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Globe and Mail: 'Out of Nowhere,' Canada Became Poorer Than Alabama

Brett T.
Brett T.  |  9:00 PM on February 21, 2026

Alabama?

Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail asks how it's possible that "out of nowhere," Canada became poorer than … gasp! … Alabama.

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"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:

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"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.

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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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