Chili is not a contentious issue up north. The biggest food controversy up here is whether you eat your pasty with ketchup or gravy. Both sides are adament that the other is wrong. (I am considered extremely odd since I don't like either on a pasty.)
Another huge area of disagreement is what vegetables should be added - the acceptable ones being potatoes, onions, carrots, and/or rutabaga. (Around here it's not really a pasty unless it includes Rutabaga).
Then there's the question of how the beef is prepared - ground, chopped, or thin sliced.
And people are very scornful about the rash of new gourmet pasties, including chicken, vegetarian, and other ill-advised recipes of Southern influence.