After decades of futile efforts to reform Canada, it is now time for Alberta to strike out on its own to form a new, independent country..The case for Alberta independence can be best understood by looking at the province’s history. For generations, Albertans felt they've been ignored or even exploited within Canada, and eventually this feeling has reached the point where many believe the only solution is to form a new country..What is now known as the Prairie West was originally part of Rupert’s Land, the vast northwestern wilderness territory of the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1870 Rupert’s Land was purchased by Canada, and the inhabitants of the territory were annexed to Canada without being consulted. Some people had other ideas about the best political future for their community, and unhappiness about being forced into Canada contributed to the Riel Rebellion of 1869-1870..In other words, there was evidence of Western discontent with Canada right from the very beginning..Then the Prairies were filled with settlers to pioneer the land and create an agricultural economy. There was a protective tariff to ensure Western farmers had to buy manufactured goods and equipment from Central Canada. That meant the farmers had to pay higher prices than otherwise. Also, they had to sell their grain through middlemen who took a share of the final price gained on the world market, and they had to pay transportation costs. That is to say, they ended up paying more and receiving less..These kinds of grievances kept many Westerners unhappy about their place within Canada and led to political action to address their concerns. But they were not angry enough to create any movement towards independence. Instead, many Westerners — and especially Albertans — turned away from mainstream political parties and formed alternative parties, such as the provincial United Farmers of Alberta and federal Progressive Party of Canada during the 1920s..Even more profound was the 1935 election of a Social Credit government in Alberta, an event that set the province apart from the rest of the country..Ted Byfield, the founder of Alberta Report magazine, explained the significance of that event as follows: “While other provinces whined about the Depression, Alberta acted. We would not acquiesce in the misery we felt and saw around us. We would fight. We would rebel. If anything is characteristic of this province, it’s that spirit of defiance. Push us far enough and we will strike back. That was our record and that is our reputation.”.In short, during the first decades of the twentieth century, Alberta fought back against Central Canada, but not through any movement favouring independence..That all changed when Pierre Trudeau became Prime Minister in 1968..With Pierre Trudeau as prime minister, a threshold was crossed. Many Westerners went from just being angry about our place in Canada, to wanting out altogether..Not coincidentally then, the first book written on western separatism was 'The Unfinished Revolt: Some Views on Western Independence,' a collection of essays published in 1971. The most important contribution to this book, an essay by John Barr, argued the West should first try to reform Canada. If that proved futile, it should strike out on its own..So that idea was first proposed in 1971, more than 50 years ago..Two years later, as a result of the Arab-Israeli War of October 1973, the price of oil skyrocketed. Alberta could finally look forward to reaping large rewards from its oil resources..However, the rewards were much less than they should have been. Trudeau decided that the price of western Canadian oil would be kept low to benefit the eastern provinces, and also that there would be a federal tax on oil sold to the United States. As a result, revenue that should have accrued to the western producing provinces, especially Alberta, were lost to eastern Canada and the federal government..After a brief Progressive Conservative minority government in 1979, a federal election was held in February 1980. This election was unique because of a conscious decision by the Liberals to exploit regional divisions to win power. The Liberal Party’s election campaign theme that year was famously summarized by prominent Liberal Keith Davey as: “Screw the West. We’ll take the rest.”.In October 1980, Trudeau’s government brought in the National Energy Program (NEP) which was designed to increase the federal government’s control of the West’s energy resources..Trudeau’s anti-Alberta policies permanently changed the province’s political culture. Before 1980, polling on support for Alberta independence was in the single digits. After 1980, it has always been in the double digits. This means the experiences of 1980 — and especially the NEP — led to a permanent increase in support for Alberta independence..Despite growing support for Alberta independence, some people thought reasonable reforms could be enacted to protect the interests of Alberta within Confederation..Among them was Senator Ernest Manning and a couple of prominent colleagues. In 1981 they wrote a report for the Canada West Foundation proposing Senate reform entitled 'Regional Representation: The Canadian Partnership.' They explained institutional reforms to improve regional representation were necessary if Canada was to avoid the possibility of Western provinces moving towards independence..Pierre Trudeau resigned in 1984 and was replaced by John Turner as Liberal leader and prime minister. A few months later, a federal election was held and the Progressive Conservatives under Brian Mulroney were elected. This was good news because the West strongly supported the Conservatives and expected to get much better treatment from the federal government..However, Mulroney’s government was faced with the decision of choosing where Canada’s new CF-18 fighter jets would be maintained. There were companies in two cities with facilities to maintain the jets — Winnipeg and Montreal — and the federal government held a competition to see which company could best do the job. By the government’s own criteria, the Winnipeg firm won the competition, but Mulroney’s government awarded the maintenance contract to the Montreal company anyway..This angered many Westerners and it demonstrated much like the Liberals, even the Conservatives would favour Central Canada over the West..This, the CF-18 affair, triggered a new Western movement that led to the creation of the Reform Party of Canada led by Preston Manning. Its motto was 'The West wants in.'.A brochure entitled “A New Federal Political Party to Represent the West” was produced in 1987 to promote the new party. It noted: “Throughout our history, Ontario and Quebec have held the lion’s share of political influence in Canada, and they continue to dominate the national scene at the expense of the West. Our political and economic development is being hamstrung by the vested interests of the ‘Golden Triangle’ establishment of Toronto — Ottawa — Montreal.”.That was written 35 years ago — nothing has changed!.The Reform Party won many seats in the West during the 1990s. Over time however, the Reform Party focused increasingly on becoming a national party, rather than just a Western party. In 2000 it transformed itself into the Canadian Alliance and then it merged with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to become the new Conservative Party of Canada in 2003..The first leader of the Conservative Party was Stephen Harper. Harper was trusted by Westerners to defend the West’s interests in government. He was elected prime minister in 2006, and remained in that position until being defeated by Liberal leader Justin Trudeau in 2015..Due to his concerns about climate change, Justin Trudeau wanted to choke Alberta’s oil industry so it could be phased out. Among his policies was Bill C-69, the “No More Pipelines Bill.” It became law in 2019. On top of that was Bill C-48, The Oil Tanker Moratorium Act. It too became law in 2019, and is popularly known as the “Alberta tanker ban.”.The constitution guarantees provincial ownership and control of natural resources. But in Alberta’s case, that constitutional protection is being effectively subverted by Trudeau’s policies, including the carbon tax..Yet the federal government is still raking in billions of dollars from Alberta’s energy sector. University of Calgary economist Robert Mansell calculated Alberta made a net contribution to Canada of $630 billion from 1965 to 2018..But there is good news!.In the wake of Quebec’s 1995 independence referendum, the federal government initiated a reference case whereby it asked the Supreme Court of Canada whether it would be legal for Quebec to unilaterally declare independence..The court ruled in 1998 that Quebec could not unilaterally declare independence from Canada. However, if Quebec held a referendum on independence with a clear question, and a clear majority of people voted in favour, then Canada would be obliged to negotiate with Quebec over the province’s independence..This decision created a constitutional pathway for provinces to peacefully separate from Canada. That is, Alberta can hold an independence referendum in accordance with Canadian constitutional law..Over the last several decades, there have been many proposals by serious people about how to improve Alberta’s situation within Canada. There was John Barr in 1971, Ernest Manning and his colleagues in 1981, and others. None of their recommendations were implemented..Most significant, of course, was the Reform Party of Canada. Alberta voted overwhelmingly for the Reform Party during the 1990s, but Canada’s political system could not be fixed..And that's the bottom line: If Preston Manning and the Reform Party could not get a Triple E Senate and otherwise reform Canada’s political system, then it can’t be done. The West has tried to fix Canada, but it doesn’t want to be fixed. Therefore, the only remaining alternative is to get out..There is no other option.
