Western Canada Concept
Encyclopedia
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 Canada could not receive fair treatment while the interests of Quebec
and Ontario
dominated Canadian politics. The party gained popularity in Alberta when western alienation
was at its height following the federal Liberal
government announcement of the National Energy Program
in October 1980. This policy aimed to ensure low energy costs for Canadian industry and consumers, a policy that would not benefit Alberta, Canada's major producer of oil and gas.
A member of the party, Gordon Kesler
, was elected to the Alberta legislature in a 1982 provincial by-election in Olds-Didsbury
riding that drew national attention. The best showing for the party came later in the same year in the Alberta general election
, where they took 11.8 per cent of the vote, but did not elect any MLAs (Kesler lost his seat).
Kesler became leader of the Alberta WCC with his election to the legislature. In 1984, he was replaced by Jack Ramsay
, later a federal Reform
Member of Parliament
. Some of the more doctrinaire figures in the party opposed Ramsay's leadership, claiming that he was not genuinely committed to western independence.
The Saskatchewan branch
of the party attracted two sitting members of the Legislative Assembly who represented the party for a few months in 1986 before being kicked out of the party.
In 1987, a group of Alberta members who were dissatisfied with the party's leadership and direction left the party to establish the Western Independence Party
.
The most prominent leader of the party was Doug Christie
, a British Columbia lawyer best known for having represented neo-Nazis James Keegstra
, Ernst Zündel
and Wolfgang Droege
. To distance itself from this, the national party expelled Christie from the leadership in 1981 and subsequently denied him a membership in the party's Alberta branch. He later became leader of British Columbia's provincial WCC and ran for the party at the national and provincial levels several times. Christie continues to run an organization with the "Western Canada Concept" name, but it is no longer a registered political party. In 2005, he announced the creation of the Western Block Party
which would be a western version of the Bloc Québécois
.
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 :...
political party founded in 1980 to promote the separation of the provinces of 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...
, 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....
, 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...
and 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...
and the Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
and Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
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...
in order to create a new nation.
The party argued that Western Canada could not receive fair treatment while the interests of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
dominated Canadian politics. The party gained popularity in Alberta when western alienation
Western Alienation
In Canadian politics, Western alienation is a concept that the Western provinces - British Columbia , Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba - have been alienated, and in extreme cases excluded, from mainstream Canadian political affairs in favour of the provinces of Ontario and Quebec...
was at its height following the federal 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...
government announcement of 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...
in October 1980. This policy aimed to ensure low energy costs for Canadian industry and consumers, a policy that would not benefit Alberta, Canada's major producer of oil and gas.
A member of the party, 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 Alberta legislature in a 1982 provincial by-election 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....
riding that drew national attention. The best showing for the party came later in the same year in the Alberta general 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....
, where they took 11.8 per cent of the vote, but did not elect any MLAs (Kesler lost his seat).
Kesler became leader of the Alberta WCC with his election to the legislature. In 1984, he was replaced by Jack Ramsay
Jack Ramsay (politician)
F.J. "Jack" Ramsay is a former Reform Party of Canada member of the Canadian House of Commons. Ramsay is a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer.-Western Canada Concept:...
, later a federal Reform
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
. Some of the more doctrinaire figures in the party opposed Ramsay's leadership, claiming that he was not genuinely committed to western independence.
The Saskatchewan branch
Western Canada Concept Party of Saskatchewan
The Western Canada Concept Party of Saskatchewan was a provincial political party that was the Saskatchewan, Canada branch of the Western Canada Concept, a federal political party that advocated the separation of the four western provinces of Canada to form a new country.The party's zenith was the...
of the party attracted two sitting members of the Legislative Assembly who represented the party for a few months in 1986 before being kicked out of the party.
In 1987, a group of Alberta members who were dissatisfied with the party's leadership and direction left the party to establish the Western Independence Party
Western Independence Party
The Western Independence Party was a Canadian political party that advocated the separation from Canada of the western Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba as well as the Yukon and Northwest Territories to form a new country.The WIP ran 11 candidates in the...
.
The most prominent leader of the party was Doug Christie
Doug Christie (lawyer)
Douglas Hewson "Doug" Christie, Jr. is a Canadian lawyer and far-right political activist based in Victoria, British Columbia.-Career:...
, a British Columbia lawyer best known for having represented neo-Nazis James Keegstra
James Keegstra
James "Jim" Keegstra is a former public school teacher in Eckville, Alberta, Canada, who was charged and convicted of hate speech in 1984. The conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal but re-instated by the Supreme Court of Canada...
, Ernst Zündel
Ernst Zündel
Ernst Christof Friedrich Zündel is a German Holocaust denier and pamphleteer who was jailed several times in Canada for publishing literature which "is likely to incite hatred against an identifiable group" and for being a threat to national security, in the United States for overstaying his visa,...
and Wolfgang Droege
Wolfgang Droege
Wolfgang Walter Droege was a Canadian white supremacist, neo-Nazi and founding leader of the Heritage Front.-Early life:...
. To distance itself from this, the national party expelled Christie from the leadership in 1981 and subsequently denied him a membership in the party's Alberta branch. He later became leader of British Columbia's provincial WCC and ran for the party at the national and provincial levels several times. Christie continues to run an organization with the "Western Canada Concept" name, but it is no longer a registered political party. In 2005, he announced the creation of the Western Block Party
Western Block Party
The Western Block Party is a political party in Canada founded in 2005 by Doug Christie. The party became officially registered on December 29, 2005....
which would be a western version of the Bloc Québécois
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...
.
Party program
- Independence for Western Canada, chosen by the people of each of the four Western provinces and northern territories in a referendum.
- A citizen's constitutionally established right of reasonably accessible referendum, initiative and recall.
- Protection for the sanctity and safety of human life, property and security of the person and their fundamental freedoms.
- An end to immigration to preserve our environment, culture and stability.
- Equal rights for all, with no special status for any race, or ethnic origin.
- Preservation of our Christian culture and European heritage.
- A two-house legislature, one elected by population the other by region, both with original legislative jurisdiction and both required to approve before a law was enacted.
- One official language of Western Canada.
- The establishment of a balanced budget by law under the constitution so no future debts can be incurred by government.
See also
- List of political parties in Canada
- Secessionist movements of CanadaSecessionist movements of CanadaThroughout the history of Canada, there have been movements seeking secession from Canada.-Newfoundland:There is a secessionist movement in Newfoundland based on its unique culture and its history, prior to 1949, of being a self-governing Dominion...
- Western Canada Concept Party of British ColumbiaWestern Canada Concept Party of British ColumbiaThe Western Canada Concept Party of BC is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. It was the British Columbia branch of the Western Canada Concept, a political party that operated at the federal level, advocating the separation of the four western provinces of Canada and the...
- Western Canada Concept Party of ManitobaWestern Canada Concept Party of ManitobaThe Western Canada Concept was a Canadian political party. It was founded in 1980, and promoted the separation from Canada of all provinces and territories west of Ontario....
- Western Canada Concept Party of SaskatchewanWestern Canada Concept Party of SaskatchewanThe Western Canada Concept Party of Saskatchewan was a provincial political party that was the Saskatchewan, Canada branch of the Western Canada Concept, a federal political party that advocated the separation of the four western provinces of Canada to form a new country.The party's zenith was the...