The Western Independence Party (WIP) was a Canadian political party that advocated the separation of

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

from

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

to form a new country from the provinces of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

and

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, and the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

. The WIP ran eleven candidates in the 1988 federal election - one candidate in British Columbia, seven in Alberta, and three in Manitoba (although one of the Manitoba candidates appears to have withdrawn before election day). All the candidates were soundly defeated with none garnering even 1% of the popular vote in any riding. The party also had provincial branches in each of the four provinces. The federal wing of the Western Independence Party fell dormant and did not run any candidates in any federal elections after 1988. The party was resurrected in April 2005 at a founding convention in

Strathmore, Alberta Strathmore is a town located in southern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Wheatland County, Alberta, Wheatland County. It is along the Alberta Highway 1, Trans-Canada Highway approximately east of Calgary. History The town began as a ha ...

under the new name "

Western Canada Party The Western Canada Party (WCP) is a Canadian political party that advocates the separation from Canada of the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba as well as the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut to form a new co ...

". The WIP should not be confused with the

Confederation of Regions Party The Confederation of Regions Party (CoR) was a right-wing politics, right-wing federal list of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada founded in 1984 by Elmer Knutson. It was founded as a successor to the Western Canada Federation ...

, which sought greater autonomy for western Canada, but not full independence.

Founding

The party was founded by a group of 150 people from across the western provinces. The WIP was formed because the group had grown dissatisfied with the direction of another western separatist party, the federal

Western Canada Concept The Western Canada Concept was a Western Canada, Western Canadian federal political party founded in 1980 to promote the separation of the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, and the Yukon and Northwest Territories ...

(WCC), led by a lawyer

Douglas Christie Douglas Hewson Christie, Jr. (April 24, 1946 – March 11, 2013) was a Canadian lawyer and political activist based in Victoria, British Columbia, who was known nationally for his defence of clients such as Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel, former ...

of Victoria, B.C. At the party's founding convention in October 1987 in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Fred Marshall was elected interim leader. Marshall had run for the leadership of the provincial WCC in 1984, losing to future Reform Party Member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Jack Ramsay of

Camrose, Alberta Camrose ( ) is a city in central Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Camrose County. Located along Highway 13 it had its beginnings as a railroad hub. History The area around Camrose was first settled by Europeans around 1900. At that time t ...

. Also at the founding convention, the party adopted the "West Canada Flag" which was designed by Dexter Dombro and was chosen from a field of eight other entries.

WIP in Alberta / Alberta Independence Party

Bob Lefurgey attempted to collect enough signatures to form official party status of the WIP as a provincially registered party in Alberta, but failed to obtain enough signatures. Lefurgey described his mission as separation. "It's basically to remove Alberta from confederation," said Lefurgey. "There's been an accumulation of things over time and we're in a perfect storm for separatists right now, with all the things going on – everything from immigration, gun control, equalization." The

Alberta Independence Party The Independence Party (TIP), known as the Alberta Independence Party from 2001 to 2019, is an Albertan provincial political party. It was originally dedicated to increasing the autonomy of Alberta within Canadian Confederation, partly as a r ...

never achieved party status when it ran candidates in 2001 election. The AIP is experiencing a revival and strives to run candidates in the 2019 provincial election and form party status. The

Separation Party of Alberta The Alberta First Party french: Alberta d'abord) was an Albertan separatist political party in Alberta, Canada. It went through several iterations before becoming its current incarnation as the Freedom Conservative Party. History (1999–2018) ...

, which nominated candidates in the 2004 provincial election, promoted the cause of separation in the province but renamed itself the

Alberta First Party The Alberta First Party french: Alberta d'abord) was an Albertan separatist political party in Alberta, Canada. It went through several iterations before becoming its current incarnation as the Freedom Conservative Party. History (1999–2018) ...

in 2013. In July 2018, MLA

Derek Fildebrandt Derek Alexander Gerhard Fildebrandt (born October 18, 1985) is the publisher, president and chief executive officer of the Western Standard New Media Corp. and a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Canadian Taxpayers Federat ...

became leader of the party, which rebranded itself as the

Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta The Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta (french: Parti de la liberté conservatrice de l'Alberta) was an Albertan autonomist, libertarian and conservative political party in Alberta, Canada. The party was named the Alberta First Party (french: ...

. As a result, separatism has been removed from the platform, and instead adopting Albertan

autonomism Autonomism, also known as autonomist Marxism is an anti-capitalist left-wing political and social movement and theory. As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (). Later, post-Marxist and anarchist tendenc ...

as part of the party's transformation. Lefurgey remains listed as President of the party by Elections Alberta. The SPA issued a statement of support when the WIP of Saskatchewan was formed in 2003.

WIP of Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan branch of the party nominated candidates in the 2003 provincial election, and the 2007 provincial election, but none were elected. It continues to be an active party under the leadership of Dana Arnason, but does not intend to nominate candidates in federal elections.

Party program

Party policy was adopted at the founding convention and was expanded at a policy convention in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

in April 1988. The party's basic policy statements were the following: # independence as the only way Westerners could get political and economic justice; # the constitutional right to private property; # the citizen's right to a referendum on major issues including the constitution and constitutional amendments; # English as the official language; and # an elected, equal and effective Senate.

The party's vision of an independent Western Canada

# A prosperous low tax economy. # Direct democracy. # Separation of executive powers to end Prime Ministerial dictatorship. # An elected accountable judiciary. # Equality of treatment and opportunity for all people. # An elected senate balancing popular representation with regional representation. # English as the official language. # A world-class medical system. # A justice system that stresses accountability. # No gun registry. # No

Kyoto Accord The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (pa ...

. # Property rights guaranteed in the constitution.

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Western Canada Party website
(Defunct)
Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan website
Federal political parties in Canada Defunct secessionist organizations in Canada Defunct political parties in Canada Politics of Western Canada Political parties established in 1987 1987 establishments in Canada