The "Western Concept" in the context of Canadian politics primarily refers to the Western Canada Concept (WCC), a political party and movement founded in 1980 to advocate for the separation of Western Canada from the rest of the country. Below is a detailed explanation of this concept, its historical roots, objectives, and impact, based on the provided search results.
The Western Canada Concept was a federal political party established in 1980 with the goal of promoting the independence of the Western provinces-Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia-along with the Yukon and Northwest Territories (including present-day Nunavut) to form a new nation. The party emerged from a deep-seated frustration with the perceived dominance of Central Canada (Ontario and Quebec) in national politics, arguing that Western Canada could not receive fair treatment under this structure1219.
The WCC was born out of a broader sentiment of Western alienation, a longstanding regional discontent among Western Canadians who feel marginalized within Canadian Confederation. This alienation stems from historical grievances over economic policies, political underrepresentation, and the perception that national policies often favor Central Canada at the expense of the West6101417.
The formation of the WCC coincided with a peak in Western alienation, particularly following the announcement of the National Energy Program (NEP) by the federal Liberal government in October 1980 under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. The NEP was seen as expropriating Western Canada’s oil resources, especially in Alberta and Saskatchewan, to benefit Central Canada, fueling widespread resentment. This led to a surge in support for the WCC, with significant rallies held in Alberta, such as one on November 20, 1980, at the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, attended by over 2,800 people, and another in Calgary on December 8, 1980, drawing national attention2614.
The party was launched through a speaking tour across Western Canada in 1980, building on earlier separatist sentiments expressed by groups like the Committee for Western Independence, which was folded into the WCC. It gained traction as a movement seeking independence through political means, reflecting a belief that reform within Canada was impossible2.
The most prominent leader of the WCC was Doug Christie, a British Columbia lawyer known for representing controversial figures. However, due to his polarizing associations, the national party expelled him from leadership in 1981 and denied him membership in the Alberta branch. Christie later led the British Columbia provincial wing and ran as a candidate in multiple elections. By 2005, he founded the Western Block Party, modeled after the Bloc Québécois, as a renewed separatist effort. At the time of his death in 2013, the WCC was no longer a registered political party, though Christie maintained a website under its name116.
Internal conflicts, particularly in-fighting among provincial wings, hampered the party’s growth. After initial momentum, the focus shifted from provincial politics to a broader interprovincial movement, with efforts like public meetings and the publication of the Western Separatist Papers to sustain support from 1982 to 19952.
The WCC participated in provincial elections across the four Western provinces between 1979 and 2009 but never achieved significant electoral success, except for a single by-election victory in Alberta in 1982. Its best performances came in the 1982 provincial elections, securing 11.8% of the vote in Alberta and 3.3% in Saskatchewan. However, by the turn of the century, the party’s influence had waned, reflecting a broader decline in organized separatist movements at the time12.
The Western Canada Concept is deeply tied to the broader idea of Western alienation, which encapsulates feelings of political and economic marginalization in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. This sentiment dates back to the 19th century, rooted in policies like the National Policy (1879–WWII), which favored Central Canadian manufacturing over Western agriculture, and later the NEP in 1980. Western Canadians often perceive their interests as being treated as merely regional rather than national, with insufficient federal representation and inequitable distribution of resources6101417.
While the WCC specifically advocated for secession, Western alienation has also inspired other regional political movements, both conservative and progressive, and continues to shape political discourse in the West, particularly in Alberta and Saskatchewan, where support for secession has seen periodic spikes according to recent polls10.
The WCC’s legacy persists in other separatist groups, such as the Western Canada Party (founded in 2005) and the Western Independence Party (founded in 1987), both of which advocate for Western separation, though with limited electoral success. These movements reflect ongoing frustrations with federal policies and a desire for greater regional autonomy or independence8.
In summary, the Western Canada Concept represents a specific political movement aimed at Western secession, driven by historical and ongoing feelings of alienation in the region. While it achieved limited electoral success and eventually declined, it remains a significant chapter in the narrative of Western Canadian political identity and discontent within Confederation.
Citations:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Canada_Concept
- https://westcan.org/history_of_the_wcc.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Canada
- https://www.cbc.ca/radio/the180/mmiw-inquiry-debunking-electoral-reform-and-what-is-the-west-1.3295363/western-canada-a-closer-look-at-what-that-even-means-1.3296757
- https://angusreid.org/new-west-western-identity/
- https://esask.uregina.ca/entry/western_alienation.html
- https://thetyee.ca/News/2010/07/22/TrinityWestern/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Canada_Independence_Party
- https://www.jns.org/canada-and-the-decline-of-western-civilization/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_alienation
- https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trinity-western-supreme-court-law-1.4704460
- https://theloop.ecpr.eu/secessionist-parties-in-western-canada-are-not-likely-to-succeed/
- https://www.criaw-icref.ca/images/userfiles/files/Fact%20Sheet%202%20EN%20FINAL.pdf
- https://canadahistory.com/sections/periods/Later_Canada/Trudeau/Western_Alienation.html
- https://edurank.org/uni/trinity-western-university/rankings/
- https://www.westcan.org
- https://centre.irpp.org/research-studies/the-persistence-of-western-alienation/
- https://www.twu.ca/course/pols-234-canadian-government-politics-2023-2024
- https://www.athabascau.ca/archives/documents/au007-004swesterncanadaconceptseries.pdf
- https://welcometocanadianpolitics.ca/federalism/western-alienation/
Answer from Perplexity: pplx.ai/share
No comments:
Post a Comment