The New Separatists

The roots of western alienation date back generations. Here’s why the latest secession movement looks different

- MAX FAWCETT

ON NOVEMBER 2, Edmonton’s Boot Scootin’ Boogie Dancehall was filled to capacity. Hundreds were there to vent their grievances — grievances stirred up by a series of speakers who lashed out at the federal government for everything from its habit of taking climate change seriously to what one person called its “creeping socialism.” MAGA (that is, Make Alberta Great Again) merchandise was sold, the Canadian flag was held upside down, and the CBC was roundly booed.

The rally was hosted by Wexit Alberta, a separatist group founded by Peter Downing that is calling for a referendum that would allow the province to break away from Canada. A former Mountie, Downing promised the packed room that his movement — now a federal political party — would excise “the parasite of eastern Canada off from our necks,” a sentiment finding new favour after the Liberal party was reelected without securing a single seat in Alberta or Saskatchewan. The Vote Wexit Facebook page today boasts over 250,000 members — according to the Canadian Press, that number went from 2,000 on the night of the election to nearly 160,000 by the following afternoon. On the same day, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney spoke of a conversation with Justin Trudeau in which he told the prime minister that the election results reflected a “profound sense of alienation that must be taken seriously. Many Albertans feel betrayed.”