Liberal's historic Calgary election win is a really big deal

Maybewe've become a littleblasabout the momentous in Alberta politics after last May'sseismic shift that swallowed the once mighty Progressive Conservativesbut the significance ofthe federal Liberal Partywinning two seatsin Calgaryseemslost in the frenzied aftermath of the campaign.

For the first time in nearly 50 years,Calgarianschose a Liberalto represent them in Ottawa. The party also captured two seats in Edmonton on election night.

The Liberal victories in Canada's energy capital are truly profound.

Remember, the prairie cityis the heartland of Canada's conservative movement.

OutgoingPrime Minister Stephen Harpercalls Calgary home. Joe Clark even represented Calgary-Centre from 2000 to 2004 during his secondleadership of the Progressive Conservatives.

The populist Reform Party's first national office was located in Calgary.

The Canada West Foundation is headquartered in the city.

And the intellectual inspiration for many Canadian conservatives, the so-called Calgary School once described as"a rambunctious, Rocky Mountain brand of libertarianism" also got its start at the University of Calgary.

Politics in Calgary is not zeros and ones

Real hatred for the Liberals remains palpable in the city.

Just mention the controversial National Energy Program to someAlbertans(especially of a certain age) and you'll likely geta venomous earful about Liberals.

Calgary is, of course, not a monolithic herd of zombies mindlessly and slavishly voting for conservative politicians.

And politics in Calgary is not zeros and ones, or black or white.

There is nuance. There are many shades of politics.

NaheedNenshi'sso-called "Purple Revolution" that propelled him to city's top civic job, in fact, appealed to both Liberal red and Conservative blue voters.

And nearly a third ofAlbertansdidn't vote for the Conservatives when Harper won a majority in 2011.

Two-thirds of Alberta voters did, however, stick with the "hometown" blueteam in that election.

Oddly even with a prime minister from Calgary for the last decade manyCalgariansstill feellike outsiders in Canada.

There's still a sense even among many progressive voters that eastern Canada doesn't understand Calgary, that Upper Canada's establishment will forever look down its nose at "cowboy Calgary."

In return, many in the city still don't trust Ottawa and grumble about how "Alberta tax dollars" get spent by those in Canada's centre.

Even with Harper at 24 Sussex, western alienation simmered below the surface, says University of Calgary political scientist AnthonySayers.

There's a "sense that the centre (the Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto corridor) doesn't listen to us or isn't as sensitive to our concerns as we had hoped," Sayers told CBC News on election night.

Trudeau's affinity for west seems much stronger than father's

The gloomy long-term outlook for Alberta's energy sector also has many in Calgary worried.

News of anotherTrudeauin power met withtrepidationin the oil patch.

Economics. Psychology. History.

The odds against the Liberals winning in Calgary were formidable.

The party knew it.

And itworked hard to win in Calgary.

JustinTrudeau, himself, made the citya priority.

The Liberal leader probablyhelped solidify his party's victories in the citywhen his national campaign strategically touched down inCalgarySkyviewin the dying hours of the campaign.

One of the things I am most pleased with in the outcome of yesterday's election is that we have strong voices from every single corner of the countryincluding four seats in Alberta.- Justin Trudeau

His affinity for the west seems much stronger than his father's.

"One of the things I am most pleased with in the outcome of yesterday's election is that we have strong voices from every single corner of the countryincluding four seats in Alberta,"Trudeautold reporters at his first news conference after the election.

Trudeau'sLiberal government, of course, now faces some big problems a faltering economy, controversial proposed pipelines, climate change, trade deals with big consequences for Alberta.

How he deals with those dilemmas will likely determine howmanyCalgariansultimately feel about electing Liberals for the first time in generations.