50% of Albertans see separation as a real possibility, Western Canada Party dominates poll

Western Canadian sentiments in regards to national unity appear to have hit a new low since the election of Justin Trudeau.

According to a new poll by Angus Reid, the animosity has gotten to a point where a majority of Albertans support separation as a real possibility. Enough Western Canadians would also support a Western Canada Party, if ever formed and the poll indicated that such a party could gain a notable number of seats.

The institute found that when they averaged support for the idea across all western provinces (BC, AB, SK, MB), the Western Canada Party actually came out ahead, with 35%, followed only by the Conservatives who brought in 29%.

Is separatism possible in 2019?

That depends on who you ask.

According to the poll,  two-thirds of Canadians (68%) think Alberta separating from the rest of Canada is unlikely or “would never happen.”

In Alberta, half of the respondents (50%) see separation as a real possibility, and more than 60% would support a Western province-led separatism movement.

A video of an Albertan native discussing separatism sentiments currently has over 500,000 views, as well as 13,000 shares.

A majority of Saskatchewan voters polled would support Alberta in such a movement.

The poll also found that for every western province except Saskatchewan, anger towards Ottawa was higher than in 1991, when the western Reform party began to gain momentum.

The reform party took 52 seats in the following 1993 election and formed the official opposition in the 1997 election.

So what does this all mean?

The election of Justin Trudeau in 2015, appears to have almost decimated the Quebec separatist movement federally, and in its place re-stocked the fires of what seemed like long-dead sentiment of Western separatism.

While it is unlikely that British Columbia would join Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, given their stark difference in current governing ideology, all four western provinces none the less appear to have enough angry pro-west individuals to seriously support a Western-province focused party.

This should be extremely worrying for both Andrew Scheer and Justin Trudeau.

If the Scheer team cannot properly absorb the energy from western provinces, the polls clearly show that they would be the biggest loser in parliament, losing swaths of seats in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

This is just as bad, if not worse for the Prime Minister though.

If allowed to fester, Ottawa could face separatism from not just one province, but up to four provinces which are mobilized largely against his leadership.

That number could even spike to potentially five if Quebec nationalists (many who current work within the provincial CAQ) see opportunity in the ensuing chaos.

In that situation, all Canadians lose as vultures attempt to take whatever piece they can, already articles have begun to be published in American sites imagining a future in which Alberta was the 51st state.

Could you imagine Quebec paying for its schools or hospitals without billions in federal transfers brought in from western provinces? Or any province negotiating a fair deal with the United States, when they can deal with each group individually?

I hope we can build this pipeline, and never have to find out.

What do you think? Join the conversation by commenting below!