Alabama?
Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail asks how it's possible that "out of nowhere," Canada became poorer than … gasp! … Alabama.
Out of nowhere, Canada became poorer than Alabama. How is that possible? https://t.co/2qUA7SyB3t
— The Globe and Mail (@globeandmail) February 20, 2026
"For an overdue wake-up call, The Globe travelled to the Deep South to understand how the state is breaking stereotypes and, at times, looking richer than Canada," writes Tim Kiladze, reporting from Huntsville.
… Alabama tropes are hard to shake: The state is backward and full of bible thumpers and bigots – allegedly. When local companies try to hire from afar, Mayor Battle says recruits often hear the same responses when telling their spouses: “‘Huntsville?’ With one question mark. Then they say, ‘Alabama???’ With three question marks.”
Translation: You’ve got to be kidding me.
…
For eons, Canadians have viewed Alabama as a small state that, save for a few pockets, is dirt poor. All anybody seems to know about Alabama is that Montgomery and Birmingham were the centre of the civil rights movement. In 1963, when Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” he called Birmingham “probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States.”
Polling Canada doesn't believe it:
Genuinely very funny people are arguing Alabama has a higher standard of living than Canada
— Polling Canada (@CanadianPolling) February 20, 2026
Are they smoking crack? 😭
Alabama does have a higher standard of living compared to Canada, with a GDP per capita of $66,000 USD compared to Canada’s $54,000.
— Chadwick Moore (@Chadwick_Moore) February 21, 2026
It’s also got warm beaches, great food, and home to NASA’s primary hub for rocketry and propulsion. https://t.co/fRkI0sVK3H
Alabama has a nice variety of geography from beautiful white beaches around Gulf Shores to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains on the Cumberland Plateau near Huntsville (aka Rocket City) which is the engineering backbone of NASA's propulsion and heavy-lift capabilities.
— Blargeaux (@blargeauxite) February 21, 2026
Alabama produces more cars than Canada
— Ward Presley (@flat3rth) February 21, 2026
Intersting:
— OldSaltCityAce 🇺🇸 🏴 👑 (@OldSaltCityAce) February 21, 2026
The population of Canada is about 5 times that of Alabama, but the Canadian army is only about twice the size of the Alabama NG.
Also, Alabama has a battleship. Canada doesn't.
"Canadians could probably stomach having their living standards slip relative to the broader U.S., the epicentre of the world’s tech revolution. But Alabama?" writes Kiladze, asking again.
You really don't know but you still voted for it.
— JWF (@JammieWF) February 20, 2026
Out of nowhere? Where have you been for the past 10 years? pic.twitter.com/U7vCp4x8zv
— Andy Dayes (@AndyDayes) February 20, 2026
Socialists ruin everything they touch pic.twitter.com/G8I9ySWfhl
— Ardent Maven (@ArdentMaven) February 20, 2026
— Chris D'Héry (@ChrisDHry1) February 20, 2026
— Jonatan Pallesen (@jonatanpallesen) February 20, 2026
Have you ever been to Alabama? It's incredibly nice there. The streets are clean and safe, the people are kind, the beaches are beautiful, and yes it's much more well off than you imagine because it isn't being destroyed by its own government.
— Myshkin (@ode_to_fyodor) February 20, 2026
Oh it’s not out of nowhere
— Sunni (@ControGorilla) February 20, 2026
Canadian elites have spent the past few decades putting their people last in a way that no other western nation has come close to. Nobody is surprised by this.
— John Birch Society (@The_JBS) February 20, 2026
"oUt oF nOwHeRe" pic.twitter.com/XyXbRwpeWv
— Canada Roast (@CanadaRoast) February 20, 2026
It’s almost as if no one at @globeandmail has any idea who’s been running things in Ottawa for the last decade.
— Shooting News Weekly (@SN_Weekly_) February 20, 2026
"Nowhere." It is a mystery.
— Fergus Hodgson, CAIA (@FergHodgson) February 20, 2026
The "How did that happen out of nowhere?" question is rhetorical. It's a lengthy piece with a long history of Alabama's growth, but there's no mention of how Canada's GDP dropped. They really don't know.
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