If Alberta is indeed a nest of Nazi ideology, then why do so many people, from so many places, desire to come here?

The simple answer is Alberta might be many things, but it is far from being the home for a collection of modern-day Hitlers, Himmlers and Goebbels. Instead, it remains the most buoyant and dynamic province in Canada.

It’s been that way for decades, which is why people flock here from every part of the planet. Undoubtedly, this irritates certain folk, but all the pearl clutching can’t alter the fact this remains Canada’s promised land, warts and all.

So it was disappointing, to say the least, to see a fellow Albertan — former NDP leader Rachel Notley — emerge from her political retirement to dredge up analogies of Nazism with a nod to the current UCP government under the leadership of Premier Danielle Smith.

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Perhaps this was born of frustration at witnessing the mess her successor, Naheed Nenshi, is making of his role as leader of the NDP. It must indeed be embarrassing for him to see Notley return to grab the headlines while he struggles to repay the faith shown by party members — that Calgary’s former mayor was the leader needed to return them to power.

Yes, we have schools bursting at the seams, hospital emergency rooms overflowing and the government’s borrowing billions just to keep the lights on, as we’ll hear today when the provincial budget is revealed. And let’s remember the not inconsequential matter of a potential vote on separation looming later this year.

Yet, despite this maelstrom of negativity, Smith’s approval rating recently rose compared to Nenshi’s. Little wonder Notley figured it was time she rode to the party’s rescue. Maybe the excitement of being back in the political saddle went to her head, but drawing analogies to Nazi Germany with today’s Alberta was shameful.

What sparked this debacle was Smith’s push to grab more powers from Ottawa regarding future immigration. We’ll be asked to vote on this contentious issue and others in a provincewide referendum on Oct. 19.

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One of the major questions is whether those in Alberta who are not citizens or permanent residents pay something toward the cost of their health care and the education of their families. Given the overcrowding issues in those vital areas, it’s a reasonable bet the vote will be a resounding yes.

Smith blames former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s open-door immigration policy for this current strain on provincial services, as Alberta’s population grew by a stunning 600,000 people in just the past four years. In true UCP fashion these days, the premier wants to grab control from Ottawa, as Quebec has done in setting limits and guidelines on future newcomers.

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But hold on. It wasn’t long ago that the UCP government under premier Jason Kenney launched the Alberta Is Calling campaign to entice people from across Canada to move here. And Smith herself, just two years ago, talked enthusiastically about doubling the provincial population by 2050.

It was left to the NDP’s deputy leader, Rakhi Pancholi, to mention this salient and uncomfortable fact. (Smith argues Trudeau ignored Alberta’s specific immigration requests and instead simply opened the floodgates.)

Still, Pancholi was doing her job — raising pertinent questions and holding the government’s feet to the fire. That’s why we have an Opposition.

And, yes, we do need a vibrant discussion of the merits and drawbacks of rampant immigration: how do we get the people we need and how to control numbers so our strained health, education and social services keep up.

But, instead, we indulge in name-calling and gutter politics masquerading as debate, one in which the ultimate loser could be the reputation of Notley.

Chris Nelson is a regular columnist.

© Calgary Herald