Western separation talks re-emerge as federal election nears

WATCH: Talks of western separation that emerged as the federal election nears have made it to the floor of the Saskatchewan legislature.

Talk of western separation is re-emerging as the federal election draws closer.

The topic was amplified in an April 2 op-ed in The Globe and Mail.

Former politician Preston Manning said “voters, particularly in central and Atlantic Canada, need to recognize that a vote for the Carney Liberals is a vote for Western secession — a vote for the breakup of Canada as we know it.”

When asked about Manning’s comment last week, Premier Scott Moe seemed less convinced Saskatchewan residents were ready to abandon the nearly 158-year-old confederation.

“We most certainly are Canadian in this province,” he said.

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Still, Moe said he believes the Liberal government’s policies have not served Saskatchewan’s interests. He believes the Conservative Party of Canada’s policies best align with Saskatchewan people.

“The Liberal government over the last number of years have really, come forth without consultation and certainly myself, at times, has said, or can make the argument, that they aren’t in the best interests of the people that are living in this province,” Moe said Friday.

Moe says the carbon tax and energy caps are harmful to the way Saskatchewan families create wealth. He also decried “unconsulted” policies like Bill C-69, which created new conditions for developments in the energy sector based on the potential environmental, social and economic impacts, and potential impacts on the rights of Indigenous communities.

“So, if that’s the path that they are going to continue to take in that unconsulted policy that’s harmful to how we create wealth, jobs and opportunity in this province, then we are going to have a significant problem moving forward,” Moe said.

Saskatchewan NDP leader Carla Beck said the premier’s failure to fully and clearly denounce talks of secession would deepen divisions and make Canadians more vulnerable.

“Let me help Scott Moe — the answer is no,” Beck said Monday. “We’re not breaking up the country. The people of Saskatchewan are Canadian, and we will remain Canadians.”

Daniel Westlake, an assistant professor with the political studies department at the University of Saskatchewan, says Moe’s comments might more accurately stem from western alienation than a desire for western separation.

While many people feel alienated from federal policy decisions in Ottawa, separatist movements in the west aren’t organized and widely popular like in Quebec.

“(Moe) still is somebody who wants to keep Saskatchewan within the country,” Westlake said.

Unlike in Quebec, Saskatchewan people still largely see themselves as Canadians, while that’s not always the case in Quebec.

“That’s not a group of people that see a strong sense of Western and Saskatchewan identity as mutually exclusive to having a Canadian identity,” Westlake said.

A poll from the Angus Reid Institute on Sunday asked respondents, “Would you vote to have your province become its own independent country?”

According to Angus Reid, 33 per cent of Saskatchewan respondents said they would, compared to 30 per cent in Alberta and Quebec.

• For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
• From a randomized sample of 2,400 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum surveyed from March 20 - 24, 2025. Second survey from March 28 - 31, 2025, among a randomized sample of 2,131 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum.

Westlake says another marked difference is the lasting sentiment. The separatist movement in Quebec has taken hold for decades, while Saskatchewan’s and Alberta’s are a recent phenomenon.

“I don’t think you have the same decades level of support for separatism in Western Canada,” Westlake said.

“That makes me a little bit more skeptical of those kinds of polls and (I) want to see the numbers sustained over time.”

The Canada Strong and Free Network — formerly called the Manning Centre — is hosting an annual conference this week. Moe, Minister of Health Jeremy Cockrill and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, are featured speakers for the event.