Alberta separatism - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Alberta separatism is a movement that advocates the secession

Secession

Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...

of the province of Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

from Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

either by forming an independent nation, or by creating a new federation with one or more of Canada's other three westernmost provinces

Western Canada

Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...

Foundations

Alberta separatism arises from the belief held by some that Alberta is culturally distinct from the rest of Canada, particularly Central Canada

Central Canada

Central Canada is a region consisting of Canada's two largest and most populous provinces: Ontario and Quebec. Due to their high populations, Ontario and Quebec have traditionally held a significant amount of political power in Canada, leading to some amount of resentment from other regions of the...

and Eastern Canada

Eastern Canada

Eastern Canada is generally considered to be the region of Canada east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces:* New Brunswick* Newfoundland and Labrador* Nova Scotia* Ontario* Prince Edward Island* Quebec...

, and from the belief that Alberta is harmed economically by providing financial support to other provinces through the federal transfer payment program. The Alberta economy has been traditionally based on ranching, and in the last half of the 20th century, been bolstered by considerable revenues from oil and gas production. Alberta has developed a political culture that is more conservative, in both economic and social issues, than the rest of Canada.

Alberta separatism takes many different forms:

some advocate Alberta seceding from Canada to establish its own country;
more common is the idea that Western Canada
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...

(Alberta, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

, and Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

) should separate to form one country, possibly including Canada's northern territories;
one is that Alberta should separate only with British Columbia;

History

Separatism emerged in the 1930s within the Social Credit Party, which formed the Government of Alberta. The Government of Canada, at the urging of the banks and newspapers in Alberta, overruled legislation passed by the Alberta legislature to implement a form of social credit

Social Credit

Social Credit is an economic philosophy developed by C. H. Douglas , a British engineer, who wrote a book by that name in 1924. Social Credit is described by Douglas as "the policy of a philosophy"; he called his philosophy "practical Christianity"...

as being unconstitutional. Premier William Aberhart

William Aberhart

William Aberhart , also known as Bible Bill for his outspoken Baptist views, was a Canadian politician and the seventh Premier of Alberta between 1935 and 1943. The Social Credit party believed the reason for the depression was that people did not have enough money to spend, so the government...

's followers started calling for separation from Canada, but Aberhart himself counselled moderation and rejected secession. The separatist movement was ridiculed by the media as a fringe movement of the uneducated.

1980s

In 1980, a separatist movement emerged in western Canada that attracted thousands of people to rallies and resulted in the election of a separatist to the Alberta legislature.

During the 1980s, when the National Energy Program

National Energy Program

The National Energy Program was an energy policy of the Government of Canada. It was created under the Liberal government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau by Minister of Energy Marc Lalonde in 1980, and administered by the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources.-Description:The NEP was...

(NEP) was created by the federal government under Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

Pierre Trudeau

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...

, support for Alberta separatism reached levels that have not been matched since. Gordon Kesler

Gordon Kesler

-Political career:Gordon Kesler was the first separatist politician elected in Canada outside of Quebec since the 1870s. His stunning victory in the February 1982 by-election for the Western Canada Concept received national media attention. After the win Kessler became leader of the party...

was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta

Legislative Assembly of Alberta

The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Queen, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. The Alberta legislature meets in the Alberta Legislature Building in the provincial capital, Edmonton...

in a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

in Olds-Didsbury

Olds-Didsbury

Olds-Didsbury was a provincial electoral district in central southern Alberta, Canada.The riding was created in 1963 as a merger between the Olds and Didsbury ridings....

as a candidate of the Western Canada Concept

Western Canada Concept

The Western Canada Concept was a Western Canadian political party founded in 1980 to promote the separation of the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia and the Yukon and Northwest Territories from Canada in order to create a new nation.The party argued that Western...

party (WCC). In response, Premier

Premier of Alberta

The Premier of Alberta is the first minister for the Canadian province of Alberta. He or she is the province's head of government and de facto chief executive. The current Premier of Alberta is Alison Redford. She became Premier by winning the Progressive Conservative leadership elections on...

Peter Lougheed

Edgar Peter Lougheed, PC, CC, AOE, QC, is a Canadian lawyer, and a former politician and Canadian Football League player. He served as the tenth Premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985....

called a snap election

Alberta general election, 1982

The Alberta general election of 1982 was the twentieth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on November 2, 1982 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....

in which the party nominated 78 candidates in the province's 79 ridings

Electoral district (Canada)

An electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...

(electoral districts). Although the party won almost 12% of the popular vote (over 111,000 votes), Kesler was defeated after changing ridings, and no other candidate was elected. The party's popularity declined after the Progressive Conservative Party

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

, led by Brian Mulroney

Brian Mulroney

Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...

, defeated Prime Minister John Turner

John Turner

John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....

as in the 1984 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1984

The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...

although the WCC still managed a strong third place showing in another by-election in Spirit River-Fairview

Spirit River-Fairview

Spirit River-Fairview was a provincial electoral district in Northwestern Alberta. In 1971 the district created by a merger of the Spirit River and Dunvegan electoral districts. The district was abolished in 1986 and recreated into Dunvegan....

held in 1985.. Under Mulroney, the NEP was rapidly dismantled.

2000s

Political events in the early 21st century have led to a resurgence in interest in Alberta separatism. In the 2004 federal election

Canadian federal election, 2004

The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...

, the governing Liberal Party of Canada

Liberal Party of Canada

was returned with a minority government

Minority government

A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...

despite allegations of corruption

Sponsorship scandal

The sponsorship scandal, "AdScam", "Sponsorship" or Sponsorgate, is a scandal that came as a result of a Canadian federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec and involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006...

. Albertans voted overwhelmingly (61.7%) for the opposition Conservative Party, while only 22.0% of Albertans supported the Liberals. There is also significant opposition within Alberta to the Kyoto Protocol

Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...

as the Kyoto treaty has been believed to have negative effects on the provincial economy, which is heavily supported by its powerful oil and gas industry. Alberta contains the world's second largest proven reserves of oil, behind only Saudi Arabia.

Despite these events, Alberta separatism is still considered by many Albertans (including most of the political establishment) to be the domain of fringe groups. Furthermore, Alberta's first past the post electoral system makes it very difficult to elect any candidate who represents what is perceived to be a fringe party. , no elected political parties or Members of the Legislative Assembly

Member of the Legislative Assembly

A Member of the Legislative Assembly or a Member of the Legislature , is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly of a sub-national jurisdiction....

(MLAs) in Alberta unconditionally favour outright secession.

In the 2004 general election

Alberta general election, 2004

The Alberta general election of 2004 was the twenty-sixth general election for the province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on November 22, 2004 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....

, the Separation Party of Alberta

Separation Party of Alberta

The Separation Party of Alberta is a political party that advocates the secession of Alberta from Canada. Its leader is Bruce Hutton.-History:...

nominated 12 candidates who won 4,680 votes, 0.5% of the provincial total. No candidates were elected. This was less support than the Alberta Independence Party

Alberta Independence Party

The Alberta Independence Party was a provincial party founded in Alberta, Canada, in 2000/1. It was dedicated to increasing the autonomy of Alberta within the Canadian confederation, in part as a response to the 2000 election, in which the Canadian Alliance, a party with strong western roots, was...

had attracted in the 2001 election

Alberta general election, 2001

The Alberta general election of 2001 was the twenty-fifth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 12, 2001 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta....

, when 15 candidates attracted 7,500 votes.

Support in conservative parties

However, the notion of Alberta secession from Canada has gained sympathy from some figures within Alberta's conservative parties. Even after the federal Tories

Conservative Party of Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...

won the 2006 general election, a prominent Alberta Progressive Conservative and a candidate for the Tory leadership also refused to reject secession under all circumstances. Mark Norris, one of the contenders to succeed Ralph Klein as the Alberta premier

Premier of Alberta

, told the Calgary Sun
Calgary Sun
The Calgary Sun is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is a division of Sun Media, a Quebecor company.First published in 1980, the tabloid-format daily replaced the long-running broadsheet newspaper, The Albertan soon after it was acquired by the publishers of the Toronto...

in March 2006 that under his leadership, if a future federal government persisted in bringing in policies harmful to Alberta such as a carbon tax

Carbon tax

A carbon tax is an environmental tax levied on the carbon content of fuels. It is a form of carbon pricing. Carbon is present in every hydrocarbon fuel and is released as carbon dioxide when they are burnt. In contrast, non-combustion energy sources—wind, sunlight, hydropower, and nuclear—do not...

, "(Alberta is) going to take steps to secede."

Also, some politicians and at least one poll have indicated that a much larger percentage of the Alberta population may be at least sympathetic to the notion of secession than would be indicated by election results. In January 2004, Premier Ralph Klein told the Canadian edition of Readers Digest that one in four Albertans were in support of separation. An August 2005 poll commissioned by the Western Standard
Western Standard
The Western Standard is a Calgary, Alberta-based libertarian-conservative publication that billed itself as Canada's only conservative national news magazine...

pegged support for the idea that "Western Canadians should begin to explore the idea of forming their own country." at 42% in Alberta and 35.6% across the four Western provinces

Although Klein has stated that he is committed to Canadian federalism

Canadian federalism

Canada is a federation with two distinct jurisdictions of political authority: the country-wide federal government and the ten regionally-based provincial governments. It also has three territorial governments in the far north, though these are subject to the federal government...

, he has discussed measures that would distance the province considerably from the federal government. In 2003, Klein indicated that he was considering ideas on implementing what was called a political and economic "firewall

Alberta Agenda

The Alberta Agenda is a loosely-organized political movement initiated by a letter written by prominent Albertans, including future Prime Minister Stephen Harper and 2006 Alberta PC leadership candidate Ted Morton, urging Albertan Premier Ralph Klein to fully exercise Alberta's constitutional powers...

". A top priority for many Albertans is withdrawal from the Canada Pension Plan

Canada Pension Plan

The Canada Pension Plan is a contributory, earnings-related social insurance program. It forms one of the two major components of Canada's public retirement income system, the other component being Old Age Security...

, given the province's youthful demographics

Demographics of Alberta

Alberta has enjoyed a relatively high rate of growth in recent years, due in large part to its burgeoning economy. Between 2003 and 2004, the province saw high birthrates , relatively high immigration, and a high rate of interprovincial migration when compared to other provinces.Approximately 81%...

. Other proposals include establishing a provincial police force, collecting provincial income tax directly (rather than through the federal government), and withdrawing from the Canada Health Act

Canada Health Act

The Canada Health Act is a piece of Canadian federal legislation, adopted in 1984, which specifies the conditions and criteria with which the provincial and territorial health insurance programs must conform in order to receive federal transfer payments under the Canada Health Transfer...

. All these measures would be constitutional, since they involve powers and responsibilities assigned to the provinces by Canada's constitution

Constitution of Canada

The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions and conventions. It outlines Canada's system of government, as well as the civil rights of all Canadian citizens and those in Canada...

, and all of them have been implemented in some other provinces with the exception of withdrawal from the Canada Health Act. None of the "firewall" proposals have been implemented in Alberta.

The Conservative Party of Canada, under Ontario-born, University of Calgary educated Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper

Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...

won a minority government

Minority government

in the 2006 federal election

Canadian federal election, 2006

The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes:...

, leaving the separatist cause with uncertain prospects, at least for the short term. Many pundits have predicted that this result will cause support for separatism to ebb away; however, it is worth noting that Alberta separatism last peaked after a previous Conservative minority was defeated and replaced by a Liberal government.

External links

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