Roughrider fans going to the Canadian Football League Western Final got the chance to root for another cause: Western independence. .Volunteers for Wexit Saskatchewan set up a table near Mosaic Stadium in Regina on Nov. 17 to gather the thousands of signatures required to start a new political party in the province..And this is just the beginning..“Our Plan A is to put pressure on the provincial government to hold a referendum on Western independence for Saskatchewan,” Wexit Saskatchewan volunteer Harry Frank told CTV News..But the petition drive helps facilitates Plan B: the formation of a new political party..“To give us more say in the west ’cause right now we’re not being represented whatsoever. The elections are over as soon as they hit the Manitoba border, and the west is just frustrated,” Frank said..The signature table was set up two hours before kickoff between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. .Kim Poorman was one of many signatories..“We don’t really have any leaders in our area to speak for us. Everything that happens is somebody else’s say, basically. And we need our own voice,” said Poorman..Others, like Monique McIntosh, passed on the opportunity..“I believe in Canada. I want it to stay whole. I want us to get along as a nation and not go down the line of politics where we’re all fighting with each other and breaking each other apart. I just think it’s non-productive,” she said..As early as 2016, organizers anticipated that Justin Trudeau would be re-elected and made plans for this eventuality. When it happened, the Facebook group for VoteWexit.com grew from 4,000 members to 42,000 in just 10 minutes. By 8 a.m. the following morning, the group boasted more than 113,000 members. That is less than half of its current membership of over 271,000..“We’re kind of seeing an awakening right now,” said organizer Eric Wall. .So far, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has been sympathetic to the frustrations behind western separation without actually endorsing it..Moe called upon the prime minister to stop the “fire” of western alienation that was “burning” in western Canada including the elimination of the carbon tax, a commitment to a new Equalization formula, and the pursuit of new pipelines...
