I grew up in the West, and felt the full weight of its anger towards Ottawa. First as a child listening to my parents reel in horror at the second coming of Trudeau Sr. (1980-84). Later as a supporter of the Reform Party..At that time, the West wanted in, and British Columbia was at the forefront of the new conservative movement of the 1990s as Reform dominated the Western federal landscape. It was often overlooked by those outside of B.C while the NDP ruled provincially, but the right was still coming together between the SoCreds, provincial Reform Party, and the ill-named Liberals. .Those now living in other Western provinces could be forgiven for writing off British Columbia as the ‘Left Coast.’ With ‘Cloud Camp’ on Burnaby Mountain in place to protest the Trans Mountain pipeline, Jagmeet Singh’s adopted political home, and one of David Suzuki’s houses..However it may look to the outside world, the ‘Left Coast’ label ought only be applied to metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Even then, northern Vancouver Island – with its resource economy and blue-collar workforce – swings between NDP and Conservative in federal elections. . Pipeline protestersAnti-Kinder Morgan pipeline protestors .As Western alienation now moves towards Western independence, the media has focused almost exclusively on Alberta. Never mind that Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe has been the most outspoken of the Western leaders. But on the CBC, in the Toronto Star and other ‘national’ media, they assume that we are just speaking of Alberta when we talk about angry Westerners. In the Toronto Star, Calgary professor Ted Morton wrote a column entitled, ‘Does the West Have a Case for Separation?’ He speaks of the West, but goes on to write exclusively about Alberta’s grievances, only grudgingly admitting at the close of his article that the people of Saskatchewan might also be contemplating an exit from confederation. Even my colleagues at the Western Standard east of the Rockies can fall into this trap from time-to-time. .The cultural, or political West – as opposed to geographical West – is not confined to prairie farms and oilfields. Stockwell Day made B.C. his home after winning the Canadian Alliance leadership in 2000, successfully winning a seat in Okanagan- Similkameen. It is a mistake for Alberta and Saskatchewan to not see alignment with BC in their disputes with Ottawa..Few commentators have considered that oil and gas driven northern B.C. might be tempted to follow a Western bid for independence, if it comes to that. Similarly, the agriculture based Okanagan Valley, the coal producing south-east, or the deeply Christian communities of the Fraser Valley were all core constituencies of the Reform Party’s crusade against Ottawa..If put to a referendum, could B.C. vote yes to independence? It’s a tougher case to make than the Prairies, but it’s a plausible scenario if they are he last ones left..The majority of Metro Vancouver would never agree to leave, but large portions of the province could make a move. . FORSYTHE: Is British Columbia still a part of the political West?Green Party Leader Elizabeth May .Even the Yukon only voted Liberal by the narrowest of margins (72 votes). That sprawling northern territory is probably the one seat lost by Conservatives due to vote splitting with the PPC. Still, the independent minded and conservative leaning Yukon Party held power in three consecutive majorities between 2002 and 2011. Leadership disputes have reduced them to the official opposition in more recent years, but there is a strong frontier spirit in that northern territory, and a spirit that could be sympathetic to western independence. Like BC, it may be forced to consider the option if the Prairie provinces moved first..The idea of a prosperous and independent Western Canada is not a pipe dream, as many from Whistler to Winnipeg are waking up to..That said, I am no separatist. Canada is better off as a whole, and united. But it can be said, it is the federal government that has already left Western Canada. To rectify this, Trudeau is considering Allison Redford and Naheed Nenshi to speak on its behalf..Justin Trudeau fundamentally does not understand the West, and it could be said he comes by that honestly. His father Pierre so completely wrote off the West in his later years as prime minister he infamously gave the middle finger salute to protestors in Salmon Arm, B.C..Pierre Trudeau relied on Western Canadians overwhelmingly patriotic sentiment to neutralize any Western independence movement. Today, his son Justin proclaims Canada a post-national state and flippantly changes the national anthem to conform with the latest campus crazes. At this point, what do western Canadians have to be patriotic about anymore?
I grew up in the West, and felt the full weight of its anger towards Ottawa. First as a child listening to my parents reel in horror at the second coming of Trudeau Sr. (1980-84). Later as a supporter of the Reform Party..At that time, the West wanted in, and British Columbia was at the forefront of the new conservative movement of the 1990s as Reform dominated the Western federal landscape. It was often overlooked by those outside of B.C while the NDP ruled provincially, but the right was still coming together between the SoCreds, provincial Reform Party, and the ill-named Liberals. .Those now living in other Western provinces could be forgiven for writing off British Columbia as the ‘Left Coast.’ With ‘Cloud Camp’ on Burnaby Mountain in place to protest the Trans Mountain pipeline, Jagmeet Singh’s adopted political home, and one of David Suzuki’s houses..However it may look to the outside world, the ‘Left Coast’ label ought only be applied to metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Even then, northern Vancouver Island – with its resource economy and blue-collar workforce – swings between NDP and Conservative in federal elections. . Pipeline protestersAnti-Kinder Morgan pipeline protestors .As Western alienation now moves towards Western independence, the media has focused almost exclusively on Alberta. Never mind that Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe has been the most outspoken of the Western leaders. But on the CBC, in the Toronto Star and other ‘national’ media, they assume that we are just speaking of Alberta when we talk about angry Westerners. In the Toronto Star, Calgary professor Ted Morton wrote a column entitled, ‘Does the West Have a Case for Separation?’ He speaks of the West, but goes on to write exclusively about Alberta’s grievances, only grudgingly admitting at the close of his article that the people of Saskatchewan might also be contemplating an exit from confederation. Even my colleagues at the Western Standard east of the Rockies can fall into this trap from time-to-time. .The cultural, or political West – as opposed to geographical West – is not confined to prairie farms and oilfields. Stockwell Day made B.C. his home after winning the Canadian Alliance leadership in 2000, successfully winning a seat in Okanagan- Similkameen. It is a mistake for Alberta and Saskatchewan to not see alignment with BC in their disputes with Ottawa..Few commentators have considered that oil and gas driven northern B.C. might be tempted to follow a Western bid for independence, if it comes to that. Similarly, the agriculture based Okanagan Valley, the coal producing south-east, or the deeply Christian communities of the Fraser Valley were all core constituencies of the Reform Party’s crusade against Ottawa..If put to a referendum, could B.C. vote yes to independence? It’s a tougher case to make than the Prairies, but it’s a plausible scenario if they are he last ones left..The majority of Metro Vancouver would never agree to leave, but large portions of the province could make a move. . FORSYTHE: Is British Columbia still a part of the political West?Green Party Leader Elizabeth May .Even the Yukon only voted Liberal by the narrowest of margins (72 votes). That sprawling northern territory is probably the one seat lost by Conservatives due to vote splitting with the PPC. Still, the independent minded and conservative leaning Yukon Party held power in three consecutive majorities between 2002 and 2011. Leadership disputes have reduced them to the official opposition in more recent years, but there is a strong frontier spirit in that northern territory, and a spirit that could be sympathetic to western independence. Like BC, it may be forced to consider the option if the Prairie provinces moved first..The idea of a prosperous and independent Western Canada is not a pipe dream, as many from Whistler to Winnipeg are waking up to..That said, I am no separatist. Canada is better off as a whole, and united. But it can be said, it is the federal government that has already left Western Canada. To rectify this, Trudeau is considering Allison Redford and Naheed Nenshi to speak on its behalf..Justin Trudeau fundamentally does not understand the West, and it could be said he comes by that honestly. His father Pierre so completely wrote off the West in his later years as prime minister he infamously gave the middle finger salute to protestors in Salmon Arm, B.C..Pierre Trudeau relied on Western Canadians overwhelmingly patriotic sentiment to neutralize any Western independence movement. Today, his son Justin proclaims Canada a post-national state and flippantly changes the national anthem to conform with the latest campus crazes. At this point, what do western Canadians have to be patriotic about anymore?