It’s also fear

ASSESSING THE MOOD OF THE WEST

Monday’s election result left a raw feeling among many voters in Western provinces, particularly Alberta and Saskatchewan. Clamorous calls for separation have since dominated national headlines, drawing comparisons to the intense atmosphere of the 1980s. The issue has become deeply divided, with opinions ranging from outright dismissiveness to bombastic calls for an immediate exit of the West, or “wexit.” In an attempt to gauge the true feeling, seven prominent people give their opinion on the mood of the West. TED MORTON

The former minister of finance and of energy in Alberta says that much of the commentary about Western alienation has completely missed a crucial human element: I think the media for the most part has misinterpreted this. They’ve said people are angry, people are frustrated, but that it won’t last forever, it will pass. But I think that’s wrong. This isn’t just anger and frustration — it’s also fear. In the election campaign, pipelines were treated as an infrastructure issue, a public finance issue and an investor confidence issue. All of which are true. But we forget that it’s also a people issue. When people lose their jobs they then can’t pay their mortgages or their car loans, they begin to fight with their spouses, they can’t afford to put their kids through hockey. It’s been quite ugly in a lot of places in Alberta. Anger and frustration may pass, but fear doesn’t pass until the danger that causes people to be afraid is addressed. (Interview with National Post)

JASON KENNEY

The Alberta premier, in a recent letter, cautions Prime Minister Justin Trudeau against implementing policies that could be put forward by an informal coalition between the Liberals and NDP this winter: Albertans are patriotic Canadians who want to see our great country succeed. But there is a very real threat to the fabric of our nation and a deep and abiding feeling of alienation felt across the west, not just Alberta. A Liberal minority government that partners, formally or informally, with political leaders who want to see Alberta’s industry falter, or be disbanded altogether, threatens the unity of our federation. I urge you to consider the consequences of implementing the more extreme of these commitments and to make decisions that are in the interests of all Canadians, not just central and Eastern Canadians. (Excerpt from letter to Trudeau)

MARTHA HALL FINDLAY

The former Liberal leadership candidate and current head of the Calgary-based Canada West Foundation is flummoxed by the stark divide between East and West: I take no pleasure in saying that these separatist feelings are real, and I think they’re deeper than they were in the 1980s. The most dangerous aspect of it is that people in central Canada have no idea just how strong it is. I’m originally from Ontario, and I’ve spent a lot of time in Quebec, and I live in Alberta now and it never ceases to amaze me just how disconnected the conversations are. After such an awful campaign that was so negative, so personal, so lacking in substance on any issues that are important to us — besides maybe climate change — it’s hard to know what the solution is. There was none of the “and” conversations that we saw in 2015 that said: we need environment sustainability “and” economic prosperity. So we need to get back to that “and” conversation.

(Interview with National Post)

BRAD WALL

The former premier of Saskatchewan remembers a time in the ’80s when separation sentiments in the country ran high — and says this latest iteration could be worse: I was in high school during the time of the National Energy Program and there were separatist parties, and Trudeau the father was not well liked. That was when we had our first round of significant Western alienation and even separatism. It appears to me that it is an order of magnitude more intense today. I guess the frustration for a lot of people in Saskatchewan is that threats to the oil industry will apparently get worse before they get better. Near the end of the election campaign, things got worse because the rhetoric from Mr. Trudeau toward the oil industry… was shocking. I don’t think anyone before that had heard him refer to the oil industry as “oil barons” that must be fought against to protect the interests of Quebec. This is a federal leader. So it’s palpable here … it’s uncharacteristically more so since Monday. (Interview with

National Post)

BRIAN PALLISTER

The Manitoba premier is sympathetic toward sentiments of Western alienation, but vigorously condemns calls for outright separation in Alberta or Saskatchewan: You overcome your difficulties together, you don’t threaten to leave. I’ve listened to this from Quebec for years and I don’t like listening to it from western Canadian friends of mine. So, no. I have no time for that kind of thing. If we’re going to make the country work we work together on it. We make a commitment to it. My wife and I have been together for 35 years and we don’t get stronger as a couple by threatening to leave every week. (In a televised press conference)

STEPHEN BUFFALO

The Samson Cree First Nation member and head of the Alberta-based Indian Resource Council, which is looking to purchase a stake in the Trans Mountain pipeline, says the project is critical for many western Indigenous communities: For the most part we have to be optimistic that we’re going to see Trans Mountain get built. Following the election we may have to adjust to what the government is going to proceed with on the project, but the latest message from the prime minister seems to be that he’s moving ahead with it. Which is good news. But on our end we’re still looking at getting Indigenous ownership in Trans Mountain. When we talk about climate change or about trying to get off of fossil fuels, as is often said by environmentalists from the First Nations perspective, we don’t always realize the ripple effects. It could be an important project for our communities. (Interview with National Post)

RACHEL NOTLEY

The former Alberta premier said she has been pressing the federal NDP leader to reverse his opposition to Trans Mountain, saying federal parties need to instead focus on more positive polices like pharmacare: This morning I did take the opportunity to put in a call to Jagmeet Singh. I reviewed for him how important TMX is for all of Canada, for all Canadian workers, specifically to Alberta. I talked him through the economics of it: that pipeline is not a subsidy, it is a money-making proposition, it is an investment for Canadians. I talked about the anxiety that this issue being revisited now is causing for working people across this province, and that it needs to stop. And I outlined my view that quite frankly it’s needless, because he doesn’t have a path to asserting any kind of barrier to TMX, and that he shouldn’t be wasting political capital on it. (In an interview with reporters after election)