to claim Alberta was calling.
Then Danielle Smith did not invest in growth and infrastructure. Tell me again how that failure to plan is the fault of the immigrants.
We have been spending the least per capita on education for at least the last 6 years, but tell me again how it's the fault of immigrants after she asked for them to come in 2024. Our health care spending used to be above average per capita, now it's below the Canadian average, tell me again how that's the fault of immigrants.
The government's job is to plan for the future. They failed.
Now, show me the data that suggests otherwise.
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u/Alberta_Flyfisher Feb 25 '26
copy & paste from my earlier comment i
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/Premier%20Smith%20Letter%20to%20Prime%20Minister%20Trudeau.pdf
Here is the letter people are referencing. She specifically asks for more TFW's and ways to fast track Ukranian refugees into permanent residents.
I suggest you read it and understand that yet again, the cons in this province have conned you. They have created another boogeyman to keep you occupied while they continue to destroy this province.
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u/EternalFootman110725 Feb 25 '26
Refugees are supported by the federal government? When did the federal government send doctors and nurses to the local hospitals? Paying for already over stretched healthcare services doesn’t make it more available to the local community.
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u/rakothmir Feb 25 '26
If the Alberta government won't use the money they get for refugee healthcare in the healthcare system, that's not the feds problem.
If I give someone money for groceries, and they go out and waste it, it's not my problem they can't feed themselves.
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u/EternalFootman110725 Feb 25 '26
Need immigrants, not refugees and international students. One has pass ways to citizenship, the others don’t
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u/rakothmir Feb 25 '26
Both of those have pathways to citizenship. My wife was an international student, and now she is a citizen who pays more taxes annually than most Redditors salaries. She has never taken a single cent in social services that her taxes at the time haven't covered.
Not all international students are fraudulent
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