Eastern alienation

In Alban politics, Eastern alienation is the idea that the provinces east of the Rocky Mountains are comparatively neglected, and in some cases excluded, from mainstream politics in favour of the coastal provinces. The phenomenon is an important aspect of modern Alban politics and is most closely held to by the Liberal and Reform Parties, being primarily concentrated in right to centre-right political circles.

Background
The eastern provinces of Athabasca and Kisatchewan were established early in the 1900s, followed by Muskegon in the 1930s. Early federal policy prioritized the construction of the Dominion Pacific Railway and investment in agriculture and forestry as a means of bringing Albion's economy together, protecting domestic industry with high tariffs as a means to avert an economic dependency on the United States. These policies broadly raised prices for Alban consumers but allowed Alban domestic companies to flourish and develop independent networks of supply and production. The effect of this policy platform - referred to by Prime Minister William Lanark Townshend as the Dominion Policy - is illustrated in the relatively greater exploitation of the Great Prairie in Albion than in the United States, despite its more northerly alignment.

Elements of the Dominion Policy were slowly weakened or dismantled by Labour governments from the 1910s through the 1950s, beginning with agricultural policies passed by the government of Edward B. Green that were seen as favourable to western farmers over eastern. These early overtures did not substantially weaken Labour's support in the east.

Eastern alienation began to emerge more clearly with the establishment of the Albion Wheat Board in the early 1930s by Labour Prime Minister Major John Stilwell. The mandatory shipment of wheat through the Port of Churchill, coupled with high rates, created hardships for eastern farmers and resulted in a decline in Labour's vote share in the east in the 1935 election. These issues submerged in the ensuing years in the face of significant Alban reaction to overseas extremism and conflict, but re-emerged beginning in the 1950s as the debate over exploitation of the Athabasca tar sands heated up. The construction of the Trans Albion Pipeline, while popular in the east, hurt Labour's hopes west of the Rockies, creating the impression in the minds of many easterners that the coastal provinces were blind and deaf to their concerns.

Modern Eastern alienation
Eastern alienation emerged as a political force during the terms of Prime Minister Len Jeffrey. Labour's 1976 minority victory, coming under Lydia Bishop Janson following 12 years of Jeffrey's premiership, is remarkable in having been achieved while winning no seats east of Kootenay.

Jeffrey's government notably established Petro Albion and implemented the National Energy Strategy, two initiatives which alienated provincial governments in Athabasca and Kisatchewan. The former initiative was seen as a federal government intrusion into the oil market, cannibalizing revenue from private companies paying taxes to the provinces. The latter was more reviled in its efforts to keep the price of Alban oil low relative to world markets, at the expense of significant double-taxation of the oil sector. These policies were calculated to cost the eastern provinces billions of dollars overall, resulting in a significant backlash from voters east of the mountains, who viewed the government's intrusion into the otherwise-lucrative sector as heavy-handed and tyrranical.

Eastern alienation is largely responsible for Albion's modern party system, in which conservative and arch-conservative parties perform best in the eastern provinces and liberal to democratic-socialist parties perform best on the coast. It is frequently invoked by lobbying groups associated with private-sector energy companies.

While Yukon is also a petroleum-producing province, it is generally not considered to be subject to eastern alienation, largely due to a dramatically different political culture and closer ties to the Pacific provinces.