There has been much talk about how important the upcoming federal election is to Canada’s future. This has been especially true for Alberta and Saskatchewan, provinces which have been treated terribly by the Trudeau Liberal government for almost a decade. Trudeau’s suppression of the natural resource sector and intrusion on provincial jurisdiction not only hit these two provinces particularly hard, but is also one of the key reasons Canada’s economic performance has been so abysmal for the last 10 years and our standard of living is in decline.
The prospect of another Liberal government is understandably of great concern to Alberta and Saskatchewan, to the point that it has rekindled thoughts of separation from Canada should that occur. Although Liberal Leader Mark Carney is attempting to present himself as a big change from the loathed Justin Trudeau, his policies regarding the resource sector are virtually identical. Carney’s work over the last decade has focussed on keeping oil and gas “in the ground,” no matter if this approach means a poorer Canada and less potential for fuels like clean Canadian natural gas to replace more polluting fuels such as coal in Asia and parts of Europe. The fact that Saskatchewan and Alberta tend not to vote Liberal federally just gives the Liberals one more reason to twist the knife.
In the past, Alberta has been the Western province most likely to flirt with the notion of separation from Canada. In her first meeting with Carney back in March, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she “made it clear that Albertans will no longer tolerate the way we’ve been treated by the federal Liberals over the past ten years.” Smith noted a number of policies she wants changed, including access to build pipelines and the elimination of the proposed emissions cap on the oil and gas industry. Carney has been vague and inconsistent on these issues, saying one thing in one province and something different in another. All in all, Smith is not confident Alberta would benefit from a Carney election win, and has stated that he might be even worse than Trudeau.
A recent poll suggested that Saskatchewan is also dreading the possibility of a Liberal election victory. In an Angus Reid survey, 33 per cent of Saskatchewan residents said if Liberals won, they would be in favour of leaving Canada, either to form their own country or to join the United States. This was the highest percentage of all provinces. For the last two federal elections, Saskatchewan has sent only Conservative MPs to Ottawa.
It also must be infuriating for Saskatchewan to be suffering from massive tariffs being imposed on their agricultural exports to China when these tariffs were imposed because Canada put 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) to protect their foolish government subsidies of the EV battery plants in Ontario and Quebec that are already in financial trouble. For all Carney’s posturing about U.S. tariffs on Canada for partisan purposes, the Chinese tariffs that are damaging Saskatchewan’s farmers don’t seem to deserve a mention.
Residents from Alberta and Quebec were tied at a close second (30 per cent) when it came to wanting to become independent if Liberals won. The provinces that followed were British Columbia (17 per cent), Ontario (13 per cent), Manitoba (12 per cent), and the Atlantic provinces, which were grouped together, at 10 per cent. As for the province that would most favour joining the U.S. if Liberals won, that went to Alberta at 27 per cent, followed by Saskatchewan at 23 per cent. Quebec was the province most unlikely to want to join the U.S. at 11 per cent. The survey also showed that a key reason Saskatchewan would seek independence was that it didn’t feel it was respected by the rest of Canada. Fully 75 per cent of Saskatchewan citizens surveyed believed they received no respect from other Canadians.
Although none of these numbers indicate that a majority of citizens from any province would choose to separate from Canada, the proportions are still significant. They could become even higher should the Liberals win the election and continue the Trudeau government’s practise of suppressing the resource sector to the detriment of not only Alberta and Saskatchewan, but Canada as a whole. Both provinces also currently have strong, feisty leaders that are not prone to knuckling under to an abusive federal government.
It has long been true that Eastern Canadians on balance don’t appreciate the massive contribution to our country made by Alberta and Saskatchewan. All Canadians should be concerned about the potential loss of either one of these important provinces and the devastating impact that would have on the rest of Canada. What is certain is that should the Liberals win the election, national unity issues will once again be a serious issue for our country.
She has published numerous articles in journals, magazines & other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship & women business owners. Ms. Swift is a past President of the Empire Club of Canada, a former Director of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, SOS Children’s Villages, past President of the International Small Business Congress and current Director of the Fraser Institute. She was cited in 2003 & 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women’s Executive Network & is a recipient of the Queen’s Silver & Gold Jubilee medals.
