Understanding the Resurgence of Alberta Separatism

Recently, hundreds gathered at the Alberta Legislature to voice their grievances, highlighting their frustration with the province's current status within Confederation.

This is not an unprecedented movement; Albertan separatist sentiments have surfaced at various points in the past. The 1980s saw a notable rise in these feelings during the National Energy Program, and again in the late 2010s as opposition grew towards Liberal legislation that adversely impacted the energy sector and contributed to economic decline in the province. This culminated in the now-defunct Wexit movement.

Currently, separatist sentiments are resurfacing once more. The government under Premier Danielle Smith has made it easier for advocates of separation to push for a referendum, lowering the necessary threshold to make this a reality. Smith has publicly stated that her government would facilitate a referendum if there is sufficient support from Albertans. Below, we explore the likelihood of a referendum and the current strength of the separatist movement in Alberta.

Have Separatists Ever Found Electoral Success in Alberta?

Historically, the answer is no; at least not in any significant capacity.

Only once has a separatist candidate managed to secure a seat in the Alberta Legislature. Gordon Kesler, an oil scout and rodeo rider, won a byelection in 1982, representing voters in Olds, Alberta, who were dissatisfied with bilingualism, the metric system, gun control, and the National Energy Program championed by then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Although Kesler succeeded in the byelection, he served for just two and a half months before losing in the following general election.

Interestingly, Kesler was not fully committed to the cause. By 1983, he publicly declared his intention to leave the Western Canada Concept party unless it abandoned its separatist platform.

When Did the Alberta Separatism Movement Begin?

Despite Alberta's strong conservative base and admiration for Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, he is also viewed as an early figure who prioritized the interests of central Canada over those of the west. His 1878 National Policy, designed to boost east-west trade at the expense of the western provinces, incited outrage among residents of what was then the North-West Territories.

In the words of Frank Oliver, publisher of Edmonton's first newspaper, the people of the North-West faced "a degree more control of their affairs than the serfs of Siberia," denouncing Ottawa's governance as more despotic than that faced in Russia .

Over the years, this sentiment has fluctuated, occasionally resonating beyond Alberta in other regions of the Prairies. Discontent arose in the west following the execution of Métis leader Louis Riel in 1885, an event that Preston Manning, founder of the federal Reform Party, identifies as part of the roots of western alienation. He also cites the inadequate consideration given to local populations during land surveys conducted in 1869 and grievances related to national railway freight rates.