The Western Canada Concept
             The Western Canada Concept is a separatist party led by Alberta lawyer Doug Christie. The party is devoted to a peaceful secession of the four Western provinces and the two territories from Canada. By means of four referenda held in each respective western province, the Western Canada Concept would establish an independent nation. A wide spectrum of reasons, encompassing political, economic, and cultural issues, fuels the group's drive for a sovereign, united, West. The Western Canada Concept, through referenda and economic stability, insists that a sovereign West would better serve the needs of Western Canadians, which have been ignored by governments of the recent past.
            
             Reasons for Western Independence
             According to David Christie, leader of the Western Canada Concept, reasons for western separation abound, touching each area of Western Canadians' lives. Many of these stem from a deep-rooted feeling of western alienation. During the Trudeau era, the majority of Liberal seats in the House of Commons was heavily concentrated east of the Manitoba border. Through unpopular government decisions, such as the management of Alberta's petroleum industry, some westerners began to feel that the government did not serve their needs. Manipulating a famous Abraham Lincoln quote illustrates this belief perfectly - since the government was elected by Central Canada, it must be a government of Central Canada, for Central Canada.
             This distribution of power in the House of Commons, a primary reason for Western Independence, has become a platform for many western politicians. One concern is that there is little or no checks on the Prime Minister's agenda where regional equality is concerned. The Prime Minister is from one province, can be elected into power with only the support of a single region, and can run the entire country accordingly. Christie believes that the only way to keep Central Canada, the primary source of ...