Secession in Alberta and the ‘Other-ing’ of Conservatives in Canada
Recently, the Alberta independence movement has been condemned by various political actors and pundits as little more than treason and a caustic by-product of Alberta’s lust for oil.
However, the surge of support for secession in Alberta is not a consequence of treason or greed.
Rather, the modern advent and onset of the Alberta independence movement is a direct response to the open persecution of conservative politics and right-wing ideology in Canada throughout the Liberal era. (RELATED: Alberta, Not Canada, Would Be a Great US State)
Since the advent of the Trudeau era in 2015 and the onset of Donald Trump’s first Presidency nearly a decade ago, left-wing pundits and political actors throughout Canada have mimicked their American brethren and consistently deployed “populism” and “populist” as catch-all terms for all right-wing ideology and every conservative. (RELATED: Canada: A Socialist Paradise Lost)
Unfortunately, The Left has also labored tirelessly to transform “populism” into a euphemism for neo-Nazis and tyrants, as well as all species of bigot, in a vain attempt to silo all conservative ideology under the false veneer of fascism and discredit the surge in popularity that all right-wing ideology, values, and leaders have enjoyed in Canada and throughout the international political system post-Trump.
In fact, throughout his tenure, Canada’s disgraced former prime minister, Justin Trudeau, repeatedly attempted to indict the Leader of the Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, as a far-right populist and an acolyte at the Altar of Trump, in order to scare Canadians away from Poilievre’s leadership and shame Canadian society away from any conservative politics.
In contrast, throughout the modern era, the “progressive” political edifices and news media organizations that currently preside over Canadian society have hailed left-wing ideology as the driver of all socio-political progress since the Enlightenment and invariably associated a left-wing ethos with the democratic ideal, as well as a constant desire to protect and cultivate the fundamental human rights of all people.
As a result, Canada’s left-wing politicians and media edifices have inevitably engineered a political spectrum wherein a person or political actor becomes increasingly evil and antithetical to democracy, as their political beliefs and personal ideology become progressively conservative or “populist,” and, conversely, a person becomes increasingly good and virtuous, inasmuch as their personal beliefs and political ideology become left-wing and liberal.
Therefore, political dialogue has collapsed, and open persecution has summarily become a macabre reality of daily life for every conservative.
More importantly, conservatives have overwhelmingly been forced to seek political expression outside mainstream society in order to participate in Canada’s political sphere and access fundamental human rights, such as free speech and political assembly.
For example, although it has been retroactively misconstrued as naught but an extremist response to Justin Trudeau’s overbearing policies during the COVID pandemic, the Freedom Convoy was itself overwhelmingly a response to the Liberal government’s overt suppression of right-wing values, ideology, and politics in Canada over the course of the past decade.
The Alberta independence movement is … a response to the Liberal government’s overt suppression of right-wing values, ideology, and politics…
Even the brave Canadians who risked their own personal freedom in order to support the Freedom Convoy and participate in its noble protest have variously reaffirmed that the Freedom Convoy was an emphatic culmination of the decade of Liberal oppression that preceded its eruption.
Moreover, the Alberta independence movement is itself overwhelmingly a response to the Liberal government’s overt suppression of right-wing values, ideology, and politics in Canada over the course of the past decade.
For instance, because the Province of Alberta and its society are vividly conservative and still predicated upon Canada’s historic mores and foundational ideology, the Province of Alberta’s needs and the values of its people have all been ignored by the Liberal Party’s progressive government since the advent of the Trudeau era in 2015, under the pretense that they are somehow ignorant and anti-Canadian or injurious to Canada’s democracy and national progress.
In fact, the Democracy Index itself has confirmed that “Tensions … between the Liberal federal government and the Conservative-led provinces [are] now one of the biggest risks to Canada’s political stability.” Even the premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, has declared that “Alberta’s treatment within Canada has become intolerable” and boldly reaffirmed that the Alberta independence movement has “legitimate grievances.”
In truth, Alberta is currently flirting with secession almost entirely because the Liberal government has so emphatically insulted Alberta’s right-wing values and rejected Alberta’s conservative ecosystem and paradigm over the past decade. As Premier Smith herself states, “No matter how the eastern media tries to twist it, Albertans want the same thing: to stand as equal partners in Canada, not second-class citizens.”
Unfortunately, it is clear that the modern advent and onset of the Alberta independence movement is a direct response to the open oppression and persecution of conservative politics and right-wing ideology in Canada throughout the Liberal era.
More importantly, it is evident that Canada has now arrived at a vital national crossroads.
Civil discourse has collapsed, and political violence now seethes ominously just below the placid veneer of Canadian society.
Moreover, the Canadian nation is fracturing in real-time and the spectre of a 51st state has started to loom altogether real.
Therefore, it is readily apparent that, if the Canadian nation is to at all persevere outside the tumult of the modern era and successfully progress into the future, all of Canada must cast off the oppressive politics that have dominated the past Liberal decade, and cleave instead to the democratic ethos, values, and compassion that have defined Canada and its people since their advent.
In truth, every Canadian must gaze directly into the eyes of The Abyss and bravely re-establish the humanity of The Other, else the pale horse of annexation will inevitably claim its first Canadian province.
READ MORE from Will Barclay:
Identity, Action, and the Truth About the Massacre in Tumbler Ridge
Behind Canada’s Sealed COVID-19 Reports
Canada Looks an Awful Lot Like Venezuela. And Trump Has Noticed.
William Barclay is an award-winning political theorist and policy expert, as well as one of Canada’s leading conservative voices. Follow him on Twitter/X @WillBarclayPCBG.