The rise of the Republic of the Northwest - Maclean's Prophetic Utterance on Western Separation

 This is a vision of what can be, of what must be. A prophetic vision of what Alberta and Western Separation could look like.

By Bercuson and Cooper - imagine a future where western territories have split from Canada to escape the bureaucratic despotism of Ottawa. As published in Macleans, full article link found at the bottom.

 

"… The republic had its beginnings when the premier of Alberta, in March 2020, called a provincial referendum on amending section 36 (2) of the Constitution Act (1982) dealing with equalization payments, and resolving a range of other Alberta-Canada disagreements ranging from provincial policing to taxation.

Alberta’s position was based on the unsuccessful “firewall” proposals of 20 years earlier. Negotiations failed and Alberta called a second referendum held in March 2021, as the government had promised to do. This time, along with Saskatchewan, we voted to leave Canada. A clear majority (84 per cent) of both former provinces on a clear question (‘Do you wish independence from Canada?’) voted to leave.

The government of Manitoba did the same a few weeks later, voting 78 per cent to join its western neighbours. Under the terms of the 1988 Quebec Secession Reference, Canada was required to negotiate. …

The Republic was proclaimed in the fall of 2021 and negotiations with Canada were opened in Washington in November of that year. Despite the new name, the objective of the convention and of the republic was traditional: the Northwest would determine its own political and economic destiny using its wealth in natural resources to build a prosperous nation based on free trade, common-sense resource policies, its own taxation regime, guaranteed political rights for all, cooperation with Indigenous peoples, and a robust defence policy. …

Today, we have our own security forces and justice system built on a common North American democratic liberal tradition, a 40-member senate, patterned after that of the United States and a lower house elected on the basis of representation by population. All former Canadian assets are now held by the republic following the successful conclusion of the Treaty of Washington between the Northwest and Canada signed on July 1, 2022. …

First there was an end to the corrupting equalization payments. More symbolic, but tied to equalization, came an end to the absurdities of official bilingualism. With the accession of northern British Columbia, the Northern Gateway oil pipeline to Prince Rupert was built in less than two years. The huge new container port, built at the same time, has cut transit times from Chicago to the Western Pacific by three days as compared to shipping through Vancouver or Seattle.

The natural gas pipeline and LNG terminal at Kitimat was completed six months after Northern Gateway reached Rupert. ...

Relations with Southern Ontario, as the Laurentian Canadian province is now called, remain cordial. Toronto remains a useful financial centre, but no one thinks of Ottawa at all. ...

One thing is beyond dispute: in 20 years, the citizens of the Republic of the Northwest have grown more prosperous, freer, and more patriotic than their parents and grandparents ever dared to dream."

To read the full article, click here.