After reviewing information suggesting that Alabama was doing better economically than Canada, a writer from The Globe and Mail, Canada's largest newspaper, decided to visit the state and left with a radically different perspective — most of what you think you know about it is wrong. His analysis has people on both sides of the border fired up.
"How Canada became poorer than Alabama," the headline blared in a long-form feature story published Friday, which went viral over the weekend with over 5 million views on the X post. A second post, mocking the story, also got 5 million views.
"For an overdue wake-up call, The Globe travelled to the Deep South to understand how the state is breaking stereotypes and, at times, looking richer than Canada," the subtitle reads.
Out of nowhere, Canada became poorer than Alabama. How is that possible? https://t.co/2qUA7SyB3t
— The Globe and Mail (@globeandmail) February 20, 2026
Coming into the piece, the writer's perception was exactly what one would expect from someone who has been fed a steady diet of AL(dot)com propaganda painting residents as backwoods and racists.
"But Alabama tropes are hard to shake: The state is backward and full of bible thumpers and bigots – allegedly," the author writes.
One trip to Huntsville and Birmingham, and a review of the state's population, economic development, low unemployment rate, and other metrics, and a few interviews had the author second-guessing those first opinions and challenging others to do the same.
"But being on the ground in Alabama, it was obvious that Canadians need a wake-up call. They tend to view the economy through a historical lens – this is a G7 country that has long punched above its weight. Yet capital is global now and competition for it is fierce. If Canada isn't careful, places such as the Deep South will continue to steal jobs. The Eli Lilly plant awarded in December could have just as easily gone to Montreal, a pharmaceutical hub," the story read.
While the author found much to admire, he also questioned several areas, including rural healthcare, the minimum wage, and the state of education in poor districts.
In the meantime, the story did not go over well on the Canadian side of the border, with one radically progressive account seething, resulting in an endless stream of responses.
Genuinely very funny people are arguing Alabama has a higher standard of living than Canada
— Polling Canada (@CanadianPolling) February 20, 2026
Are they smoking crack? 😭
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