I am not too surprised. I have lived in Alberta my entire life. I have seen a definite shift in acceptance of LGTBQ issues over the past 20 years. There are a few important things to note:
1. Alberta might be the Texas of Canada in some ways: oil and gas, cattle ranching and a more libertarian mindset. But that isn't the whole story.
2. Demographics in Alberta are changing. Immigration from abroad and other parts of Canada has shifted the population. Last year, we had our first change in provincial government in 43 years... we voted in a populist, social democratic party.
3. I would want to see a detailed breakdown of the data. I anticipate that many/most of our supporters are concentrated in our two major cities (Edmonton and Calgary) which together comprise roughly two thirds of the population. I anticipate that support is much lower in smaller centres. I also expect that education and religious background would influence support.
I have noticed that antitrans sentiment here comes largely from less well educated (high school or less), rural, conservative Christians... and that everybody else looks on those same people as bigots. This is a switch from 20-25 years ago when those of us who supported gay rights were seen as crazy radicals. My husband actually has to remind me sometimes that there are still homophobes around here because I encounter them so rarely... (transphobia is more common and I don't need a reminder of that).
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