On account of the mismanagement of national affairs for the last decade by the Liberal government, and its consistent failure to address those issues of greatest concern to Western Canadians, large numbers of Westerners simply will not stand for another four years of Liberal government, no matter who leads it. The support for Western secession is therefore growing, unabated and even fuelled by Liberal promises to reverse many of their previous positions. Such promises of expediency simply don’t ring true in the West. Who, except the most politically naïve, would believe Mark Carney’s promises to reverse the Liberal positions on everything from east-west pipelines to identity politics and climate change, when standing behind him is a cabinet of 23 MPs who, just a month ago, were advocating for the very opposite and have done so for years?
The bottom-up support for Western secession – another one of those populist movements that central Canada has never anticipated or understood – is currently centred in Alberta and Saskatchewan. But it has the potential to spread to most of B.C., Manitoba and the adjacent territories depending on how it is organized and led. And this time, unlike the late 1980s, there is no Reform Party to redirect that populist energy in a “West Wants In” direction.
So what can be done? Here are two suggested actions, the first by voters in central and Atlantic Canada, and the second by Western political leaders.
Voters, particularly in central and Atlantic Canada, need to recognize that a vote for the Carney Liberals is a vote for Western secession – a vote for the breakup of Canada as we know it. If you couldn’t care less about the concerns or actions of Western Canada, then ignore this unsolicited advice. But understand that separation of the resources-based economic engine of Western Canada from what’s left of the rest of Canada will have dire economic and social consequences for the latter.
Secondly, Western political leaders need to provide a mechanism for recognizing and addressing the growing support for Western secession in an orderly and democratic manner, so that its support and leadership are not surrendered to extremists or eccentrics for lack of thoughtful consideration of how best to proceed. Initially, this mechanism need not be a Western secession party after the Quebec model of the Parti or Bloc Québécois, but rather a democratic forum to first consider various alternative courses of action.
For example, consideration should be given to organizing a “Canada West Constitutional Conference” as soon as possible after the federal election, with a flexible agenda and the backing of at least one provincial government.
