Characteristics assigned to America's classical liberal ideology--rugged individualism, market capitalism, egalitarianism in the sense of equality of opportunity, and fierce hostility toward centralized federalism and socialism--are particularly appropriate for fathoming Alberta's political culture. The author contends that Alberta's early American settlers were pivotal in shaping Alberta's political culture and that Albertans have demonstrated a particular affinity for American political ideas and movements; he links the influence of Americans to Alberta's exceptionalism in Canadian politics, the province where federal and provincial conservative parties have been strongest and where resistance to federal intrusions has been the most vigorous in English Canada. Alberta has been Canada's "maverick" province, more receptive to neoliberalism (or what many term neoconservatism) than the Canadian norm.