Should Western Canada Separate From The Rest Of Canada?
What would Canada be like if its western provinces, Alberta and British Colombia, separated from the rest of Canada? Should Western Canada separate from the rest of the country? The following essay will state the positives and negatives of not only the separation of Alberta, but also the separation of Western Canada from the rest of the country. Furthermore, this essay will state my position on the issue with reasons to support my particular position. In my opinion, Western Canada should separate from the rest of the country and the reasons to support this viewpoint will be discussed on the topics of economy as well as regional dissatisfaction.
To start off, some positive and negative aspects of Western Canada separation will be identified. On a positive note, if Western Canada separated from the rest of the country, then Western Canadians would have a lot more say in how the country would be run. In this day and age, the federal Liberal Party is in power because of the majority of votes that they acquire in Ontario and Quebec. The party in power does not need even one vote from Western Canada to remain in power. This causes a great deal of sour feelings among the westerners because the Liberal Party does not even acknowledge the pleas from Western Canada. Another positive aspect of the separation of Western Canada would be related to the economy. Although Western Canada holds only 27% of Canada’s population, it produces 52% of Canada’s GNP for fishing, forestry, mining, and agriculture, and 90% of Canada’s petroleum production. Billions of dollars in both Alberta and British Colombia are lost every year because more taxes are given to the federal government than what is received back in forms of all services. This proves that Western Canada would prosper a great deal in self-government. On the other hand, the negative aspects of separation would be in relation to resources and industrial production. Western Canada is a resource based region and does not have a large industrial base. It would be extremely expensive to have resources sent to neighboring countries so that they can be finished into goods for Western Canada. As well, the resources that Western Canada possesses are non-renewable resources and will not last forever. For example, once new ways to operate machines are discovered, there will be very little need for oil and gas, which is what Alberta depends on.
