The History of Alberta Separatism - Alberta: Separatism Then and Now

https://merchantship.ca/products/alberta-separatism-then-and-now?_pos=4&_sid=6e260a793&_ss=r The Alberta separatist movement began in the early 1970s largely in response to the harmful policies of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. It was Trudeau’s socialistic attempts to control Alberta’s oil resources that ultimately inspired the separatist movement. Thus, it is easy to characterize Pierre Trudeau as the father of Alberta separatism.

This book, Alberta: Separatism Then and Now, provides an historical account of the origin of Alberta separatism, and its glory years in the early 1980s. The main organizations involved included the Independent Alberta Association (IAA), Elmer Knutson’s West-Fed, and the Western Canada Concept (WCC). In February 1982, an Alberta WCC candidate, Gordon Kesler, won a byelection to become the first western separatist candidate elected to a legislature.

The Alberta separatist movement of the 1980s would ultimately be subsumed by the Reform Party of Canada. Later, with Stephen Harper as prime minister, most Albertans were satisfied with the federal government. However, after Harper’s election loss, it was only a matter of time before a new prime minister would seek political advantage at Alberta’s expense.

Alberta: Separatism Then and Now can be ordered online at this link: https://merchantship.ca/products/alberta-separatism-then-and-now?_pos=4&_sid=6e260a793&_ss=r