Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2019-12-23)

 POLITICS Bloomberg Businessweek December 23, 2019

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BLOOMBERG

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anyonewhosays,‘No,no,ourcurrentdealis

fair,’” Wilsonsays.“Whatallofuswant,andI

thinkeverybodyatthetablewants,is a dealthat

feelsfairandis fair.”

Anotherkeytosubduingtheseparatists’ire

willberevivingAlberta’soilindustry.Itwas

deeplywoundedbythe 2014 oilpricecrash,and

growthhasbeenhamperedaspipelinecapacity

hasfailedtokeeppacewithproductionincreases.

Alberta’sunemploymentratehasremainedstub-

bornlyhighthepastfouryears—clockinginat7.2%

inNovember,comparedwith5.9%forthecoun-

tryasa whole—astheinabilitytoexpandkeeps

workersidle.Still,Albertaaccountsforabout

17%ofCanada’sgrossdomesticproduct.“Ifwe

justturnthetapsoff,it’sgoingtomaketheEast

startaskingustohelpthemout,”saidMadison

Lepard,a 28-year-oldlawnmaintenanceworker,

attheWexitrally.“We’dbejustfineonourown.”

—KevinOrland

THE BOTTOM LINE The Wexit movement is still small, but it’s

making its presence felt at home and in the capital by playing on

Albertans’ existing grievances.

Paying the Most for the Least

Difference between federal revenue per capita and expenditure

percapitabyprovincein 2017

DATA: PARLIAMENT OF CANADA

Alberta

Sask. Man.

Ont.

Que.

Nfld.

N.B.

N.S.

P.E.I.

B.C.

Expenditure greater

than revenue

Revenue greater than

expenditure

MorethanC$2.5k 0–2.5k 0–2.5k More than 2.5k

 No data available

him make up his mind. “It’s taxation without

representation, simple as that,” Daniels said while

waiting for the rally to get underway. “They take

our money, and we have no say in it.”

Alberta contributes disproportionately to fed-

eral coffers, paying about C$5,096 more in taxes

per capita than it received in government spend-

ing in 2017. By contrast, Quebec received C$1,958

more than it paid. (Alberta also has a higher per

capita gross domestic product than does Quebec.)

Crucially, the separatists have yet to deliver a

robust explanation of how Alberta would be better

off as a landlocked, oil-focused nation in a world

moving away from carbon-based fuels. They say

that an Alberta freed of Ottawa’s influence could

forge better trade relations with the U.S., though

that assumes the country will continue to be

under the control of an oil-friendly Republican

administration.

The group has filed to become an official polit-

ical party and will focus on electing candidates

to push its agenda in Ottawa, Downing said. One

of its primary targets is Jason Kenney, Alberta’s

Conservative premier, who’s already created a

provincial panel to consider such measures as

withdrawing from Canada’s federal pension sys-

tem, establishing Alberta’s own police force, and

opting out of some federal cost-sharing programs.

So far, he’s held out against holding a provincial

vote on secession. “If he’s not going to give us our

referendum, get out of the way,” Downing said,

as the Calgary crowd cheered. “You’re going to

be replaced.”

Trudeau addressed western Canadian alien-

ation in a news conference shortly after his

election, but added pointedly that solving the

country’s problems is “going to take all Canadians

sticking together, helping out folks who are strug-

gling in places like Alberta and Saskatchewan.”

While splitting Alberta from the rest of Canada

is unlikely, Wexit has helped make the province’s

grievances a national priority. Trudeau last month

appointed Jim Carr, a member of Parliament from

Winnipeg and a former minister in his cabinet,

as an adviser on western Canada. He also named

Chrystia Freeland, his Alberta-born former foreign

affairs minister, to the role of deputy prime minis-

ter, giving her latitude to work on soothing west-

ern alienation.

Brett Wilson, an entrepreneur and former

judge on the Canadian business show Dragon’s

Den, says that while he doesn’t necessarily want

Alberta to separate from Canada, the Wexit move-

ment strengthens the province’s hand in its deal-

ings with Ottawa. “I’m having trouble finding