HOW WEST WAS LOST
Monday night’s vote was more the beginning of a campaign than an ending. With a minority government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a fight on his hands to retain power and keep his government intact. There has also been a surge in separatist sentiments from Alberta and Saskatchewan. Those who don’t think “Wexit” — the term coined for the movement that would see the West leave Canada — should be taken seriously are sorely mistaken.
The political divide is escalating into a feud. As our friends on the Calgary Herald editorial board pointed out, “Under Trudeau, the Liberal party bled seats everywhere, except around the greater Toronto area. The sovereigntist Bloc surged in Quebec. The Conservatives, under Andrew Scheer, took all but one seat in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Most telling of all, the Liberals actually lost the popular vote to the Conservatives. If you add up all the votes cast, two-thirds of Canadian voters wanted Trudeau out and didn’t get their wish, so far.
“That’s a failure of leadership on so many levels. However, under our parliamentary rules, he gets the first crack to continue governing the country.”
The tone is furious and the disenfranchisement of the Prairie Provinces is palpable in the days after the election. In Saskatchewan, the sound defeat of longtime Liberal MP and cabinet minister Ralph Goodale sent a loud message.
At some point, the angry shouting needs to be traded for a more nuanced discussion. And when that time comes, the West won’t have a voice at the cabinet table. You can dislike Goodale’s connection to Trudeau — and that connection may well have lost him his seat — but he was able to advocate for Saskatchewan projects and issues.
The lack of Liberal representation in the West, however, will only hurt us if Trudeau picks petty politics over fostering national unity. This is a historic moment where he can make his mark as a true leader of all Canadians. The idea of Saskatchewan and Alberta leaving Canada seems ridiculous on some level. Many who are part of the Wexit movement probably think adding their voice is the only way to be heard in Ottawa. It is up to Trudeau to prove this is not the case. Whether it is adding a Western senator to cabinet, or bringing job-creating projects to Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, he needs to take quick, but sustained, action.
The West was won by the Conservatives. The idea of the Liberals winning it back is unlikely. Trudeau still has the duty to reach out and stem the separatist tide fuelled by unemployment and mistrust.