A new push for Western independence is starting after Reform Party founder Preston Manning warned that Western Canada’s anger could fracture Canada after the Liberals were elected to a fourth term.Manning told the Western Standard that voters in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia feel sidelined by Ottawa and may soon demand a clean break. “This last election made the frustration worse,” he told Western Standard Publisher Derek Fildebrandt. “People are asking if it’s time for the West to move out, not just try to fit in.”Manning is looking for support for a Canada West Assembly, a convention that would debate every option from new constitutional guarantees to outright separation. Manning says it is still in the “embryonic planning stages,” but he insists the forum must be democratic, analytical, and open to a final vote on next steps..Talk of leaving confederation flares up whenever Western energy projects are blocked.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has promised to lower the signature threshold for citizen driven referendums, making an independence ballot feasible within a year. A recent poll already suggested support in Saskatchewan outstrips Alberta’s, while discontent is also rising in British Columbia and Manitoba.Manning cautioned that Alberta alone would not be enough, and any serious break-up would need backing across the four Western provinces. “We're not just talking about Alberta, we're talking about Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and British Columbia,” said Manning.Manning pointed out that the West now drives a growing share of Canada’s wealth. .That economic clout, combined with persistent battles over pipelines, carbon taxes, and equalization, is fuelling a sense that independence is no longer a fringe dream but a practical bargaining chip.Still, Manning’s central plea is for debate, not slogans. “A democratic forum to provide a chance for the various options for the West to be presented and subject to analysis and debate, and then some votes taken as to what might be the best options for the Western recommendations made along that line to the provincial government,” said Manning.For now, Western premiers have not endorsed the plan. But with tempers running high after Prime Minister Mark Carney’s win, pressure is mounting. Whether the Canada West Assembly launches or not, the question Manning asked decades ago, “does the West want in or out?” has returned, louder than ever.
