If nothing else positive has come from the federal election, it’s that it awakened Westerners to the fact that they can never win within the current system. Canada was designed with a system that centralizes political power while outlying provinces feed the middle. Even when conservative parties enjoy short periods in power, they don’t dare to try to change the system, lest central Canadian voters send them into the political wilderness.The Trudeau government was the worst Canada has endured in generations. The Liberals lurched from scandal to controversy as their ineptitude doubled the national debt while the GDP per capita plummeted.Housing prices went out of reach for young Canadians while healthcare became increasingly inaccessible due to unfettered, mass immigration policies. Oil and gas resources were shut in through regulations, thus reducing employment, raising energy costs, and making Canada almost entirely dependent upon the USA for exports..Authoritarianism reigned when shocking actions were taken against peaceful protesters in Ottawa, while a blind eye was turned to an ongoing campaign of Hamas supporters targeting Jewish communities on the streets. Bills were crafted to control media and online speech while efforts were made to cover up decades of Chinese Communist Party interference and activity within Canada. The opioid epidemic exploded, as hard drugs were legalized, and thousands of Canadians succumbed to overdoses. Meanwhile, violent criminals victimized Canadians repeatedly while on bail. Trudeau chronically embarrassed the nation overseas, as he pursued woke social justice causes while the economy languished. Nobody cared about the alleged right of a transgendered man to compete in sports against girls, yet such issues dominated the news scroll under Trudeau’s guidance.A Privy Council report predicted Canada would soon sink into a dystopian world where citizens are forced to hunt and gather to eat, as a wealth divide puts food and housing out of reach under continued Liberal policies..Canadians finally appeared to sit up and pay attention. Trudeau’s popularity plummeted so low that his party finally turned upon him and pushed him grudgingly from power. The nation looked ready to apply a democratic reset as the Conservative were poised to win a supermajority in parliament. Then the Liberals rushed a leadership race and crowned Mark Carney as their leader.Despite maintaining the same team and policy set as Trudeau, the leadership swap was enough for Eastern Canadians. They felt that all the Liberal party needed was a change at the helm and they rewarded the Liberals with an increased seat count in a general election. They will probably give Carney a majority at the next possible opportunity..Western Canada will continue to be mercilessly milked through an imbalanced equalization and fiscal transfer system while underrepresented in both the House of Commons and the Senate. The energy industry will remain confined as capital investment dries up, due to Carney’s aversion to pipelines and plans to pander to Quebec. The West is screwed and will continue to be. Until the West heads for the door.The escape hatch exists, and it’s called the Clarity Act. The act was designed to be applied to the Quebec independence movement, but now it appears to have offered Alberta and Saskatchewan the path to escape the abusive relationship they endure under the federation..A clear 'yes' vote in a provincial referendum on independence obliges the federal government to negotiate the secession of a province voting to go. It’s democratic, it’s reasonable and it’s the only option left for the West.A 'yes' vote isn’t a rejection of Canadians. It’s a rejection of their system. It’s a means to an end and a way to start the ball rolling on true systemic change. Canada may not end after such a vote, but the contract that binds it would. Either the Western provinces would remain fully independent, or they may negotiate into a new federation that doesn’t neglect provincial rights and abilities. Either outcome is superior to the status quo.Preston Manning shunted the Western independence movement at the end of the 1980s with the Reform Party and the rallying call of “the West wants in.”.The Reform Party failed and faded, and the West is no better off. Even Manning is now hinting that independence is the option the West must pursue now. There will be no more playing within a rigged game. Canada is broken and the West wants out.
