Alberta: Separatism Then and Now was published in 2009. It’s a must-read history of the Alberta independence movement written by author and historian Dr. Michael Wagner who was not, in 2009, a Western sovereigntist, at least not publicly. The book was not intended to provide an explicit argument for Alberta independence; it served instead to place the pervasive feeling of Western alienation in its full historical context..I personally reviewed this book when it was first released and made the point that Wagner documented an independence movement in name only, a movement that with few exceptions was frustrated by its self-proclaimed leaders who, when pressed, had very little enthusiasm for Alberta independence and certainly no appetite for the delightfully seditious and daring enterprise of secession and nation building..Prior to 2009, most so-called Alberta sovereingtists could be described as free market advocates and frustrated nationalists nostalgic for a culturally conservative national identity that no longer exists in the post-national state that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls Canada..I now set out to review No Other Option: Self-Determination for Alberta, Wagner’s latest contribution to Western secessionist thought, to answer this question: Are Albertans now ready to leave the rest of Canada behind for an independent, prosperous future?.Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien remarked last month that Alberta has “culture of complaining” with respect to its treatment within confederation, a statement that’s equal parts condescending and historically inaccurate. As former Liberal Member of Parliament David Kilgour explained in his 1988 book, Uneasy Patriots: Western Canadians in Confederation, “… history shows that Westerners have attempted within the framework of existing institutions to make our voices heard in Ottawa, yet have failed to achieve political and economic equality with Central Canada.” After documenting the decades of attempts to reform Canadian federalism, Wagner now concludes Alberta has “No Other Option” but to secede from Canada..Wagner made his own journey from “uneasy patriot” to unapologetic sovereigntist, and he has made this journey with thousands of other Albertans. In fact, in his summary of past and present public opinion surveys on Western alienation, Wagner includes a 2019 Angus Reid poll showing “more than half of Albertans (52%) say they believe the West would be better off if it left Canada.”.Western alienation is as old as Confederation itself..“Westerners have had complaints against the East going back to the earliest years of settlement. Indeed, Louis Riel led rebellions against the federal government twice, in 1869-70 and 1885. Later, farmers would create political organizations to represent their views to Ottawa. The Progressive Party of Canada was very popular in the West and elected a number of MPs from the region during the 1920s. Subsequent iterations of Western political dissent, such as Social Credit and the Reform Party of Canada are well known,” writes Wagner..These complaints have, of course, been ignored by the Laurentian elite who believe Canada’s history is confined to that of Quebec and Ontario, and that Canada’s institutional structures must serve the mercantilist ambitions of these two provinces. Alberta was and is nothing more than a colonial outpost “opened to settlement to line the pockets of eastern pot and pan salesmen,” according to former Alberta Premier Harry Strom. Alberta independence is not, as Wagner meticulously documents, a new idea and nor is it a movement founded on trivial complaints from resource-rich Westerners unwilling to be part of any truly national agenda..At its core, No Other Option starts and ends with Prime Ministers Pierre Trudeau and Justin Trudeau. Albertans have come full circle, from the National Energy Program of Pierre Trudeau to the destructive policies designed to meet Canada’s obligations under the Paris Accord signed by Justin Trudeau..The mood in the province today, however, goes beyond simple frustration and those still committed to reforming confederation are losing their audience. The rallying cry of the Reform Party — “The West Wants In” — is scarcely heard among the rank and file who once fought tirelessly alongside Preston Manning for a renewed Canadian federalism. Today, many just want out or, at the very least, are prepared to speak more candidly about the independence option..Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose departure from federal politics has made room for the independence option, observed: “Alberta and much of the rest of Canada have embarked on divergent and potentially hostile paths to defining their country. Alberta has opted for the best of Canada’s heritage — a combination of American enterprise and individualism with the British traditions of order and co-operation … Canada [by contrast] seems content to become a second-tier socialistic country.”.While Alberta and Canada may be on divergent and hostile paths, most of the leading scholars on matters concerning Alberta’s place in confederation are still convinced against the evidence that Canada and the West can avoid a constitutional hot war. The respected Calgary School academics are not yet prepared to say good-bye to a country that is just not that into them. They have instead embarked on a strategy to flirt openly with independence hoping the Laurentian elite will realize they’ve taken the West for granted..“This may be Alberta’s paradox: That we need to go half-way down a road to a destination we don’t want, in order to get the policy and constitutional changes necessary to stay in a Canada we love,” wrote Tom Flanagan, Jack Mintz and Ted Morton in their book Moment of Truth. I don’t think it is unfair to conclude from this statement that an independent Alberta would be a consolation prize for these authors..The common refrain of “independence if necessary but not necessarily independence” is, however, a self-defeating strategy that lacks the bold vision required to build a new nation. It’s a desperate and uninspired reform-minded strategy born out of a prolonged and enervating colonial subjugation. We are long past realizing the benefits of this sort of posturing. It is, quite frankly, embarrassing..Albertans can’t save Canada, but they can save the West. Canada is already gone. It is now nothing more than a bureaucratic administrative body with no distinct national character whose history is to be acknowledged only as a source of shame for ritual self–flagellation during national holidays. Justin Trudeau passes by the toppled statues of our country’s founders without notice as his attention is now squarely focused on global political governance..So are Albertans now ready to leave the rest of Canada behind for a more prosperous future? Sadly, not yet, but we are getting closer. As Wagner writes, “a particular kind of charismatic and high-energy leader is likely essential for taking the independence movement to the next level.” I don’t see that leader yet, which is not to take away from the important and heroic work currently being done by Alberta patriots..Long live a free and prosperous Alberta..Matthew Johnston is a contributor to the Western Standard
Alberta: Separatism Then and Now was published in 2009. It’s a must-read history of the Alberta independence movement written by author and historian Dr. Michael Wagner who was not, in 2009, a Western sovereigntist, at least not publicly. The book was not intended to provide an explicit argument for Alberta independence; it served instead to place the pervasive feeling of Western alienation in its full historical context..I personally reviewed this book when it was first released and made the point that Wagner documented an independence movement in name only, a movement that with few exceptions was frustrated by its self-proclaimed leaders who, when pressed, had very little enthusiasm for Alberta independence and certainly no appetite for the delightfully seditious and daring enterprise of secession and nation building..Prior to 2009, most so-called Alberta sovereingtists could be described as free market advocates and frustrated nationalists nostalgic for a culturally conservative national identity that no longer exists in the post-national state that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls Canada..I now set out to review No Other Option: Self-Determination for Alberta, Wagner’s latest contribution to Western secessionist thought, to answer this question: Are Albertans now ready to leave the rest of Canada behind for an independent, prosperous future?.Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien remarked last month that Alberta has “culture of complaining” with respect to its treatment within confederation, a statement that’s equal parts condescending and historically inaccurate. As former Liberal Member of Parliament David Kilgour explained in his 1988 book, Uneasy Patriots: Western Canadians in Confederation, “… history shows that Westerners have attempted within the framework of existing institutions to make our voices heard in Ottawa, yet have failed to achieve political and economic equality with Central Canada.” After documenting the decades of attempts to reform Canadian federalism, Wagner now concludes Alberta has “No Other Option” but to secede from Canada..Wagner made his own journey from “uneasy patriot” to unapologetic sovereigntist, and he has made this journey with thousands of other Albertans. In fact, in his summary of past and present public opinion surveys on Western alienation, Wagner includes a 2019 Angus Reid poll showing “more than half of Albertans (52%) say they believe the West would be better off if it left Canada.”.Western alienation is as old as Confederation itself..“Westerners have had complaints against the East going back to the earliest years of settlement. Indeed, Louis Riel led rebellions against the federal government twice, in 1869-70 and 1885. Later, farmers would create political organizations to represent their views to Ottawa. The Progressive Party of Canada was very popular in the West and elected a number of MPs from the region during the 1920s. Subsequent iterations of Western political dissent, such as Social Credit and the Reform Party of Canada are well known,” writes Wagner..These complaints have, of course, been ignored by the Laurentian elite who believe Canada’s history is confined to that of Quebec and Ontario, and that Canada’s institutional structures must serve the mercantilist ambitions of these two provinces. Alberta was and is nothing more than a colonial outpost “opened to settlement to line the pockets of eastern pot and pan salesmen,” according to former Alberta Premier Harry Strom. Alberta independence is not, as Wagner meticulously documents, a new idea and nor is it a movement founded on trivial complaints from resource-rich Westerners unwilling to be part of any truly national agenda..At its core, No Other Option starts and ends with Prime Ministers Pierre Trudeau and Justin Trudeau. Albertans have come full circle, from the National Energy Program of Pierre Trudeau to the destructive policies designed to meet Canada’s obligations under the Paris Accord signed by Justin Trudeau..The mood in the province today, however, goes beyond simple frustration and those still committed to reforming confederation are losing their audience. The rallying cry of the Reform Party — “The West Wants In” — is scarcely heard among the rank and file who once fought tirelessly alongside Preston Manning for a renewed Canadian federalism. Today, many just want out or, at the very least, are prepared to speak more candidly about the independence option..Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose departure from federal politics has made room for the independence option, observed: “Alberta and much of the rest of Canada have embarked on divergent and potentially hostile paths to defining their country. Alberta has opted for the best of Canada’s heritage — a combination of American enterprise and individualism with the British traditions of order and co-operation … Canada [by contrast] seems content to become a second-tier socialistic country.”.While Alberta and Canada may be on divergent and hostile paths, most of the leading scholars on matters concerning Alberta’s place in confederation are still convinced against the evidence that Canada and the West can avoid a constitutional hot war. The respected Calgary School academics are not yet prepared to say good-bye to a country that is just not that into them. They have instead embarked on a strategy to flirt openly with independence hoping the Laurentian elite will realize they’ve taken the West for granted..“This may be Alberta’s paradox: That we need to go half-way down a road to a destination we don’t want, in order to get the policy and constitutional changes necessary to stay in a Canada we love,” wrote Tom Flanagan, Jack Mintz and Ted Morton in their book Moment of Truth. I don’t think it is unfair to conclude from this statement that an independent Alberta would be a consolation prize for these authors..The common refrain of “independence if necessary but not necessarily independence” is, however, a self-defeating strategy that lacks the bold vision required to build a new nation. It’s a desperate and uninspired reform-minded strategy born out of a prolonged and enervating colonial subjugation. We are long past realizing the benefits of this sort of posturing. It is, quite frankly, embarrassing..Albertans can’t save Canada, but they can save the West. Canada is already gone. It is now nothing more than a bureaucratic administrative body with no distinct national character whose history is to be acknowledged only as a source of shame for ritual self–flagellation during national holidays. Justin Trudeau passes by the toppled statues of our country’s founders without notice as his attention is now squarely focused on global political governance..So are Albertans now ready to leave the rest of Canada behind for a more prosperous future? Sadly, not yet, but we are getting closer. As Wagner writes, “a particular kind of charismatic and high-energy leader is likely essential for taking the independence movement to the next level.” I don’t see that leader yet, which is not to take away from the important and heroic work currently being done by Alberta patriots..Long live a free and prosperous Alberta..Matthew Johnston is a contributor to the Western Standard
