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Estevan is talking Independent Western Canada

Ideas of Wexit, or Western Exit, were discussed at the Estevan Elk’s Club Wednesday night.
Allen Kerpan
Former MLA/MP Allen Kerpan came to Estevan to talk about Wexit Sask. Photo by Anastasiia Bykhovskaia

Ideas of Wexit, or Western Exit, were discussed at the Estevan Elk’s Club Wednesday night. Former MLA/MP Allen Kerpan, who is now travelling across Saskatchewan with the “Can Confederation be Fixed?” tour, was joined by a crowd of about 40 people in the conversation about the future of Saskatchewan and Western Canada in the context of what may happen following the October’s election.

Kerpan brought a petition to be signed to form Wexit Saskatchewan into a new political party that would look for more independence for Saskatchewan.

“They need 2,500 names of residents of Saskatchewan in order to form a political party. That’s the goal of Wexit,” said Kerpan.

The conversation started with the discussion of the history of western alienation, the notion that western provinces are alienated and sometimes even excluded from mainstream politics in favour of Ontario and Quebec.

“Western alienation didn’t start last week, or last month, or last year, or 10 years ago. I really feel that western alienation started when (Frederick) Haultain (the premier of North-West Territories) came to the west 110-15 years ago. He proposed to the liberal prime minister (Wilfrid) Laurier that there should be one province… of Alberta and Saskatchewan… Laurier… said they didn’t want to do that because that would give too much political strength, too big of an area, so they split in half,” recalled Kerpan.

Then he turned towards the experience of the Reform Party, later renamed the Canadian Alliance that he used to be a part of. The party was born out the sense of alienation and tried to get the west strong working under the slogan “West wants in.”

“I think the biggest mistake that we made (with) the Reform Party… was that we decided to expand our base from Western Canada to the rest of Canada,” said Kerpan.

The unity of western Canada may be beneficial in the current situation, but Kerpan noted that even if put together the population of three prairie provinces won’t surpass even the Greater Toronto Area. So in order to achieve something any western candidates have to serve Ontario and Quebec.

“Under our current system it’s impossible for any good-thinking prime minister to do something that would help Western Canada,” said Kerpan.

He also brought up an example of Quebec separatism and what it did for the province.

“The most successful movement in this country, in my opinion, to this date … was the Bloc Québécois, because in the ‘90s they threatened separation. And they essentially got everything they wanted,” said Kerpan.

So he suggested the idea of the threat of a plebiscite on Western Canada independence as a “power stick” that Western Canada could use to change the current system ensuring its interests are heard.

“Unless the west can hold a similar type of stick we will never ever achieve things that Quebec has achieved,” continued Kerpan.

After lining out possible future scenarios and options that Saskatchewan has now, Kerpan asked the public, “How serious is this for you and what are you prepared to do about it?”

The discussion turned towards possibly petitioning the provincial government on next year’s electoral ballot, asking about the possibility of a plebiscite on western Canadian independence. While the general idea of the plebiscite was greatly supported by those present, the question about when would be a better time to put it together, now or after the election, had its pros and cons.

The option of development of a bloc consisting of Alberta, Saskatchewan and possibly Manitoba, northern B.C. and northern Ontario was discussed.

The main concern the public expressed was that there are a lot of small political movements in western provinces, which if not united won’t be able to achieve anything.  A few attendees suggested that having a movement instead of a party would be a better idea for Wexit.

People present, a few of whom went to Ottawa with the United We Roll Convoy, and were a part of the convoy to Regina shared that experience and value of it. Some local Yellow Vest protesters also addressed the issues of misrepresentation.

Souris-Moose Mountain MP Robert Kitchen joined the meeting towards the end. He agreed that the idea of the plebiscite has its strong points and should be further discussed, saying that he’s hearing about it not only in town but also in the riding.

“People are talking about it. And it’s not that people want to separate, but it’s a discussion of what if. And that’s the concern. Where do we go and how we roll with it?” said Kitchen.

As for timing, he suggested that waiting until October might be a wiser move because the results of the election will help determine which direction to take.

Estevan was the third location for Kerpan to come to after Regina and Saskatoon. They wanted to come to a place where the energy sector is playing one of the dominant roles, and the meeting in Estevan turned out to be the most informed and active, according to the speaker.

Wexit Saskatchewan started after billboards were put up in Regina asking the public if Saskatchewan should stay in confederation in early 2019. The idea found more supporters. How many? The “Can Confederation be Fixed?” tour results will show.