Voters could be allowed to cast their ballot for the western separatist Wexit Canada party in the next federal election.
Elections Canada granted eligibility to the party Friday, which will allow Wexit to get its party name on the ballot and issue tax receipts for political contributions.
Speaking at a rally in Edmonton held at the Alberta legislature on Saturday, party leader Peter Downing said the decision concluded a year-long effort to establish a legitimate political entity.
“[The Reform Party’s] slogan was ‘The West Wants In,'” Downing said. “Our slogan is, ‘The West Wants Out.'”
The party says it plans to nominate 104 candidates to federal ridings in four provinces — Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
It also plans to compete in every western byelection between now and the next general election.
“With the expected seats we’re going to win in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the Conservative Party of Canada will never govern again,” Downing said.
Supporters of Wexit attended a rally in Edmonton held at the Alberta legislature on Saturday. (CBC Edmonton)
As soon as Wexit endorses a confirmed candidate in an election or a byelection, it will officially be registered.
The party’s stated goal is to push for a referendum that would withdraw Alberta from Confederation. From there, the party plans to establish its own defence force, police and currency, and elect a president of Alberta.
The group also hopes to run candidates at the provincial level in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Questions remain
Political science professor Duane Bratt said, despite the party moving forward, a number of questions remain.
“Who is going to be the leader of this party?” he said. “[Downing] seems to be the front person here. But I’m not seeing a whole lot of people clamouring. He doesn’t have the pedigree that a Preston Manning had, or a Lucien Bouchard when he created the Bloc Québécois.”
Downing told CBC News on Saturday he would remain leader going into the next federal election.
“I have a mandate from our organization. I was selected as leader before the election,” he said. “So I have a mandate to lead it into the first general election.”
In the 2015 federal election, Downing ran with the Christian Heritage Party and told CBC in 2019 he’s since been involved with federal Conservative Party boards and as a campaign manager with the former provincial Wildrose Party.
Before that, he was an RCMP officer who was suspended for uttering threats against his ex-wife. Downing has said the judge made a mistake in finding against him for uttering threats and said he left the force with a clean record.
Bratt has doubts voters will opt for candidates from this new party.
“What sort of candidates are they going to acquire? And are people going to desert the Conservative Party for this Wexit party?” Bratt said. “I don’t think that’s going to be the case here. I don’t think people in Western Canada are upset with the Conservatives. Therefore, I think the Wexit party, I’m sure they may run candidates and do as well as the People’s Party [of Canada] did.”
In the 2019 election, the People’s Party of Canada, headed by Maxime Bernier, tallied 1.6 per cent of the national vote and did not win any seats.
Attendees at a rally in Edmonton on Saturday listened as party leader Peter Downing spoke. (CBC Edmonton)
For his part, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has rejected the idea of separating from Canada, instead forming a “fair deal” panel that would look at ways to increase Alberta’s autonomy.
A number of platforms championed by the Wexit party — including establishing an Alberta police force and a Alberta-based pension plan — are currently being studied by the Fair Deal panel.
“I think the Fair Deal panel has taken the wind out of the Wexit sails,” Bratt said. “I think if you had Jason Kenney direct his government towards a Wexit movement, that would be a different circumstance. But [the Alberta government] realizes it isn’t a very feasible concept.”
Downing said the Fair Deal panel failed to provide what Albertans “expect and demand.”
“Even in [Kenney’s] body language and his tone of voice this week with [Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland]. He’s not in the drivers’ seat,” Downing said. “If Jason Kenney is unable or unwilling … the public mood will change and Wexit Canada will be there to receive the support of Albertans.”
A November poll by Ipsos indicated one third of Albertans feel the province would be better off it it separated from Confederation, compared to 27 per cent of Saskatchewan residents.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
