Saskatchewan Prosperity Project

Here's our updated schedule for townhalls! Stay tuned for announcements for townhalls in Moose Jaw, Regina, Saskatoon and Langham.

From 1970 (50 years ago): "Prairie provinces, watching the 11 o'clock news, and their nervous systems have been strained beyond endurance. The nightly procession of Canadian newspapers have been interminably engaged with what Quebec wants and doesn't want, and nobody ever mentions the West. No wonder a farmer in central Saskatchewan recently fired a shotgun into his own TV set as a hapless Liberal MP was trying to explain his government's policy on wheat sales." "Like the meeting and marrying of many drops of rain sliding along a wire to form one huge gusher, the various discontent felt by westerners have combined into a political force that must be taken into account in working out the delicate equations of our national future." The question I always have when I read articles like this one from over a half-century ago, is why has the West stayed in this country all these years despite the fact that it is so dysfunctional for us to do so? The system doesn't ever seem to improve. We keep finding ourselves with enemy Liberal governments who get re-elected over and over and we let ourselves get duped into hoping a Conservative government comes galloping in on a white horse to save us and make it all go away. Anyone who has knowledge of the history of the West within Canada should be a separatist. And those who don't know the history should be taught it so they understand that the Western independence movement has a well-constructed historical foundation to stand on.

We have another townhall to announce for Christopher Lake!

Join us at our townhall for independence in Allan on March 22nd. Its less than 45 minutes southeast of Saskatoon. Worth the road trip! The more who attend, the stronger this movement becomes.

From 1986: "Do Westerners really think Quebec and Ontario will repent and say "Aw, those poor Westerners, they have suffered enough in the last 119 years of Confederation, we will now recognize regions in Canada and authorize a Triple E Senate which will strengthen Western power and weaken ours"--not very likely--they have already had 119 years to make this sort of a change." We have been asking to make changes to the Canadian system to make the regions of Canada more equal for years and years, but at the end of the day, what reason do Ontario and Quebec have to make those changes? No Western premier until now has been willing to even consider separation as an option but at the end of the day, that's really our only option to get the Rest of Canada to listen, and even then, they might not listen, so if we threaten to separate, it mustn't be an empty threat.

1973: "Premiers Barrett, Lougheed, Blakeney and Shreyer were meeting here in Victoria to put the finishing touches to four, common position papers on agriculture, regional financial institutions, transportation, and regional development. The papers with their views and proposed solutions, are being sent to Ottawa. The federal government has been told it should respond well before the Calgary meeting opens on July 24." How many times have Western premiers sent harsh telegrams, sternly worded letters, or conducted press conferences demanding improvements from Ottawa? And what has any of that actually ever yielded? Nothing. The problem is, all these things were not accompanied by any tangible threats. There was no "or else" statement and no consequences for the Rest of Canada if the problems outlined were not solved. That's what makes 2025 a bit different because for the first time, there are Western premiers (Moe and Smith) who haven't outright dismissed Western separation as an option when making their demands on Ottawa. Sure, both of them have said over and over that they themselves aren't separatists and that their governments aren't initiating referendums for separation themselves, but they are allowing the citizenry of their provinces to initiate them, knowing that separation may be their only leverage for negotiating improvements for their provinces in Canada.

From 1980: "The more I hear about the business of our country, the more I can see that the only reasons the West could possibly want to stay in Federation (if we even have such a thing) are sentimental. And believe me, sentimentality is costing us a high price." Sentimentality--feelings about something--often overrule logic and reason. In the case of Western independence, this is certainly true. Feelings of loyalty and patriotism for Canada often cause people to overlook what's wrong about the country they are in and it impedes them from questioning those who are in charge and the direction which they are taking the country in. During and after last year's federal election, did you see how the Liberals utilized the hatred and rage that so many Canadians had for Donald Trump to cloud their vision and distract them from remembering or seeing what the Liberals had done the previous decade in this country? They ignited the fire of patriotism with their "elbows up" campaign and it worked--much of the country forgot about the Liberal track record and voted for who they perceived as the national team captain--Mark Carney. And now, while the independence movement here grows, its quite apparent that many of those here who protest it do so because they've become convinced that Donald Trump is driving the idea, not understanding that talk of independence and the reasons for it long predate Donald Trump becoming the American president, and that despite Trump's talk of the 51st state, most of the independence movement here is in favour of independent nationhood rather than U.S. statehood. How do we convince those who are sentimental about staying in Canada to start considering the idea of independence for the West? The answer, of course, is to increase sentimentality for the West in itself. We need to build love for the West and pride for the West amongst the people here, and appeal to peoples' emotions to engender patriotism, loyalty, a sense of belonging, and hope for the future within peoples' hearts. Logic, reasons, and numbers, will not ensure success for the independence movement. At the end of the day, when someone takes their pen to that ballot during the referendum vote for independence, whether they check yes or no on that ballot depends entirely on how they feel.