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EASTERN PEOPLE ON WESTERN PRAIRIES... advocated stricter checks on incoming immigrants; moral here mostly meant behaving in accordance with Anglo-Canadian norms before being considered for immigration, thus eliminating many "misfits."" The labor, agricultural, and manufacturing sectors, which were all on the rise after the First World War and required as many men as possible to continue increasing outputs, were often the only supporters of such immigrants.*’ It took over a decade before the need for male labor won out against these openly racist claims. These three combined factors — isolating racism, existing behavioural differences, and increased agricultural success in Alberta without needing to change attitudes towards education and skilled labour training — helped to create a unique culture in Alberta as time went by. Alberta still has a higher proportion of self-employed farmers and agricultural workers than any other province in Canada but Saskatchewan, and many of these farmers continue to work land originally owned by their immigrant ancestors two to three generations ago.” The general level of education has also increased in Alberta, as it has everywhere in Canada, using the baseline of high school completion rates. However, education remains less important to Albertans than to other provinces, as it did during the period of post-Russian Revolution refugees. The rate of high school completion in Alberta is the lowest of the provinces save Manitoba (the territories also have a lower high school completion rate than Alberta). Specifically, Alberta has the highest rate of self-employed farmers with no high school education. Both of these trends began to appear following the arrival of former Russian Empire immigrants, and both have remained in the province until present, albeit in a subtler way. Interestingly, in Alberta, more people also report learning Russian and Ukrainian than French, despite there being several strong French communities in the northern portion of the province, and the status of French as an official language of Canada.” The political culture of modern Alberta also reflects the values that these refugees brought with them. Consider the political responses to the NDP government’s Bill 6, legislation designed to improve the safety of farm workers that was passed in 2016. The bill affected only farms with paid employees, going so far as to specifically exclude family members working on the farm and neighbours volunteering to help with chores. Farms with paid non-family employees were required to follow OHS employer standards, have Workers’ 56 Ibid., 6. 57 Ibid. 6. 58 Census Profile, 2016 Census, Statistics Canada, 2017, Textual Records, no. 98-316X2016001, LAC. Last Modified 29 November 2017, https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/censusrecensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E (accessed 16 August 2020). 5° Educational Profile of Canada, 2006 Census, Statistics Canada, 2008, Textual Records, no. 97-560, LAC. Last Modified 28 September 2016, https://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82229-x/2009001/envir/hsg-eng.htm (accessed 16 August 2020). 60 Census Profile, 2016 Census, Statistics Canada, 2017. +5] +»
