Dakota Beacon

It began last summer, a slight rumble. Decades of neglect, abuse and exploitation of Alberta by the Canadian federal government began to take its toll; cracks in the solidarity exhibited through the years by patient, long-suffering and loyal Albertans resulted in the election of Conservative Jason Kenney as Premier, unseating a tenacious and almost frantic Rachel Notley, of the NDP.

Part and parcel of that victory was a book by Rebel Media’s Sheila Gunn-Reid, Stop Notley, which created a firestorm of its own, bringing the hounds of the NDP and the government of Alberta to attempt to silence her and stifle her book – an expose of the many abuses by the NDP of the economy and people of Alberta.

Alberta is a naturally fabulously wealthy bit of real estate, underpinned by oil, agriculture and varied technologies. As recently as 2013, the Alberta’s per capita GDP was greater than the United States, Switzerland or Norway, 56% higher than the national average. Its oil reserve capacity stretches nearly to infinity. Policies of the Liberal Trudeau government have been hindering the province’s productivity and hobbling its economy. Alberta wants a pipeline and to market its vast oil supply to its own nation, yet Canada has preferred to import its oil and leave Alberta’s in a state of neglect, unemployment rising. The resentment has been palpable. Sheila Gunn-Reid’s book fell on fertile ground when the glimmer of opportunity appeared with the 2019 election last summer. Notley’s government and failed policies were decisively turned out by the voters. Kenny pledged to trim excessive spending in the bureaucracy, repeal a carbon tax, lower corporate taxes and pursue a pro-energy program and thus far has acted consistently with his promise. Time will tell how effective his government can be within the context of a Canada diametrically opposed to his – and most of Alberta’s – philosophy of government.

Juxtaposed with the Alberta political climate, the re-election this fall of the Trudeau Liberal government in Ottawa has brought Alberta’s citizens to the boiling point. Renewed discussion of possible secession began to return. I can recall off-hand comments 20 years ago, in casual conversation with friends in Manitoba, disgusted with wave after wave of leftism from the East. Now these voices have grown louder. Anger is understandable. For one thing, there is a negligible French presence in the province of Alberta, yet Canadian law requires all government employees to be bilingual. In Alberta 92% of the population speak only English, while .1% speak only French and only 6.5% speak both and 1.4% speak neither. English-speaking Albertans feel slighted by this requirement, one which seems irrelevant to them, yet it means that 94% of them are not permitted to serve in government.

This time, Alberta might just be serious about separation. They have a road map – the Partie Quebecois took the trouble to produce extensive plans for separation years ago. This was ruled legal under the Canadian constitution and reached the point of referendum, where it faded. But the plans still exist – there is a prototype for separation. This is in the sights of the restive Albertans. Watching the Town Hall held on November 19, one feels he is looking in on a re-enactment of the early days of the American Revolution.

Last evening a Town Hall to consider “WEXIT” was called to order in Edmonton by no less than Rebel Media chief, Ezra Levant, and attended by hundreds of citizens. Speakers included Rebel’s reporters Sheila Gunn-Reid and Kean Bexte, Levant, Lorne Gunter of the Edmonton Sun and from the University of Calgary, Professor Barry Cooper. The meeting began, symbolically, with all those present standing to sing “O Canada”. There is quite obviously a wrenching quality to the purpose of the meeting, but one of inevitability as well, not unlike a divorce when love has tired, to paraphrase a Jose Jose song. Alberta has been a province since 1905, it has participated in the national life of Canada, proudly sending 50% of its physicians to Europe to serve in WWI.

What, exactly, is under consideration? That was the reason for the Town Hall. This is not yet certain. It could be the birth of an independent nation, the forging of a permanent relationship of some sort with the United States, perhaps no more than a “firewall” relationship (such as is enjoyed by Quebec) of a special standing within Canada. There are myriad possibilities. One which seems remote at this point is the status quo, Alberta’s historic status as a “mere province” with little to say about its destiny. The seriousness of this meeting can be ascertained by the intricate details under consideration – details which reveal a lot of thought has gone into this – for example, what is to become of Canadian military facilities in Alberta? What currency will be used, USD, CND or bitcoin? What kind of postal system and postage? What about national parks and historic sites?  What kind of constitution and government structure, with whom might they align? What if Canada says “no”? Will they appeal to the U.S. and President Trump? This is evidence of a profound dissatisfaction with the status quo in Alberta.

Were I a participant, I would offer some cautionary advice:

1) Go very slowly about looking toward a formal affiliation with the United States. This would take you from the frying pan and throw you into the fire. Doubtless Alberta would look even more attractive to Donald Trump than Greenland. The work ethic combined with the natural resources of this treasure trove would likely be exploited by Washington as it has been by Ottawa.

2) Do model your future constitution not on Canada’s or any other parliamentary system, but on the American one. One problem with the parliamentary system is that it has stolen power from the people wherever it is in use. In England it has resulted in a referendum which called unequivocally for BREXIT, yet the party leadership (of both major parties) has stubbornly rejected it. In Canada, the Conservatives, led by (dictated to by) Andrew Scheer, resulted in a weakened party, with Scheer throwing out of it anyone who opposed him, depriving the party of the vitality of Maxime Bernier, who set about establishing another party, rather than working with the Conservatives. There are no primaries to challenge a weakling like Scheer – who slavishly rubber-stamped just about every outrageous policy of the Trudeau administration and who forbade a conservative Muslim anti-extremist from running for office - because he opposed that extremism and who physically barred conservative news outlets from Conservative Party events.

3) Once you have written a constitution, follow it to the letter. The US Constitution is fully adequate to anything which may come, but it has been faltering because we have not insisted upon full compliance with it and we have unwisely altered it. The 17^th Amendment is an excellent point here. That amendment called for the direct election of US Senators – a move which served to destroy our federal structure as surely as if you removed a supporting beam from a barn. It has resulted in severely decreasing the role of state government and actually stealing power and influence from the people who thought the direct vote gave them more. That was a clever illusion promoted by Progressives a hundred years ago. In fact, Alberta’s plight within Canadian Confederation is like that of a US state within our federal system. Alberta’s experience should school us with regard to repeal of the 17^th Amendment. So write a good one – ask Ezra Levant to do it. He is capable. Then follow it.

4) Steer clear of any organization of other nations. You have no need of the UN, of any other organization of nations for “environmental” purposes, defense, economics or any other area. It is easier to get in than to get out, as Britain has learned from its tangle with the European Union.

Whatever happens next, Alberta has taken a stand against its “red-headed step-child” status vis-a-vis Canada. The so-called “Laurentian” Canadians can no longer assume its staunch, dog-like loyalty in the face of the contempt in which it has been held and the abuse to which it has been subject. It no longer requires the “rich man’s contumely”, nor desires it. This might fall apart on the rocks of too many competing ideas for a future separation, however. Some, like Bexte, expressed a conflicted position – accepting the possibility of some kind of union or affiliation with the United States, yet firmly clinging to the monarchy. How many share this view is uncertain. (It seems totally foreign to an American, more so every day, as we see the degeneracy manifest in the British royal family. Prince Andrew’s apparent association with Jeffrey Epstein being a case in point).

The future of Alberta remains in suspension. Previous to the Town Hall, a letter was sent by organizers of the WEXIT Party to Premier Jason Kenney calling for a referendum on WEXIT, but so far we have heard nothing about a response. Levant wisely counseled that the alternative to remaining within the present Confederation should be determined before a debate on WEXIT should occur. Obviously if Side A is for “remaining” and Side B doesn’t know what it is for, Side A will win. Levant is perhaps one of the most capable and intelligent persons in the picture.

An interesting topic raised by Levant was the real need to develop a culture of Alberta – an “intelligentsia”, singers, musicians, poets, the very things we should be concentrating on in conservative America. He sees these elements as necessary even before independence or separation can be pursued. He noted the vital importance of this facet to Quebec’s push for either independence or a better standing within Canada.

Time will tell whether the people of Alberta will decide to leave Canada or to change their relationship within the Canadian Confederation. Time will also tell, if they do, what effect it will have on the United States, on our economy, especially on Montana and North Dakota. Will Saskatchewan join Alberta? The prairie provinces have more in common with each other culturally, historically, economically and politically than they do with the rest of Canada and they have all been relegated to the end of the line by the federal government. They have been regarded by the power base of Lower Canada as “rednecks”, “hicks”, a lesser kind of Canadian, despite the enormous contribution they have made. They could make an even greater contribution if their economy were not deliberately stifled by the federal government’s refusal to construct a pipeline or buy Canadian oil. One hears the echo of Edmund Burke’s counsel to England to try to work with the American colonists and later, his lament that England’s abuse of her valuable colonies was her grave and eternal loss. And what of Manitoba? Although a prairie province with many of the same grievances, there is a strong French presence in Manitoba not felt in the other two. This may or may not affect its attitude toward a possible alliance with Alberta.

Professor Cooper said that what Alberta needs now is a “Thomas Jefferson”. It is sad, indeed, that instead of an “Edmund Burke”, Canada has a Justin Trudeau.

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