Although its slogan is “Our Freedom Cannot Wait,” the Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta (WIPA) is still working on getting its footing, admitted its interim leader. But, WIPA’s ultimate goal is to see “Alberta march towards independence,” said Jeevan Mangat.. Jeevan MangatJeevan Mangat .“The focus now is getting people elected to ensure the entrepreneurial spirit stays alive in Alberta.”.During the May 29 provincial election, WIPA is fielding two candidates among Alberta’s 87 ridings. Mangat is running in Innisfail-Sylvan Lake against UCP MLA Devin Dreeshen, the NDP’s Jason Heistad, and the IPA’s (Independence Party of Alberta) David Reid.. Mike LorussoMike Lorusso .Mike Lorusso, a 27-year-old transplant who in 2021 fled what he calls "Ontario’s tyranny," is running in Highwood against UCP MLA RJ Surgudson and the NDP’s Jessica Hallam..After the election, WIPA plans a fall annual general meeting to settle policy, and hold a membership drive to attract and add to the current 4,900 signed up. It also wants to add to the 'strong' constituency associations Mangat claims WIPA now has in Highwood and Livingston-Macleod..There’s also the ongoing lawsuit against ousted leader Paul Hinman to settle. WIPA is suing Hinman for about $180,000 in damages..“Yes, still proceeding with the lawsuit. We are waiting for them to file their defence,” said Mangat, who joined WIPA in late 2020 and was appointed interim leader in October 2022..Mangat ran unsuccessfully in 2012 and 2015 for the Wildrose Party of Alberta in Calgary-Fort..WIPA was founded in June 2020 after Wexit Alberta and the Freedom Party of Alberta merged..Since witnessing the National Energy Program’s devastating impact on Albertans who lost jobs and homes, Mangat has been dedicated to Alberta independence..“It seems the Liberal party is very keen on penalizing, destroying Alberta all the time. We will never be able to remove ourselves from those types of policies if we stay in the federation.”.“Don’t forget we are the economic engine of Canada. We have the highest GDP per capita. It’s incredible the productivity that comes out of Alberta because we’re an entrepreneurial province.”.He shudders to think of what will happen to Alberta if the NDP win the election. He says NDP Leader Rachel Notley takes her marching orders from federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh who is joined at the hip to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; neither federal leader is a strong supporter of Alberta prosperity..“If the NDP get back in I can imagine the worst.”.“I came from a country where socialism is rife,” said Mangat who arrived in Calgary from Kenya in the ‘70s. “Socialism causes a large black market. Opportunities become less. The value of homes decreases. People leave. Capital flows out.”.“People don’t realize the effects of socialism because they’ve never experienced it.”.“They say ‘Yeah, it’s great. We pay all our taxes, and we get all these services for free.’ Well, if that’s correct, why are we in debt?”.Mangat recalls during Notley's tenure as Alberta's first socialist premier from 2015 to 2019, 183,000 jobs were lost and Albertans were burdened with a carbon tax and a myriad of other crushing taxes. And, under Notley, the province’s debt skyrocketed by about $50 billion to almost $81 billion — with little to show for it..Mangat fears Albertans won’t remember what Notley did to Alberta last time..“Look at the popularity of the NDP in the urban areas.”.“The question I ask, that’s most important to me, is ‘Can you explain to me when our pioneers came to this province, there was just grass. How did we achieve the standard of living we have now?”.“Low regulations, low taxes, and the opportunity to keep up reinvesting, create jobs. This is how Alberta became entrepreneurial.”.Success has been the result of more than hard work..“People work hard in Congo, Zimbabwe, South Africa. They don’t have the standard of living we do.They’re all victims of socialism that talks pretty but eventually snuffs out opportunity and the entrepreneurial spirit.".The NEP was introduced when Mangat just graduated as a civil engineer from the University of Calgary..Jobs disappeared immediately. He ended up running a family restaurant for 10 years. “This was a real education for me. It taught me how to make a dollar of profit and what value that is.”.“It’s easy to say when you’ve never operated a business ‘I’m going to increase taxes by 1%.’ That has no regard for how hard small business works to produce $1 of profit — then someone just comes a long and takes it way.”.Mangat recently retired from working in property management for 16 years as a commercial leasing agent..He said Innisfail-Sylvan Lake constituents have been, for the most part, receptive when he’s knocked on their doors. “I haven’t extensively been door knocking yet because I’m waiting for my literature to be printed.”.“But I’ve done some preliminary door knocking and it's positive. A couple have been negative. They’re probably NDP supporters. If they were UCP they would have listened to me.”.“People are thinking about this. It’s important to them. They’re just tired of how the federal Liberals penalize Alberta all the time.”.Aside from “Albertans being in charge of Alberta,” WIPA supports property rights, legal gun ownership, free expression and the 'parental right to raise and educate their children as they deem best,' with the family as the core unit of society..But really, Mangat's party is still all about Alberta independence..Supporting Quebec’s social programs and industries through transfer payments is “unacceptable.” He supports abolishing transfer payments, bilingualism and other federal programs that “destroy” Alberta..“These policies can never be abolished by staying within federation. Alberta independence has to be achieved.”.And finally for the record, Mangat said on many fronts, Premier Danielle Smith is doing a great job protecting Alberta’s interests.
