This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/04/canada-ted-cruz-alberta-calgary-birthplace
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| 'He’s a Texan, not a fellow Albertan': Canadians quick to disavow Ted Cruz | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Last year, Naheed Nenshi, the mayor of Canada’s energy capital Calgary, Alberta, appeared on MSNBC to promote the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. But before he could get to his points, the host pointed out that Calgary was home to a US presidential candidate. | Last year, Naheed Nenshi, the mayor of Canada’s energy capital Calgary, Alberta, appeared on MSNBC to promote the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. But before he could get to his points, the host pointed out that Calgary was home to a US presidential candidate. |
| “I am the the mayor of the birthplace of Ted Cruz,” admitted Nenshi. “And we’re real proud of it.” | “I am the the mayor of the birthplace of Ted Cruz,” admitted Nenshi. “And we’re real proud of it.” |
| There was more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Approving Keystone might be the only thing the Muslim mayor and the evangelical Texas senator who wants to “carpet bomb” the Middle East would agree on. | There was more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Approving Keystone might be the only thing the Muslim mayor and the evangelical Texas senator who wants to “carpet bomb” the Middle East would agree on. |
| And while Alberta has been called “Texas of the North” – and Calgary “a frigid Dallas” – the prospect that the 45th US president may be a hometown boy is more often a mark of shame than a badge of honour. | And while Alberta has been called “Texas of the North” – and Calgary “a frigid Dallas” – the prospect that the 45th US president may be a hometown boy is more often a mark of shame than a badge of honour. |
| Cruz lived in the city until he was four, while his mother – who later took out Canadian citizenship – and Cuban-American father worked in Alberta’s oil and gas sector. | Cruz lived in the city until he was four, while his mother – who later took out Canadian citizenship – and Cuban-American father worked in Alberta’s oil and gas sector. |
| In the US, Cruz’s birthplace has been the subject of debate among both his rivals and constitutional scholars, but in Canada’s north few had paid attention to the matter until the senator’s surprise victory at the Republican Iowa caucus this week. | In the US, Cruz’s birthplace has been the subject of debate among both his rivals and constitutional scholars, but in Canada’s north few had paid attention to the matter until the senator’s surprise victory at the Republican Iowa caucus this week. |
| “I’m a bit shocked and disappointed in the people of Iowa,” says Mary Eggermont-Molenaar – who was shocked herself to learn last year that for the past 30 years she’s lived in the Republican frontrunner’s childhood home. “It was a sombre night in Casa Cruz.” | “I’m a bit shocked and disappointed in the people of Iowa,” says Mary Eggermont-Molenaar – who was shocked herself to learn last year that for the past 30 years she’s lived in the Republican frontrunner’s childhood home. “It was a sombre night in Casa Cruz.” |
| Eggermont-Molenaar, a Dutch immigrant, is a staunch socialist, but Cruz’s far-right politics rarely resonate even among Alberta’s conservatives. “I’m horrified that he’s even associated with Canada,” says Dan St Pierre, a politically active conservative in the capital, Edmonton. “To be perfectly blunt I think Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are batshit crazy. | Eggermont-Molenaar, a Dutch immigrant, is a staunch socialist, but Cruz’s far-right politics rarely resonate even among Alberta’s conservatives. “I’m horrified that he’s even associated with Canada,” says Dan St Pierre, a politically active conservative in the capital, Edmonton. “To be perfectly blunt I think Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are batshit crazy. |
| The upside, says St Pierre, is he doubts many Albertans know his name, let alone that he was born there. | The upside, says St Pierre, is he doubts many Albertans know his name, let alone that he was born there. |
| If Cruz was quick to disavow his Alberta roots, many Albertans have been quicker to disavow him. | If Cruz was quick to disavow his Alberta roots, many Albertans have been quicker to disavow him. |
| #tedcruz is an embarrassment to Calgary and this is a city with a 10 day festival dedicated to cowboy hats | #tedcruz is an embarrassment to Calgary and this is a city with a 10 day festival dedicated to cowboy hats |
| I can't speak for everyone in #yyc but this Calgarian is quite happy to renounce Ted Cruz if it will help. #election2016. | I can't speak for everyone in #yyc but this Calgarian is quite happy to renounce Ted Cruz if it will help. #election2016. |
| The national embarrassment that is Ted Cruz - yes, he was born in Calgary. Mercifully he rescinded his citizenship. https://t.co/a9qO2jwabc | The national embarrassment that is Ted Cruz - yes, he was born in Calgary. Mercifully he rescinded his citizenship. https://t.co/a9qO2jwabc |
| “As far as I’m concerned, he’s a Texan, not a fellow Albertan,” says Houston Meding, a legislative assistant to a conservative senator who grew up in the province’s Bible belt. “I’m happy he supports Keystone but there’s a ton of rancour and chest-thumping in his rhetoric, like carpet bombing Isis. I wouldn’t be happy to see Ted Cruz become president.” | “As far as I’m concerned, he’s a Texan, not a fellow Albertan,” says Houston Meding, a legislative assistant to a conservative senator who grew up in the province’s Bible belt. “I’m happy he supports Keystone but there’s a ton of rancour and chest-thumping in his rhetoric, like carpet bombing Isis. I wouldn’t be happy to see Ted Cruz become president.” |
| This may come as a surprise to even many Canadians. Alberta overwhelmingly votes right in federal politics. Former prime minister Stephen Harper’s electoral district is in Calgary, and he’s a product of what’s often dubbed the “Calgary School” – the north’s answer to Leo Strauss’s neoconservative movement. | This may come as a surprise to even many Canadians. Alberta overwhelmingly votes right in federal politics. Former prime minister Stephen Harper’s electoral district is in Calgary, and he’s a product of what’s often dubbed the “Calgary School” – the north’s answer to Leo Strauss’s neoconservative movement. |
| As the New Republic put it in an article about Cruz’s roots: “If you can’t be born in conservative America, Calgary is about as close to second best as the world has to offer.” | As the New Republic put it in an article about Cruz’s roots: “If you can’t be born in conservative America, Calgary is about as close to second best as the world has to offer.” |
| That may be true of the Calgary in which Rafael and Eleanor Cruz raised little “Felito”. But much has changed in Canada’s conservative heartland, which last May elected a leftist provincial government after 44 uninterrupted years of conservative rule. | That may be true of the Calgary in which Rafael and Eleanor Cruz raised little “Felito”. But much has changed in Canada’s conservative heartland, which last May elected a leftist provincial government after 44 uninterrupted years of conservative rule. |
| Even Albertans overestimate the conservativeness of their neighbours, according to a survey of a 1,000 residents by leftist lobby group Progress Alberta. “Maybe Ted Cruz’s brand of conservatism would have resonated 20 years ago,” says the group’s executive director, Duncan Kinney, “But we’ve gotten younger, more urban, more educated, and those traits don’t correlate with a hardcore Cruz-esque conservative.” | Even Albertans overestimate the conservativeness of their neighbours, according to a survey of a 1,000 residents by leftist lobby group Progress Alberta. “Maybe Ted Cruz’s brand of conservatism would have resonated 20 years ago,” says the group’s executive director, Duncan Kinney, “But we’ve gotten younger, more urban, more educated, and those traits don’t correlate with a hardcore Cruz-esque conservative.” |
| “He may have been born here, but he doesn’t represent us in any way.” | “He may have been born here, but he doesn’t represent us in any way.” |
| That’s not to say he doesn’t have any hometown fans. But outside of the fringe religious right, support is tepid. | That’s not to say he doesn’t have any hometown fans. But outside of the fringe religious right, support is tepid. |
| “To be honest, I kind of like Ted Cruz,” says Cochrane town councillor Morgan Nagel. “He’s a more moderate alternative to Donald Trump.” | “To be honest, I kind of like Ted Cruz,” says Cochrane town councillor Morgan Nagel. “He’s a more moderate alternative to Donald Trump.” |
| “President Cruz” would not be a huge point of pride for Nagel. But, he says, “maybe if we get a Calgarian in there, that Keystone pipeline will finally get through.” (President Obama vetoed the Keystone plan a year ago, but many Canadians still hold on to the possibility that it can be realized.) | “President Cruz” would not be a huge point of pride for Nagel. But, he says, “maybe if we get a Calgarian in there, that Keystone pipeline will finally get through.” (President Obama vetoed the Keystone plan a year ago, but many Canadians still hold on to the possibility that it can be realized.) |
| For Trevor Lynn, a left-leaning Calgary speechwriter who worked for the Canadian government under Liberal rule, Cruz’s appeal is strictly personal. “We were born in the same hospital. He grew up in north-west Calgary and so did I. He is vying for one of the most important jobs in the world, whether or not he’s my cup of tea, it’s neat when anyone from Calgary does well.” | For Trevor Lynn, a left-leaning Calgary speechwriter who worked for the Canadian government under Liberal rule, Cruz’s appeal is strictly personal. “We were born in the same hospital. He grew up in north-west Calgary and so did I. He is vying for one of the most important jobs in the world, whether or not he’s my cup of tea, it’s neat when anyone from Calgary does well.” |
| Since learning that she owned his childhood home, author and scholar Eggermont-Molenaar has started studying the “extremist” politician’s life story. Should he become the 45th president of the United States, pilgrims to his childhood home will not like what she has planned. “I’m making a list of all his lies.” | Since learning that she owned his childhood home, author and scholar Eggermont-Molenaar has started studying the “extremist” politician’s life story. Should he become the 45th president of the United States, pilgrims to his childhood home will not like what she has planned. “I’m making a list of all his lies.” |
| “I’m just trying to prevent world war three, four, five and six,” she adds. “Owning the house was enough of a burden.” | “I’m just trying to prevent world war three, four, five and six,” she adds. “Owning the house was enough of a burden.” |