Before the creation of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, the great prairies of the West were governed by a territorial assembly under the watchful eye of Ottawa. Known as the North-West Territory from 1875-1905, this vast land was essentially ruled as a direct colony of the East. The federal government controlled all the resources, and the Eastern elites regularly handed out Western land and contracts to their well-connected friends. Although locals could elect representatives to the Territorial Assembly, the local legislative body had little actual power. The real power was concentrated in the lieutenant-governor who was appointed by Canada’s prime minister, and could overturn the will of the elected Territorial Assembly if they fell out of line..One of the strongest voices to change this system was Frederick Haultain. When he was first elected to the Territorial Assembly in 1887, Haultain was a 30-year-old lawyer living in Fort MacLeod in what is now southern Alberta. He soon realized the problems faced by his constituents in the West were problems with the system itself. He became a champion of the West’s interests and after only a decade he became the first (and only) premier of the North-West Territory in 1897..The first challenge Haultain faced was getting control over government revenue and spending. The territory was responsible for public services like roads, hospitals, and schools, but they did not have the authority to raise their own revenues except through modest licensing fees. The federal government gave the territory annual grants, but it was only a small fraction of the value that the East extracted from the West. To add to the difficulty, the federal government actively promoted immigration to the West but the Assembly did not have the money to account for the growing population’s demand on public services..When the territory’s executive council tried to take control of the territory’s funds in 1889, the lieutenant-governor Joseph Royal refused to allow it. Under instructions from Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, Royal appointed new councilors who he believed would toe the line. However, the Territorial Assembly passed a vote of non-confidence in the newly appointed councilors and they also resigned. After a long power struggle, Ottawa finally agreed to let the assembly control their share of the federal grants in 1892. Despite this concession, the territory still could not control its own taxation, public lands, or natural resources..Haultain explained the West’s relationship with Ottawa in 1903 by comparing it to a dependent living under the thumb of a controlling parent: “They are expending our money and exploiting our resources. We are kept on a starvation allowance in spite of the fact that we have a splendid estate. And when we approach our guardian to ask for enough not only to keep going, but to build a shack, the response it made by a refusal to give us any more income, but a magnificent offer to lend us a little money out of our capital account to build a house.”.Besides money, the second challenge was attaining democratic power. Since the 1840s, most of Canada operated according to the principle of “responsible government.” This meant that the executive branch of government (premier or prime minister and cabinet) could only govern with the support of the legislative branch (legislative assembly or parliament). If the executive branch ever lost the consent of the governed, the elected assembly could pass a vote of non-confidence and trigger a new election. This democratic principle was missing in the North-West Territory, instead concentrating all power with the lieutenant-governor who was accountable only to the prime minister of Canada – not to the people he governed. With pressure from Haultain and others, however, the federal government finally granted responsible government to the territory in 1897, and Haultain became the first premier of the territory..Haultain had scored significant victories for the territory in only a decade since he was first elected, but Ottawa still held a great deal of control. The next step was to campaign for provincial status. Unlike the territories, the provinces have several key powers under the British North America Act which make them mostly self-governing units within the federation. For example, provinces can control their own education, healthcare, public lands, and natural resources..The reigning Liberals in Ottawa initially rejected the request for provincial status. Instead, Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier offered to give the territory additional seats in the House of Commons (raised from 4 to 10). But even 10 seats was still an insignificant fraction of the 215 total seats which were dominated by Ontario and Quebec. The offer failed to deter the growing demand for provincial status, and Haultain continued to win re-election on a platform of increased autonomy for the West..It was only a matter of time before the territory achieved provincial status. But what would that look like? Some expected the land would be split into two provinces, as it eventually was. But Haultain dared to dream a little bigger. He imagined one united Western province called “Buffalo,” which would have included most of the territory that is now Alberta, Saskatchewan, and northern Manitoba (at the time known as Assiniboia)..The following extract from an 1899 interview captures Haultain’s vision for the West. He said he expected to see “the creation of a province clothed with all the powers and prerogatives of a self-governed state. Although there has been some talk of two provinces, I think it is now an accepted fact that the new province will comprise what is now the three territories of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Assiniboia. Their area would be about 310,000 square miles and for the time the 31 members now returned to the assembly would be sufficient to do all the work required of them.”.When Laurier finally agreed to grant provincial status, the result was nothing like Haultain imagined it. In February 1905, the Autonomy Bills were introduced in Canada’s House of Commons outlining the creation of Alberta and Saskatchewan as separate provinces. Laurier now had two provinces to fill with patronage appointments for his friends in the Liberal Party. And more importantly, two smaller provinces would be less likely to challenge Ottawa’s authority than one united mega-province..Haultain’s vision was not realized in 1905, but it still stirs the Western imagination over a century later. Despite their separation along provincial lines, the people of Alberta and Saskatchewan still share a strong political, cultural, and economic resemblance. Perhaps it is not so difficult for citizens of both provinces to imagine one united West with “all the powers and prerogatives of a self-governed state,” free to control its own resource development, and empowered to pursue its own destiny. As long as that vision continues to inspire a new generation of Westerners, the spirit of Haultain lives on..James Forbes is the Western Heritage Columnist for the Western Standard
