Politics & Power Quote by Dan Miller

Stubbornness and independence land here as a compliment disguised as a shrug: a folksy badge of honor that signals identity while pre-explaining friction with Ottawa. Miller is doing a classic politician’s two-step. He names discontent with “our federal government” plainly enough to sound aligned with the grumblers, then immediately reins it in with the softer, managerial verb “encourage” and the genteel phrase “a better way of discussing those problems.” It’s dissent, laundered into civility.

The intent is coalition maintenance. By saying “we,” he wraps himself in a regional or provincial temperament (self-reliant, hard to boss around) and turns political conflict into character. That’s useful because it reframes policy disputes as the natural byproduct of an independent people, not the fault of any particular party or leader. “Our share of difficulties” also downshifts the temperature: not a crisis, not a rupture, just a recurring annoyance everyone can nod at.

The subtext is as much about tone policing as it is about governance. Miller hints that the conversation has gotten unproductive - maybe too angry, too separatist, too personalized - and he’s positioning himself as the adult in the room without alienating those who feel wronged. The careful hedging (“fairly,” “I think”) isn’t weakness; it’s calibration. He wants the legitimacy of grievance and the optics of reasonableness, leaving room to criticize the center while signaling he won’t burn the federation down to make the point.