The natural beauty and resources of Alberta attract people from across Canada and the world. We are familiar with the complex work and community environment that this poses for many individuals. Some particular points that we consider in our work are:
- Alberta’s oil industry brings workers from Atlantic Canada and various global contexts, presenting pockets of the province that have markedly different cultural influences from one another;
- In 2016, 6.5% of Alberta’s population consisted of Indigenous peoples, more than doubling the population percentage in Ontario and Quebec and exceeding that of British Columbia (Statistics Canada, 2018); and,
- In 2016, 10% of Albertans are French or are French-Canadian descendants (Government of Alberta, n.d., Statistics Canada, 2018), suggesting a different history and cultural influence from religion than their non-Franco Albertan counterparts.
Our Alberta Regional Director, Erin Reid, relates these details to our Alberta programming.
Erin Reid,Regional Director (Alberta)
Erin is an educator and researcher who thinks a great deal about religious diversity, equity, and education. In particular, she is deeply curious about how religion intersects with other facets of identity, including language and LGBTQ2S+ identities. Her doctoral research at McGill University investigates the role of religious literacy as an educational aim in teacher education programs in Canada. This academic work is deeply informed by her 15+ years of experience as an educator, curriculum developer, and teacher educator in adult education and higher education contexts. In 2015, she received the Award for Distinguished Teaching in McGill University’s School of Continuing Studies. She is also a CCRL Director of Learning (higher education and adult education) and a Co-Founder of the Centre. 