Thoughts on BC Politics and More

IMAGE CREDIT:   The Western Producer   There's been some new developments on the international trade front. Unfortunately, none of it will help canola farmers. Prime Minister Mark Carney recently announced that Canada will remove retaliatory tariffs on US goods covered by the Canada-US-Mexico Free Trade Agreement - except for steel, aluminum, and autos. (These are industries concentrated in Eastern Canada, and Ottawa’s decision makes it clear whose interests are being prioritized in federal trade policy.) Meanwhile, Western Canadian canola farmers are still dealing with the consequences of China’s retaliatory tariffs - tariffs that exist only because Ottawa chose to impose heavy duties on Chinese electric vehicles. These punitive measures are directly impacting farmers who produce billions of dollars worth of canola annually, support hundreds of thousands of jobs, and supply essential food products to both Canadians and international trading partners. Yet despite their c...

As he announces his refusal to sign on to the pipeline accord recently reached by Premiers Ford, Smith and Moe, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew appears to be wearing two hats. First, he wears his premier’s hat. He knows that any pipeline project must pass through Manitoba, and he is refusing to let it pass unless his terms are accepted. Here’s what he said: “Our government will not treat consultation as a box to check after decisions are made,” said Kinew on Wednesday. “We believe reconciliation requires shared decision-making from the start.” But the second hat Kinew appears to don is the feathered headdress of an Indian chief ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

When I took my first course in political science at the University of Calgary over forty years ago, the reigning orthodoxy on Canada’s ideological landscape seemed alien to my Alberta way of thinking.  I was taught that Canada had no genuine free enterprise or limited government political tradition. Conservatism, Liberalism and Socialism all had a presence in this country, it was said, but there was little to distinguish one from the other in terms of their preference for Big Government solutions ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

I’ve got whiplash from the speed of this government’s shifting allegiances. Canada’s 45th Parliament opened May 26, 2025. The next day, King Charles III delivered the Speech from the Throne. Prime Minister Mark Carney had invited him, hoping the symbolism would rekindle a sense of unity. A patriotic gesture, Carney hoped it might blunt the growing separatist sentiment in Western Canada. It didn’t work. But it made for a good photo op. Then within days, Carney undercut the whole thing. Speaking in Europe, he called Canada “the most European of non-European countries" .... CLICK HERE for the full story 

O kay Alberta, I love you — I really do. Calgary is huge fun and the Rockies are beyond spectacular. Even Edmonton has a few nice things going for it. Drumheller and the Badlands are amazing, and I miss Peter’s Drive-In in Red Deer. Although I have to be honest and say I still prefer the Winnipeg Jets to either the Flames or the Oilers (although Mrs. Q is a fan of the Flames). But can y’all just stop and think a little about what leaving Canada might mean? Take this from a Brit who has seen some nine years of post-Brexit fun and games. It all sounds nice until it happens and reality dawns. The problems with making it actually happen are but the start — never mind the ultimate economic impact of doing so ... CLICK HERE for the full commentary  

D isappointment and frustration can lead people to do foolish things. Conservatives in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, in particular, are profoundly disappointed that Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party of Canada was defeated by a coalition of progressive voters in the federal election. In their anger, many have lashed out and called for regional separation from Canada, despite the economic risks and political instability such a move would bring. They don’t seem to care that the move would be disastrous economically, almost certainly leading to a deeply diminished standard of living. Nor do they seem to care that such divisive talk feeds into the Donald Trump playbook of divide and conquer, making his dream of seeing Canada as the 51st state more achievable. Part of what hurts so much, it seems, is that the Conservative Party won a higher per cent of votes than it had even when Stephen Harper formed government. The party broke through in Ontario’s 905 belt, snatching seat...

I n the wake of Mark Carney's election win, several provincial leaders are calling for a political "reset" in how Ottawa engages with the West — particularly in Alberta and Saskatchewan, where grievances over federal decision-making run deep. The federal government should "engage and consult" Saskatchewan, Premier Scott Moe said Tuesday. Carney should "reach out to our friends out West, and tell them how he's going to build that pipeline," Ontario Premier Doug Ford added ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... generations of Westerners have fought to reform Canada to make its institutions more representative of the country as it is, not as it was before the settling of the West. As hard and as passionately as they have fought, they failed. So be it. Now it's up to Eastern Canada. If confederation means anything at all to Eastern Canadians beyond a mechanism to redistribute Western resources, it's their move. Meanwhile, the only honourable course left to those of us who love freedom and Western Canada is to face this fact. We must admit that we have a federal government that does not practice federalism. It preaches rights but practices coercion. It promises to build, but all it produces is debt ... CLICK HERE for the full editorial

P reston Manning, former Member of Parliament and founder of the Reform Party of Canada, has raised concerns about growing Western alienation following the re-election of a Liberal minority government under Prime Minister Mark Carney. In a statement released Tuesday, Manning said polling is underway to assess whether the continuation of Liberal rule has deepened the estrangement of Western Canada from Ottawa and the rest of the country. He noted that Carney’s assurances of a "180 degree turn" from key policies of the Trudeau government — including on climate change, pipelines, immigration, and what Manning described as “proliferate deficit spending” — remain to be tested ... CLICK HERE for the full story

CBC NEWS Power and Politics image Preston Manning recently argued in the Globe and Mail that western alienation is now so potent that “a vote for the Carney Liberals is a vote for western secession.” Many have labelled his comments as “unhelpful” in the current political context, and that when Canadian patriotism has been so aroused by threats from the United States, the imperative is to come together and focus on how to face that singular challenge. I agree that Mr. Manning’s comments were over the top — but only a little. Though the U.S. threats certainly demand serious thinking on our part, it is equally true that Canada faces many policy challenges of our own making. And though many people in Ontario and Quebec don’t like to admit it, western alienation is one of those challenges — and no Canadian should dismiss it ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

If you live out west, especially in a small town or a smaller city then you know oil isn't the only thing people talk about. Yes, I'm talking about firearms.    The National Energy Program (NEP) did come up in the 1990s, but it wasn't as big a thorn by 2015. Justin Trudeau showed that he could sell the Liberals in the west. He got 4 seats in Alberta. That was almost unheard of. Sure, the NEP was still something that pissed people off, but that crowd was smaller. It was growing older and the memory was fading.   His later moves on the Carbon Tax, Northern Gateway, Energy East, etc did hurt the Liberal brand in the West. No one denies that.   The CBC, for all their skill, is overly focused on energy as an issue.    Jean Chretien actually laid the foundation for anti-Liberal sentiment in the West back in 1995. Perhaps, he stoked the fires.   This was the C-69 aka the Firearms Act. It declared all privately held firearms prohibited in ...

Feldsted says that a Republic of Western Canada retain membership in the British Commonwealth PLEASE NOTE ... this is the third in a series discussing whether Western Canada should leave confederation. If you missed the earlier ones you can CLICK HERE for Part One – and CLICK HERE for Part Two   The creation of a Western Canada is not an easy undertaking and cannot succeed without widespread public support. In the wake of anxiety over the shut down of the gas and oil sector and more anxiety over the coronavirus threat, people are in no mood to take risks with an unfamiliar governing model. They are not going to jump over a cliff. Several readers have expressed a preference for forming a Republic rather than a Constitutional Monarchy. That is not a panacea or solution. There are 147 Republics word wide. Of those only 28 have ministries subject to parliamentary confidence. 62 including the United Stated have a president independent of the legislature. I am not opposed to ...