prairie state averse to perceived government overreach

[GoodTaste]

I understand "overreach" here as "overreach ( the act of doing more than the authority bestowed by people allows), for example, the COVID restrictions imposed by government". Am I on the right track?

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‘Are we in trouble? Absolutely’: Alberta battles worst Covid rate in North America
Critics say state’s relaxed approach to restrictions has caused surge in prairie state averse to perceived government overreach

Source: The Guardian

 

[emsr2d2]

Your understanding is correct but the important word there is "perceived". The government has (I believe) the power to impose restrictions but it looks as if the state considers that power to be overreaching. They chose to take a more relaxed approach and are now paying the price with a surge in cases.

I'm not entirely sure you're parsing the sentence correctly, given the words you've marked up in bold. Let me check that you understand that this is what it means:

Critics say that the state's (Alberta's) relaxed approach to restrictions has caused a surge (of infections) in the prairie state (Alberta), a state which is averse to perceived government overreach.

 

[GoesStation]

The author is confused about North American geography. Alberta is a province of Canada, not one of the United States of America.

 

[jutfrank]

The government has (I believe) the power to impose restrictions but it looks as if the state considers that power to be overreaching. They chose to take a more relaxed approach and are now paying the price with a surge in cases.

The perceived relates to public opinion, not to the province's administration.

 

[SoothingDave]

The author is confused about North American geography. Alberta is a province of Canada, not one of the United States of America.

They seem to have corrected it.