Geoffrey Duckworth is an Alberta lawyer.There’s a certain humility inherent in beginning any event — whether political or social — with a prayer asking for God’s wisdom. It’s still a common feature at the commencement of many Western gatherings to pray for guidance and community. Incumbent is an admission of vulnerability, of need, and a desire for goodness — for all. One of the things I love most about the West, beyond its striking natural beauty and the friendliness of its people, is its instinctive egalitarianism, even in its most prosperous corners. As a junior lawyer beginning my career in downtown Calgary almost 18 years ago, I was incredulous to discover that senior national law firm partners, making comfortably more than a million dollars annually, still drive to work in pickup trucks, often dated. As I emerged from basement-dwelling in Toronto, saddled with student debt, and wondering what would ever become of me, I arrived in Alberta’s sprawling, canola-lined frontiers, sensing that extraordinary opportunity was available — and yet, humility in the prosperity. Our gravel-laden vehicles are parked side-by-side in the same cornfields at the same rodeos. You won’t find any white-gloved gentlemen approaching with offers of valet service here. It’s just not the Western Way..HILL: The right to self-defence?.The West is unique, vast, and open. Impressed with the immensity of the Rocky Mountains and the majesty of the Pacific Ocean, its giant reach spans throughout the gold and green prairie heartland, and toward never-ending blue sky. Now, decades ago, when Preston Manning urged his adherents to “Think Big”, could there be any doubt of the genesis of his message? It is this land that gave birth to so many new political movements — populist and co-operative. It is time for another.Westerners are right to sense that our values have failed to gain respect in status-conscious, ossified Ottawa. The smug dismissal of Western concerns rests on the naïve complacency that we could never come as close to the margins of sovereignty as Quebec did in 1995. Yet I propose that something else is a factor in the thinking of the heartland: Westerners think big. Our values are bigger than anger or Ottawa. So is our potential. If any part of the West, say Alberta, were to found a nation alone within provincial borders containing a population the size of Mauritania or Kuwait (4,927,532 and 4,881,254 respectively), we would not reach our God-given potential. I do not believe that is the future of the West. It is not our temperament. It is not our heritage. .Western values may be unique as far as Ottawa is concerned, but they have great currency with our allies in America. Indeed, when political discussions traverse Western values like personal responsibility, faith, Judeo-Christian principles, enterprise, risk, hard work, family, environmental stewardship, love of nature, egalitarianism, law, order, national security, castle doctrine, and support for those who fall on hard times, both at home and abroad, it’s no doubt that Houston and Helena often seem more like home than Ottawa. We are not alone. Today, the West is in a position to propose powerful political partnerships with like-minded allies, like America and the United Kingdom. The West’s political leverage is in ascendancy. And it is an opportunity that must be seized..MINDERHOUD: When conservatives concede the classroom to gender identity warriors.In terms of America, our common land has been an oasis from war for over 150 years. Much of this is due to American might, but also to our ties to an English behemoth that once was (and could be again). Our brave soldiers won two World Wars fighting side by side with both.Americans are our biggest fans. By dollar value, they buy almost 63% of the goods we sell outside of the country. Our next biggest buyers, the European Union and China, buy 10.5% and 8.23%, respectively. The American total comprises a staggering $751.8 billion a year. Our cultures and businesses are inseparable. We share common language and history. We celebrate the same entertainers, same films, same shows, same wines, same foods. We watch the same sports leagues — including the NHL, NBA, MLB, and MLS. We invest largely in the same stock markets, which tend to move in tandem. We rely on the same companies for groceries, vehicles, smartphones, computers, and home delivery of goods. We travel and trade together. We use the same tools and the same apps. .The areas that are protected from American investment — from cell phone service to airlines to dairy — are generally the areas where we suffer from high prices and lack of choice. As Westerners also know, many restrictions are aimed right at our own industries, like oil and gas. Economic harmonization would arrest Canada’s ongoing economic decline. According to the World Bank, US per capita income hit $85,809.9 (USD) in 2024, compared to Canada at $54,282.6 (USD). A recent Fraser Institute study revealed that Canadian GDP per capita declined from 80.4% of the US level in 2012 to 72.3% in 2022. There is no good reason for us to be poorer. Less opportunity is just not Western! The land of our forefathers, the United Kingdom, is experiencing a relatable restlessness. This birthplace of Lockean individualism has long been a poor fit for the confiscatory, state-managed business environs of mainland Europe. In truth, however, its move from the EU was animated less by the exigencies of economy and more by desire to return to what made Britain great. The move endures despite the hit to European integration. For hundreds of years, Great Britain was a free-wheeling, sea-faring global power invested in virtually every realm on the planet. We are part of that legacy. The British imagination is again looking for more than local. It’s time for all of us to start talking. .EDITORIAL: Statehood for Palestine? Why premature recognition would be a grave mistake.An integrated, transatlantic English alliance would be a giant for justice, prosperity, and global influence. It would offer new opportunities for growth and collaboration, business, fun, faith, innovation, culture, art, and sport. Its open, integrated markets would span from the Gulf of America to the Arctic Ocean, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, to the English Channel and the North Sea. Our children would have more opportunity than we could ever have imagined. The West would have more influence and its values more currency, at home and globally, than it has ever known.These ambitions are admittedly vulnerable to the criticism that they cannot be achieved if Ottawa remains a barrier. Disintegration becomes inevitable if the West’s aspirations can only be attained by waiting for freak electoral events or sponsorship scandals. Ultimately, the words “it’ll never happen” will face judgment day at the ballot box. As history can attest, “it’ll never happen” are the last words of every status quo incumbent there ever was. From Blockbuster to BlackBerry, from Yugoslavia to the Soviet Union, the stories of those who failed to recognize change are too manifold to reproduce in these pages. Ottawa is no smarter than any of them. But if I’ve learned anything from my time in the West, it’s not to misjudge humility. Westerners have a habit of thinking big. Geoffrey Duckworth is an Alberta lawyer
