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There’s no question the resource rich provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta require greater provincial autonomy and the ability to cost effectively transport their resources to Canadian tidewater. Westerners holding this view have traditionally assumed the awarding of additional constitutional powers and autonomy to their provinces could quell demands for outright independence. If few, or any, of the West’s demands for greater autonomy are met, separation could be moved up to the top of the agenda. Let’s call this the FIX IT or WEXIT proposition.
The results of Monday’s federal election and the conduct of the Liberals and their allies in the legacy media during the campaign have convinced a vocal minority of Westerners the FIX IT option has outlived its best before date.
There is compelling evidence in support of their ‘been there, done that’ reasoning.
In the late 1970s, Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed recognized separating from Canada was becoming popular among many reasonable Westerners. Lougheed agreed to temporarily tolerate the Liberals’ National Energy Program (NEP) in exchange for constitutional guarantees for greater provincial control over natural resources. He did it to avoid a national unity showdown.
When Justin Trudeau became prime minister in 2015, his government made it clear that the changes to the 1982 version of the Constitution, made to appease Lougheed and satisfy the West, weren’t worth the paper they were written on.
Similarly, in the 1990s, when Preston Manning and the Reform Party announced “The West wants in,” they hoped the rest of Canada and the federal government would adopt the democratic reforms required to keep the West in confederation. As it happened the rest of Canada showed little interest in the Reform agenda. Central Canada rejected the creation of a triple E senate (equal, elected and effective), the ability to recall ineffective MPs and the use of referenda to shape legislation, among other reforms. Eventually the Reform Party folded its tent and merged with other conservatives to form the Alliance Party.
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Any historian worth their salt could readily expand the list of Western grievances linked to Central Canada’s political and economic domination of the West going back to the early days of confederation.
Yet, despite the foregoing, at this juncture in our political life giving up on the FIX IT option is dangerously premature. Emotions are running high just now and there are a lot people understandably fed up with the constitutional status quo. Unfortunately, some of our most offended and alienated neighbours are embracing strategies that are counterproductive and likely to fail.
There are some people on the fringes of the WEXIT movement whose interests in independence are linked to support for a narrow set of special interest issues. This faction have similarities with the Democrats in the US whose election platforms included a laundry list of boutique issues in support of identity groups and ideas that were unpopular with the majority of Americans.
In service of my academic interests I attended a public meeting in Regina in the early 2000s billed as a forum to discuss forming a Saskatchewan Independence Party. Early into the meeting it became apparent the theme of the meeting would actually be denouncing the Canadian Wheat Board. There was virtually no discussion of independence beyond it being a vehicle to help kill the Wheat Board. It is likely that nearly everyone at the meeting was opposed to the Wheat Board and its grain marketing monopoly. But that is not why many attendees were there. There were people who angrily left the meeting after complaining it had been hijacked by anti-Wheat Board activists. The meeting was divisive and did little to advance the cause of independence.
It is unlikely a solid majority of Westerners will follow a collection of fringe groups and single issue zealots whose goals have little to do with the principal reasons for greater autonomy and the possibility of independence.
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A successful FIX IT or WEXIT movement will be embraced and led by credible people with proven experience in navigating Western conflicts with the federal government. If the prairie West leaves confederation it will be under the leadership of the likes of a Lougheed, Smith, Wall, or Moe. A campaign to separate won’t be led by the guy with the loudest mouth at the bar.
More hazardous, is the flirtation of hyper-alienated Westerners with the possibility of US annexation and/or statehood. Under its current management the US is unlikely to provide the prairie provinces with some sort of sweetheart arrangement that would provide anywhere near the benefits of independence or even our dysfunctional relationship with Ottawa. If Trump really is as nutty as his performance during his first 100 days suggests, it would be unwise to give him the ammunition he might need to actually absorb the prairies without our consent. We’d be lucky to get the status of a territory like Puerto Rico much less that of a state.
Trump needs to win, and begging for a deal from a position of weakness is a dumb idea. Telling Trump we’d like to merge our countries because we have no other options is hardly a position of strength. Some worry the more publicity advocates of rushing into the arms of the US get, the more encouraged Trump might be to do something stupid.
Better for us to stay calm yet determined and think carefully before acting. Fortunately, there are adults and wise people in the West who have been laying much of the groundwork for an effective FIX IT or WEXIT strategy. A surge in post-election enthusiasm for getting out of Canada is understandable. We just need wait until our blood pressure drops a little before doing anything rash.
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- 0086 Sask Gov Oil and Gas Incentive Programs0086 Sask Gov Oil and Gas Incentive Programs
- 0085 Turnbull snow removal call office0085 Turnbull snow removal call office
- 0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online0084 EMP Metals Pipeline Online
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
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- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
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- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
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- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
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