My opening remarks from Progress Publics

Hey, fellow workers. My name is Kim Siever, and I’m the founder of an independent media startup called The Alberta Worker, where I write daily news stories and regular editorials, record videos, and publish a podcast. I started what is now The Alberta Worker a little over 5 years ago, just a few weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to that, I didn’t really spend a lot of time delving into labour issues or politics in Alberta. Since then, I’ve been given quite the education. 

Just before I get into my remarks, I wanted to note that I have asthma, so if you hear me coughing or clearing my throat, that’s why. I’m not contagious. Oh, and I wanted to give a shout out to the Alberta Advantage Podcast for this pretty sweet hat: it reads, “I always pay my union dues”. 

I’ve been asked to focus on labour and capitalism. I can’t really speak to each one separately, as the two are inextricably linked. You see, capitalism is the private ownership and control of the means of production, which economists also call the four factors of production: capital, entrepreneurship, land, and labour. Capitalism, by its very nature, separates all of us into two classes: those who own and control the means of production and those who don’t. I call these the owning class and the working class.

Regarding labour, the owning class owns and controls the labour, as well as the output of that labour, and the working class provides the labour. You see? Labour is inextricably linked to capitalism.

Now, there are a few things I’ve noticed after researching and writing over 1,500 news stories on Alberta politics and labour issues.

First, how many of you have ever heard an Alberta politician claim that we have the highest wages in Canada? It’s a pretty common claim. It’s not true. Well, it’s not true anymore.

You see, the highest median hourly wage in Canada actually goes to British Columbia, which has held that spot since 2023. Every month since February 2020, I’ve been writing a news article about the latest labour market statistics for Alberta, and not one time in 2024 nor during the first 5 months of 2025 has Statistics Canada shown that Alberta has the highest median wage in the country. They’ve usually been in second place behind BC, and occasionally third place behind Ontario. But even when Alberta had the highest wages, that statistic was covering up a worrying trend that everyone seemed to be ignoring. You see, BC didn’t suddenly shoot up to first place in terms of wages. They slowly inched their way to the top spot over time. 

In 2014, BC actually had the fifth highest wages of any of the provinces, behind Alberta, Québec, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. A year later, Québec dropped from second place to fifth place, pushing BC up to fourth. In late 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic began, BC surpassed Saskatchewan, which had fallen to fourth place behind Ontario. In 2022, BC passed Ontario to claim second place and then overtook Alberta for the top spot the following year. And it’s been there ever since.

Had anyone been paying attention, they’d have noticed that while Alberta’s wages kept climbing, so did BC’s, but BC’s wages were growing even faster than Alberta’s. Between January 2014 and January 2024, BC’s average wage increased by 44.9%, the largest increase of all the provinces. Alberta’s, however, increased at just 22.42%, the smallest increase in the country, tied with Newfoundland and Labrador.

The trend is even more pronounced when we look at real wages, wages adjusted for inflation.

During this same 10-year period, Alberta saw the fourth largest increase in the consumer price index: 27.71%. Remember, Alberta’s wages had increased by only 22.42%, so that means inflation was more than 5 points higher than wage increases. In fact, Alberta was one of only 2 provinces where median wages increased more slowly than inflation, and of the two, we performed the worst.

This means that Alberta workers saw the largest reduction in real wages in the country. The median worker in Alberta effectively had their wages cut by more than 5% over the last decade. And it doesn’t help that we now have the lowest minimum wage in Canada.

None of this should be that surprising when we consider that Alberta has the lowest union coverage rate in the country, with only 23.8% of workers being covered by a collective agreement or belonging to a union, as of last month. That drops to under 10% when we look at just private sector workers. Collective bargaining is the strongest tool the working class has to combat inflation and ensure we can afford to take care of ourselves and our families. 

It’s also no coincidence that Alberta has the fourth highest unemployment rate in the country and the highest west of Ontario. When unemployment is high, the owning class has more demand for their jobs, so they can pit workers against each other as they compete for what few jobs there are. When unemployment is low, the tables turn in the workers’ favour, with workers being able to choose which jobs they take, so they’re less likely to compete with one another.

Capitalism will never solve our material struggles on its own. It’s designed to maximize profit for the owning class. Hiring more workers, paying workers more, improving working conditions, keeping rent low—they all reduce  profits for the owning class. These things will only improve for us when we collectively demand them, or the government gets involved.

The government has immense power to improve our material conditions. At the snap of a finger, the government can create jobs without waiting for market demand. They can build and staff schools. They can build and staff hospitals. I’m sure everyone here can think of a highway in Alberta that can be twinned. Even if you are pro oil and gas, the provincial government has the power to drill for natural gas and mine bitumen, to refine it, and to convert its products into all sorts of products, ranging from retail fuel to plastics and medical supplies. They have the power to increase worker wages. They’re able to build housing. They can fully fund post-secondary education, eliminating tuition and administrative fees. Not only will we have more jobs, higher wages, and housing, but our education, health, and living standards will improve as well.

But the only way the government will do anything like this is if we stand in solidarity and demand it. The only way the owning class will improve our material conditions is if we stand in solidarity and demand it.

In closing, I just want to say solidarity with DHL workers who are on strike here in Calgary and in Edmonton.